Margie Patton
Staff Writer
Cell phone apps can be confusing, frustrating, costly, or addictive, but they usually don’t send users to the psych ward. For one Chinese woman, though, the “Ghost Detector” app she downloaded frightened her so deeply she was forced to seek psychiatric care. The 23-year-old claimed to have found three spirits using the app while ghost hunting on Chinese Memorial Day.
The experience left her with severe insomnia and hallucinations. After a psychiatric evaluation, doctors diagnosed her with phasmophobia, or fear of ghosts. The amateur spirit detective must have had fascination as well as fear since doctors discovered the paranormal had played a major part in her childhood. The woman revealed that her parents had often scared her into obedience using ghost stories.
Creators of the app claim that it detects “ghosts, demons, and entities” within a nine mile range using radar. The supernatural phenomena appear as blips on the phone’s display. The app also has a feature which allows the user to “communicate” with the spirits.
Even though the app carries the “for entertainment purposes only” disclaimer, perhaps those brave souls using the “Ghost Detector” should have the numbers of Doctors Venkman, Stantz, and Spengler saved in their phones as well.
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