'Ghost' photo spooks experts (True Ghost Story with real picture)

The picture, taken in May 2008, appears to show a man or woman in a ruff peering out of a barred window at Tantallon Castle.

No mannequins or costumed guides are employed at the castle, and three photographic experts have confirmed that no digital trickery was used on the photo.

Confirmed ghost sceptic Professor Richard Wiseman, who led the study, said: "It is certainly very curious. We ran it by three photographic experts and they said it hadn't been Photoshopped at all.

"The figure appears to be in period costume, but we know 100% that Tantallon Castle is not the sort of place that has dummies or costumed guides - they just don't go in for that sort of thing."

Tantallon Castle, a ruined fortress dating back to the 14th Century, stands on a remote rocky headland near North Berwick on the Scottish east coast.

Christopher Aitchison, who took the photo, said: "I was not aware of anyone, or anything, being present in my picture, only noticing the anomaly when I got home."

Psychologist Prof Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire, who has made many studies of the supernatural, launched the investigation a month ago.

Members of the public were asked to submit ghostly images for experts to analyse, the best of which were posted on the website www.scienceofhauntings.com.

More than 250 pictures were received and more than a quarter of a million people voted for what they considered the most convincing. The Ghost in the Castle took first place, with 39% of the vote.

UK teenager 'saved by Facebook', a real story

6-6-2009-- A British teenager who took a drugs overdose has been saved after the American girl he was chatting to online raised the alarm.

The 16-year-old boy from Oxfordshire had sent her a message suggesting he intended to commit suicide.

Although she did not know where he lived, calls via the White House and the British Embassy enabled Abingdon police to save the boy's life.

The boy, who has not been named, made a full recovery after hospital treatment.

Still conscious

It is believed that he was using the social networking site late on Wednesday night and sent a private message to a girl in Maryland saying that he was going to harm himself.

She told her mother, who called local police.

The police called a "special agent" at the White House, the British Embassy in Washington and finally the police control room in Abingdon.

Staff narrowed down his location to eight possible addresses, and officers found the teenager at the fourth house they tried. He had taken an overdose, but was still conscious.

(Source: BBC News)

Wierd News: Tight Squeeze

A woman squeezes herself into a transparent suitcase to raise awareness about human trafficking and mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at an airport in Munich, Germany, on Dec. 11. The sticker on the left reads: "Stop Human Trafficking! 60 Years of Human Rights." Note: Viewership of this blog is 5,887 as of 8:56PM, 12-Dec-2008

Top Morons of 2003 -- Will the real Moron Stand up, please?

1. WILL THE REAL DUMMY PLEASE STAND UP? AT&T fired President John Walter after nine months, saying he lacked intellectual leadership. He received a $26 million severance package. Perhaps it's not Walter who's lacking intelligence.

2. WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS: Police in Oakland, CA spent two hours attempting to subdue a gunman who had barricaded himself inside his home. After firing ten tear gas canisters, officers discovered that the man was standing beside them in the police line, shouting, "Please come out and give yourself up."

3. WHAT WAS PLAN B??? An Illinois man, pretending to have a gun, kidnapped a motorist and forced him to drive to two different automated teller machines, wherein the kidnapper proceeded to withdraw money from his own bank accounts.

4. THE GETAWAY! A man walked into a Topeka, Kansas Kwik Stop and asked for all the money in the cash drawer. Apparently, the take was too small, so he tied up the store clerk and worked the counter himself for three hours until police showed up and grabbed him.

5. DID I SAY THAT??? Police in Los Angeles had good luck with a robbery suspect who just couldn't control himself during a lineup. When detectives asked each man in the lineup to repeat the words: "Give me all your money or I'll shoot", the man shouted, "that's not what I said!".

6. ARE WE COMMUNICATING??? A man spoke frantically into the phone: "My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart". "Is this her first child?" the doctor asked. "No!" the man shouted, "This is her husband!"

7. NOT THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHED! In Modesto, CA, Steven Richard King was arrested for trying to hold up a Bank of America branch without a weapon. King used a thumb and a finger to simulate a gun. Unfortunately, he failed to keep his hand in his pocket. (hellooooooo)!

8. AND THE WINNER IS..... Last summer, down on Lake Isabella, located in the high desert, an hour east of Bakersfield, CA, some folks, new to boating, were having a problem. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get their brand new 22 foot boat, going. It was very sluggish in almost every maneuver, no matter how much power they applied. After about an hour of trying to make it go, they putted into a nearby marina, thinking someone there may be able to tell them what was wrong. A thorough topside check revealed everything in perfect working condition. The engine ran fine the out-drive went up and down, and the propeller was the correct size and pitch. So, one of the marina guys jumped in the water to check underneath. He came up choking on water, he was laughing so hard. NOW REMEMBER...THIS IS TRUE. Under the boat, still strapped securely in place, was the trailer!