The hidden dangers of ghost hunting

Watch your step!

When most people think about the dangers inherent to ghost hunting, some of the possibilities that spring easily to mind are:

* Getting startled and having a heart attack.
* Being cursed forever.
* Dropping dead from terror at the sound of a ghostly voice telling you to "Get ouuuuuut."

But there are a lot of other, more mundane dangers afoot. Rotten floorboards are practically a given in any abandoned home, not to mention the risk of inhaling asbestos or getting tetanus from a rusty nail.

Those who prefer to go ghost hunting illegally, in abandoned buildings, must also contend with the constant threat of the police being called in. A trespassing charge is no joke, and nothing puts a damper on a night's fun like a ride back to the police station in the back seat of a police cruiser.

Greg Newkirk of Week in Weird recently shared a great story of one of his earlier paranormal expeditions gone horribly awry, though not in a paranormal way. When he was in high school, he and his buddies went ghost hunting in an abandoned home in rural Pennsylvania which they had dubbed the "Murder House."

Murder may or may not have been committed in the house, but another crime definitely was. In fact, it was in the process of happening when they were there. The boys are lucky that the meth cookers opted to hide when a bunch of kids burst in on them, instead of (say) shooting the kids and leaving them for dead.

Note to future ghost hunters: Make sure the house is ACTUALLY unoccupied when you go hunting!