2009 WAS ANOTHER incredible year for paranormal activity. As I pored over all the news stories of the past year, it was quite a challenge to pull out just the top stories. Every month the news was filled with articles about ghost sightings, photos and videos, creature encounters and psychic phenomena. Even the entertainment media was saturated with the 2012 movie (capitalizing on the hysteria), The Men Who Stare at Goats (based on the military's very real psychic program), the vampire- and werewolf-themed Twilight films and the phenomenon of Paranormal Activity.
So here's a refresher on all of the amazing things that have happened in 2009, including celebrity experiences with the paranormal and this year's passings.
GHOSTS AND HAUNTINGS
Victorian Ghost Videotaped: In January it was reported that Dave Moore of Lancashire, England, captured an interesting image of what appears to be a woman in Victorian garb while ghost hunting at Samlesbury Hall.
Ghost Girl Video: A group of young ghost investigators in Chile claimed to have videotaped what looks like a female ghost in a brief portion of their footage in January.
Shadow Person Video: In February, a 12-year-old boy in the U.K. allegedly captured video footage of a shadow person. His sister claimed someone was mysteriously finishing her jigsaw puzzles at night.
Art of Haunting: In March it was reported that construction workers at an art gallery were quite spooked by the sounds of footsteps on an old floor that had been removed.
Ghost Accomplice: A murder suspect told authorities that ghosts taunted him into shooting his girlfriend in March.
Google Ghost: In March, a photo was released from Google Street View that appears to show a Victorian ghost in Cardiff, though many suspected it was an actress in costume.
Scottish Castle Photo: Though taken in 2008, the photo released in March seems to show an apparition in period clothing peering out of the window of the castle. Another photo surfaced in April.
Closed Circuit Ghost: A closed circuit television system seemed to capture the image of an apparition in Liverpool, England in April. More CCTV ghost video was recorded in a mall in Chile in June.
Haunted Treasure: In May, Russian treasure hunters said they were compelled to turn in a buried treasure they had found by a mysterious voice.
Campfire Ghost: In one of the most interesting ghost photos of the year, a woman believes she snapped the image of a ghost at a beach campfire with her cell phone.
Scary EVP: A home video taken by a British woman records a mysterious voice saying, "I'm alive."
Phenomenal Hit: The shoestring-budget movie Paranormal Activity hits the screens in September to great success, if mixed reviews and audience reaction.
Them Bones: A group of West Virginia ghost hunters claimed that a mysterious voice led them to the discovery of bones.
Victim's Ghost: A December TV report about a traffic accident in Chile reportedly shows the ghost of one of the accident victims.
PSYCHIC PHENOMENA AND PROPHECY
Consciousness Spike: In January, the Global Consciousness Project once again provided evidence for psychic connections when in spiked during President Obama's inauguration.
Monk's Vision: Remote viewing Tibetan monks, in April, said they saw extraterrestrial powers saving the world from destroying itself in 2012.
Psychic Soldiers: In May, Wired magazine reported on the Pentagon's search for telepathic soldiers.
Psychic Twitter: In June, the first scientific experiment was conducted via the social messaging service to investigate "remote viewing."
Telepathy Tested: Neuroscience researcher and Laurentian University professor, Dr. Michael Persinger, was said in December to demonstrate telepathy under laboratory conditions.
Next page: Weird Creatures, Lost Worlds, Religious Phenomena
