The Occult Section

Yes, it’s another addition to the list of celebrity ghost stories. Apparently Miley Cyrus had some paranormal activity in her London apartment during her 2009 tour. I’m terrible at research, so does anyone know if she had been smoking marijuana back then? Also, this is not the first time the Cyrus family has been linked to the paranormal…or featured  on our blog (see here, here and here, where Billy Ray Cyrus was supposed to host a show on SyFy).

“A ghost? That’s pretty cool!”

The 20-year-old singer and her family rented an apartment in the English capital during her 2009 European tour but they had to move to a hotel after a number of ghostly encounters.

She told British Elle magazine: “It was seriously so terrifying. One night, my little sister — it sounds crazy to tell you — but she was standing in the shower and all of a sudden, I hear her scream. I run in there and the water had somehow flipped to hot but it was still … It wasn’t like the water had just changed, the knob had turned but she hadn’t turned it and it was burning her. She was really red.

“I thought I had seen a little boy sitting on the sink watching me take a shower so I felt really freaked out. I was sitting there the next night and maybe I’m crazy, but I could have sworn I could see this little boy sitting there on the sink, kicking his feet.”

The family later discovered the apartment was reportedly haunted and Miley has vowed never to stay there again.

She said: “We found out that there was this older man that owned it [the bakery that had once been in the building] and his son lived with him there, and I guess the wife died or something, she had gotten sick.

“So it was just the son and the dad that lived there in the bakery, and then the dad died and the son took over the bakery, and I thought I was seeing the son. I’m not even kidding.

“I had to move. That’s not a lie. I will never stay there ever again.”

I think it’s safe to say that ever since Ghost Hunters came on the air, any business that can charge admission of some kind is not “reportedly haunted.” Hell, it’s an easy way to make a buck, and all you have to do is make up some cliché, non-verifiable story, and the knuckleheads will eat it up and pay $200 to get in and investigate with 150 other knuckleheads. Like, totally seriously though, old faucets and valves can move on their own if they are old, broken,, and there’s enough water pressure. Like, totally.

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Whether you believe in ghosts or not, you have to admit that the phenomena is interesting on a certain level, whether it’s a real phenomenon or just some sub-conscious human affect. Because whether they exist or not, people see them and experience them. For me, I’ve always felt the more interesting common thread in poltergeist reports was the presence of a pubescent girl in the family, but the economic slant is interesting as well, even if I don’t necessarily see the same correlation.

“Can I, like, crash here till I’m back on my feet?”

In the late 1970s, an item was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 that caught the attention of Today Programme’s guest editor, Al Murray.

The report, about a bizarre poltergeist incident in north London left him wondering why the supernatural seems to have become suburbanised.

Three decades on, our reporter Tom Bateman has been trying to find out… with the help of one or two ghost-hunters.

“Poltergeists seem to occur and concentrate in cramped domestic situations,” the Society for Psychical Research’s Alan Murdie told the Today programme. “One factor which always seems to be present – it’s a family under stress.”

But author Roger Clarke believes there is a more practical explanation for so-called sightings: “I feel personally that you can associate ghost beliefs with periods of economic downturn… People get a bit more fearful.”

My day job takes me into lots of homes where families live in cramped, tight quarters where they are experiencing lots of stressors. And rarely are any of those stressors paranormal in nature. The economy may have an impact on occurences of the paranormal, but honestly, factors such as culture, class, and race have far more impact on who reports having experienced the paranormal.

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Gocool(left), Geroge Michael(center), Roche(right)

George Michael, beloved musical icon and philanthropist, may have received a carless whisper from the edge of heaven from an unlikely source near his home in Highgate, Greater London, UK over the weekend. Micky Gocool and Louise Roche of the North London Paranormal Investigators just happened to be passing through on Saturday afternoon while the singer was talking with fans outside. The duo, “sporting black combat boots and [police-style belts] with ghost-nabbing gadgets” then reportedly asked Mr. Michael if he would be interested in assisting them on a case in the highly active Pond Square area.

But wait- that’s not all!

Gocool and Roche also warned Michael that his historic, multi-million dollar mansion could very well be haunted. The mansion happens to be located near the famous Highgate Cemetery, where the Highgate Vampire was first spotted. Another alleged ghost is a 17th century woman who murdered 50 children. A third viable candidate is the fearsome frozen chicken. Yes. Chicken. Gocool cautioned that “the ghost of a chicken which was frozen in 1626 haunts the area just by George’s house.” Good call Gocool, after just barely recovering from a nasty case of pneumonia in late 2011, the last thing Mr. Michael needs is severe food poisoning from 100 year old frost bitten chicken.

It is unclear if Michael had faith enough to listen without prejudice, but he did take the time to pose for a picture with the investigators which ran in the local newspaper. What a mensch.

Read the full stories here and here.

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I love me some Adele. I mean, who doesn’t? She’s so hot right now. AND she believes her crazy huge house is haunted. Naturally, when you are rich and famous you invite other people who are rich and (slightly less) famous than you to come find out what’s going on.

Dear Ghosts: I'm watching you. Sincerely, Adele

Adele has invited Robbie Williams to stay at her haunted mansion.

The 23-year-old ‘Someone Like You’ singer reportedly believes her 10-bedroom home is Sussex, England, is being staked out by ghosts, and has invited super-natural enthusiast Robbie and his wife Ayda Field to come and experience the spooky goings-on.

A source said: “Adele’s often said she hates staying at home alone in the mansion because she’s sure it’s haunted and she gets spooked.

“She knows Robbie and Ayda are fascinated by the supernatural and has offered to have them to stay for a haunted weekend any time they like.

“Adele thinks they are both fantastic and would love to spend some time sharing ghost stories and witnessing paranormal activity.”

The Grammy Award-winning star left London and moved to the £7 ($11.1) million house a few months ago after undergoing surgery on her vocal chords. It is thought doctors advised her the clean, country air could aid her recovery.

A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “Adele is a London girl through and through, but she’s never been particularly into the showbiz circuit so when it was suggested she move out of the city, she agreed immediately.

“The idea is for her to live in the countryside, away from the capital’s smog and pollution.”

It seems as though ghosts enjoy fresh air and the countryside as well as singers.

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Sting, who’s looking a bit like Peter Griffin in the episode where he adopts birds into his beard, is releasing a winter-themed album this year that is “spooky” and “ghostly.” AND, if that’s not enough, he also claims to have seen a ghost!

Sting, as interpreted by me

Rocker STING and his wife TRUDIE STYLER were left spooked one night, when they both saw a ghost in their bedroom.

The former Police frontman never believed in a ghostly afterlife until he and Styler spotted a spectre in a home they used to own.

He says, “I would never have said I believe in ghosts, until I saw one – and I’ve seen a ghost with my own eyes. I woke up at three in the morning, bolt upright, looked into the corner of the room and thought I saw Trudie standing there with a child – our child – in her arms, staring at me.

“And I thought, ‘Well, that’s strange – why is she standing in a corner, staring at me?’. And I then reached next to me and there was Trudie, and I suddenly got this terrible chill. And she woke up and said ‘Gosh, who is that?’ and she saw this woman and a child in the corner of the room. A lot of things happened in that house, a lot of flying objects and voices and strange, strange things happened.

“When you live in old houses you get this energy there. Intellectually, no I don’t believe in them (ghosts), but I’ve experienced them on an emotional level.”

I feel mildly insulted and am not quite sure why. Plus, how can you disbelieve and believe something at the same time? Maybe it wasn’t a ghost but just a pale stalker who couldn’t find a babysitter. Harumph.

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