- CHESTERTOWN, Md. (AP) --
The word "ghost" is hot on the lips of Kent County Courthouse
employees.
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- A new $75,000 security system installed July 1 hasn't
caught any criminals, but it did capture some haunting images of what appears
to be a strange light "walking" in one stairwell.
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- "It didn't show up to the eye, but it showed up
on tape," said security officer Phillip Price.
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- Security personnel first saw the light while looking
at a surveillance tape recorded July 29, and it appeared live for more
than an hour the next day.
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- After noticing the light, Mr. Price walked up the stairs
and didn't see a thing. But downstairs, where by then a crowd of employees
had gathered to watch, the video monitor revealed the strange light moving
ahead of Mr. Price, stopping when he stopped and starting when he started.
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- At one point, those watching the video feed saw Mr. Price
walk through the anomaly, they said. That was about the time that Mr. Price
said he felt something.
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- "I felt a real chill, I will tell you that,"
Mr. Price said.
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- This time of year, the courthouse stairway is warm and
muggy, and Mr. Price said he doesn't have much time for ghosts.
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- Officials in this Eastern Shore town are still trying
to find a scientific explanation for the anomaly, such as dust spots on
the camera lens or a malfunctioning battery. A digital copy of the data
has been sent to Atlantic Security, the firm that installed the cameras.
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- Kent County Sheriff John F. Price said he doesn't believe
in ghosts.
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- "There has to be a logical explanation," he
said, adding, "I'm keeping an open mind."
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- Employees said they have seen odd shadows and heard unexplained
noises, including the sound of closing doors when no one else was around.
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- For those who believe in the paranormal, the image on
the courthouse security camera is described by the Maryland Ghost and Spirit
Association as an "orb," which some believe represents the soul
of a person who has died.
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- If that's true, there could be dozens of explanations,
as the courthouse has been the site of executions dating back to 1746.
A 1969 expansion was built over a forgotten 19th-century cemetery.
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- "If it is a ghost, it's a friendly ghost,"
said Mark Mumford, clerk of the circuit court. "If it's a friendly
ghost, it's not hurting me."
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