Courthouse ghost's creepy identity revealed
Story Highlights
Glowing, moving spot on surveillance video looked like a ghost to some
Investigator ruled out theories it was a reflection or a prank
He tried putting ladybugs on camera, got the same image -- case solved
Video was watched more than 132,000 times on YouTube
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ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) -- Jeepers, it was just one of those creepers.
A ladybug on the lens of a surveillance camera can look like a ghost, investigator finds.
An investigator specializing in all things bizarre has debugged the mystery of the Santa Fe Courthouse Ghost -- a specter captured on a blurry surveillance videotape.
"In the end, it was in fact a bug or insect of some sort that was on the lens of the surveillance camera," said Benjamin Radford, a paranormal investigator and managing editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine.
The image -- a glowing spot drifting in front of a patrol car parked beneath some trees -- generated more than 132,000 hits on YouTube since Santa Fe County Deputy Alfred Arana first noticed the image June 15.
"There were a wide variety of theories on what it was," said Radford. "Some said it was a ghost. Some said it was drifting cottonwood fluff. Some said it was a prank."
But the one that stuck was a ghost.
Radford drove to Santa Fe to watch the original video, ruling out a couple of theories.
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"If it was a reflection, what would be reflecting and why was the sun in the wrong place?" he said. "And why would someone conduct a prank on courthouse surveillance with deputies with guns watching? That didn't make sense."
After various tests, Radford shelled out $9 for 1,750 ladybugs and put the bugs on the camera casing. "Sure enough, we got the ghost," he said.
Radford said it's a rare definitive answer in his line of work investigating haunted houses, crop circles, psychics or Big Foot.
"This case was solved through logic, scientific analysis and methodology," he said. E-mail to a friend
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/31/courthouse.ghost.ap/index.html