Spooky, But Good For Business?

We may be living in the 21 century but the possible doings of the 7th century may still be affecting us.

That may be the case if we are likely to visit Thorpe Park, one of the UK's largest theme parks, who have had to move their ‘Storm Surge’ water ride away from what experts believe may have been an ancient burial ground or settlement. After a paranormal detection agency was called in following reports of various ghostly sightings, including that of a headless monk, managers of the park decided to relocate the ride to another area of the park.

And less anyone think that this may just be a case of getting some free publicity, Thorpe Park also called in a forensic geophysicist from Cranfield University who, using deep ground radar, picked up signatures similar to that of an ancient burial ground.

Spooky, eh?

Odd Jobs

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Now and again it’s good to ignore all the dire newspaper headlines and look for the stories that raise an eyebrow or make one laugh. This morning I spotted two articles calling for folk to sign up for unusual jobs and they definitely have raised an eyebrow.

The first job is paying a salary of nearly £24,000 for being a couch potato. It seems that a company that produces a weight-loss product is looking for someone who will eat an extra 500 calories a day in high fat meals such as Chinese takeaways, fish and chips and pizzas and sit around doing nothing. ‘It’s the ultimate work from home job,’ said the spokesman.

I reckon I could do this job but, since the position has already been advertised through the national JobCentre network, I imagine that I’d probably be at the back of the queue of at least a million and a half other people!

The second job I spotted was a voluntary one and so doesn’t pay any money. But if you are willing to spend your evenings in a haunted mansion and act as a guide to those who cough up some cash to be there with you, this might be the very job. Built in 1585, Plas Mawr House in Conwy is home to a bunch of ghosts, three of which like to walk around now and again. There are ‘cold spots’ even in summer.

I’m not too fussed about this particular job. I have enough frights just reading the morning papers, let alone travelling to Conwy for a few more!
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Bottled Ghosts?

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I’ve sometimes said that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get worldwide publicity for something - you just need a very good idea.

This was the case when a manufacturer of electronic cigarettes in New Zealand managed to buy two bottled ghosts for £940. The bidding for the items on a local online auction website attracted over 200,000 views, and the media have now picked up on what is certainly a good story.

It seems that a lady living in Christchurch got fed up with having to share her home with the spirits of an old man and a girl who, among other things, would touch her on the neck, frighten the dog, move things around the house and, without being asked, boil a kettle. So she called in a local exorcist who managed to contain the two spirits in phials of holy water. Since then the lady’s house has been at peace.

Quite what a manufacturer of electronic cigarettes proposes to do with little bottles containing the spirits of two dead people remains to be seen, but it is inviting suggestions as to what they should do with them.

In the meantime, it has already received queries about what it proposes to do for the comfort and well-being of the spirits they now possess. Might there be a danger that the spirits will take possession of them instead?
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