Every now and then Craigslist gets a whopper of an ad. This ad was discovered by a woman who was researching the Southwest Florida region.

“HAUNTED TV - Toshiba TW40 40″ HDTV television

I am selling my 5 year old Toshiba HDTV because I am a college student who is unable to transport it to another school. It is rather large because its a projection and weighs about 100 pounds. It works fine, has a nice glossy screen and is in good condition.

There is one caveat that I must bring to the buyer’s attention: This TV is almost certainly haunted by the spirit of a 1970’s-era baptist pastor named Klent Kloom. He is harmless, but the buyer should be comfortable with cries of “HALLELUJIA”" (sic) at unearthly hours of night. I am unfamiliar with exorcism and cannot find a good reference on the internet. … Original URL: http://fortmyers.craigslist.org/ele/532991654.html

I had to admit that I was curious about Kent Kloom and why he would pick a TV, of all things, to haunt. Then I remembered those stupid TV evangelists and moved on to investigate Kloom. The Craigslist ad has since been flagged for removal. A quick check in Google revealed this thread in the Something Awful forum. A grin spread across my face, which is a hard thing for me to do in the morning.

This entire thing was a hoax.

Dreadite says:

I checked my Gmail about 3 hours later to see if there were any inquiries. One caught my eye: the local newspaper wanted to do a report on my “haunted” tv. I couldn’t pass this up, so I called the number the reporter left me and went through with the phone interview. I basically made up all the details on the phone, and that was that.

Here is the resulting article from the unsuspecting reporter, which caught my attention in the first place. Dreadite has since sold his TV, and the news article was syndicated on a score of blogs. It even received 3 Diggs.

Chris Carter still hasn’t come up with a title for his movie sequel to the popular X-Files series. While he refuses to divulge any information about the plot, he has announced that he has dumped the conspiracy theory that kept fans glued to their sets for the better part of a decade.

“There’s a whole audience I want to introduce X-Files to,” Carter says. “There were kids who couldn’t watch it on TV because it was too scary. Now they’re in college. I wanted a movie that everyone could go to.”

I have to admit that I enjoyed the show’s stand-alone episodes better than the main theme because they centered on paranormal subjects such as ghosts, curses, cults, etc. And, I enjoyed the interaction between Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. They had an outstanding chemistry. If and when this movie ever comes out, I’ll be curious to see it. I may even take my boys, who were infants when the X-Files premiered.

Blair Butler of the G4TV network says the film could benefit from an ironic twist: the Writers Guild strike. She feels that it might be “comfort food” for the people who enjoyed the original show and are now forced to watch reruns of their now-favorite shows. Hopefully, the X-Files hasn’t fallen too far off the radar. But if it has, and the movie is good, the X-Files could receive a welcome comeback.

Source: freep.com

Ghost Hunters, SCI FI’s popular reality series, will return to the Channel for an exciting fourth season. America’s favorite paranormal plumbers, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, will deliver 13 episodes of spine-tingling investigations when the show returns next year. Upcoming episodes will feature the intrepid Ghost Hunters exploring a chilling range of bizarre occurrences that will challenge the most hard-boiled of skeptics. In an added bonus for viewers, the Ghost Hunters will round out the third season with six extra episodes set to premiere this spring, and an additional six slated for debut this fall. From investigations of stateside hauntings to a tour of Jack the Ripper’s London and an exploration of the eerie Lisheen Ruins of Ireland, Jason and Grant leave no metaphysical stone unturned. The 2006 season of Ghost Hunters ranked as the highest-rated and most-watched season in HH ratings and all key demos. Season three also marked the first time audience numbers in the key P18-49 and P25-54 demos averaged over 1 million viewers throughout its run.

SCI FI further announced the 2nd annual Ghost Hunters Live special on Halloween night. The first Ghost Hunters Live, a one-of-a-kind, 6-hour investigative television event, tripled the viewing audience for the time period. From 11 pm on All Hallows’ Eve to 5 am the following morning, this supernatural all-nighter kept audiences on the edge of their seat, reporting paranormal sightings via the live interactive “panic button.”

The one-hour weekly reality series follows a group of real-life “ghostbusters” as they investigate haunted houses and establishments throughout the country. Enjoying record-high ratings throughout its series run, Ghost Hunters has featured speaking entities, mysteriously moving furniture, ghostly visages and a healthy dose of squabbling within the investigating team. Being scared has never been so much fun!

Produced in association with Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Films and Television (American Chopper, Dirty Jobs, The Ultimate Fighter), the Ghost Hunters are committed to the search for the truth – or the truly bizarre. Piligian and Thomas Thayer serve as executive producers.

After watching a couple of webisodes on Sci-Fi, I’m not surprised by this show’s success. I loved the episode with the Eastern State Penitentiary. They weren’t sure what they saw, but I enjoy their scientific approach to proving/disproving their cases.

I was pleased when I received this book for Christmas because I had put it on my wish list for a writing project I have started working on. Occult Investigator is a collection of true stories by NYC-based investigator Bob Johnson, who owns X-Investigations. The first chapter is an interesting narrative about how he started his paranormal/private investigation business and how he landed his first case.

You’ll find a good variety of stories between the covers of this book. There are ghosts, Santeria demon possession, vampires, werewolves, satanists, etc. I’m not sure which story made me do a double-take: the vampire or the satanist story. I can’t imagine how I would feel if I were to search my teenager’s room to find an ornate silver box filled with dirt and bone fragments hidden inside his closet.

Many of these stories read like bite-sized fiction novels, only without the drama and suspense. Highly recommended.