Gizmodo: Ghosts

Dead Woman Buried With Cellphone Allegedly Sends Texts to Husband

AddyDugdale — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:24:00 EDT

A grieving widower claims to have been receiving calls and text messages from beyond the grave. Frank Jones, whose wife Sadie died five years ago, says he has been plagued by SMS messages and missed calls since she was buried—her beloved cellphone in the coffin beside her.

The weirdest part of all of this is that 20 years ago, when Frank and his family moved into their house in the British resort town of Blackpool, they were plagued by paranormal behavior. Doors were slammed, bedclothes pulled off the kids while they slept, taps were turned on—and all this was put down to a malevolent presence called "The Thing."

So, the Joneses called in Blackpool's answer to Ghostbusters, the Fleetwood Spiritualist Church, who cleansed the property of The Thing, according to them a spirit "trapped between two worlds." For five years everything was A-OK until the family was hit by a double tragedy: first the death of son Steven, then Sadie just three months later. After she was buried, the weirdness returned.

Shortly after his wife's death, Frank claims to have had a missed call on his mobile, which didn't ring. "The call was from my own home number, but there was nobody in the house," he explains. "When I went inside there was a smell like cigarettes which Sadie used to smoke and the smell of her perfume." The 59-year-old also claims that his late wife has been sending them all SMSes from beyond the grave. "There have been messages with words Sadie would say but there's no number." [The Register]

Trent Reznor Releases Nine out of Thirty-Six Tracks on Free Download

AddyDugdale — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:00:04 EST

Last year, Trent Reznor recorded 36 instrumental tracks. This year, he's releasing them on the internet, rather à la Radiohead, but without the open price. The collection, entitled Ghosts I-IV is now available in a variety of packages, from a most generous gratis to a nail-bitingly expensive 300 bucks. Find out what kinda nail job you get for your money below.

Free
Ghosts I: The first nine tracks from the Ghosts I-IV collection as DRM-free MP3s, plus 40-page PDF.

$5
Ghosts I-IV: All 36 tracks in a variety of digital formats, plus a 40-page PDF.

$10
A double-disc set, packaged in a Digipak with a 16-page booklet, and immediate download of album. Ships April 8.

$75
Deluxe edition of Ghosts I-IV in a "hardcover fabric slipcase containing two audio CDs, one data DVD with all tracks in multi-track format, immediate download of album, and a Blu-Ray disc of Ghosts I-IV. Ships May 1.

$300
The "ultra-deluxe limited edition package" is basically the deluxe edition with immediate download, plus a four-LP set on 180-gram vinyl, packaged in a fabric slipcase. Two limited-edition Giclee prints are included; package is numbered and signed by Trent Reznor. Limited to a run of 2500, and one piece per customer. Ships May 1.
[Ghosts via Idolator]

Security Camera Captures Image of Ghost?

Charlie White — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:30:32 EST

A surveillance camera at a Parma, Ohio, gas station caught some footage of what appeared to be a ghost last Sunday, and passersby were immediately calling the blue cloud an angel, attributing it to buried Indians from long ago, and evoking all sorts of supernatural beings.

One guy might've had it right: Maybe it was a plastic bag. Could it have been an out-of-focus blue plastic bag dancing around with the wind like that one in the film American Beauty? Could an image artifact like this have been caused by a cheap security camera? In this video, it's unclear whether people saw this "ghost" with their own eyes, or just watched a video of it. Mysterious. Pranksters at work? [Liveleak, via Neatorama]

Ghost Clock Doesn't Actually Look Like a Ghost

Jason Chen — Sat, 26 May 2007 12:35:34 EDT

It just so happens that our neighbors are in the market for a clock that's even easier to break than normal clocks, which means we'll actually have an excuse to come over this time to check out the hot wife. The clock itself is made of two plates of glass, one of which is a mirror, attached together by four rods.

Although it looks great, the glass on glass design guarantees it will shatter the instant it gets too heavy for the piddly mounts you hang it with. Which is actually why they want this thing: they really hate their baby. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Ezstyle via Nerd Approved]

Portable Ghost Radar

Travis Hudson — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 17:25:00 EDT

It doesn't matter if ghosts are real or not, where there is speculation, there are products and potential to make money. It works really quite simply considering how complex of an issue ghost detection is. If there is a ghost in the area, the button lights up, easy as pie. This device is available for $18, which is a small price to pay to know where Grandma Gretta is haunting nowadays.

Translated Press Release [Via OhGizmo!]