Talk of the Town: Ghosts or ghouls—or just plain paranoia?

Halloween is approaching and scary times are on the way—and I’m not talking about the economy, either!

If you are alone in the house and you hear some weird noises, for goodness sakes, don’t over-react or go into the basement, either. There aren’t many basements in Arizona, anyway. But really, what makes all that banging, scratching, and those rat-a-tat-tat sounds you hear that seem spooky?

What it could be:

You’re tired. Lack of sleep, especially REM sleep, can make you think you’re hearing things. “A brain lacking sleep or under emotional stress is like a brain on drugs,” says psychologist James Houran. “When I used to stay up all night in college cramming for exams, phantom voices often plagued me. Proper nutrition and healthy sleep the next day exorcized the spirits.”

The neighbors.

According to our friends at Real Simple magazine, some strange noises just might be the neighbors. Do you have any idea what’s going on over there all the time?

One man was trying to sneak in the house late at night without waking his wife, when suddenly she woke up screaming thinking that someone was breaking in. Blood-curdling screams, too. That’s enough to wake the dead!!

Your home is critter party central. The paranormal experts visited a house where a woman claimed her cat would freak out at one spot on a wall.

Turned out there was a chipmunk living in the wall and the cat just happened to attack the very spot where it would scamper about unseen by the homeowners.

Your heating or cooling system. These often cause floors and walls to warm up or cool down unevenly. Picture hot air traveling through a duct under your hallway floor. The section of duct closest to the furnace will warm up slightly faster than the part a few feet farther along the hall. As that first area of duct warms, the floor above it might expand slightly, making a creak. Then the second section of duct warms, making another creak, and so on. The result? Creepy footstep sounds.

The 21st century. People who live in close proximity to others often turn on the neighbors’ gadgets or switch their TV channels (right at the best part) with their own remote controls. And batteries dying a slow death can make devices go bonkers.

Your aquarium. Paranormal experts once cracked a case in Connecticut in which homeowners were positive they heard voices. The team traced the sounds to a fish tank — but the guppies were not plotting a great escape. “The water filter was releasing air, and it sounded just like voices,” says TV host Jason Hawes, founder of the Atlantic Paranormal Society.

The electronics are talking back. Radio waves can interfere with audio devices. That means you could be watching “The Price Is Right” when a CB radio interjects, “Papa Bear to Baby Bear. Do you copy?” Thankfully, since this applies only to audio gadgets, you won’t hear your toaster play “Fly Me to the Moon” or your blender criticize your banana daiquiris.

On Sept. 27, the Green Valley Elks Lodge #2592 and the Sahuarita Elks Lodge #2851 sponsored the 2008 Soccer Shoot program. The Soccer Shoot is part of the Elks National Soccer Competition which takes place yearly across the United States and involves thousands of children. The event was held at Sahuarita Park.

This year, 187 children between the ages of four and 14 participated in the event.

Jack Najar from the Green Valley Elks Lodge and Joe Rieman from the Sahuarita Lodge chaired the event. More than 600 people attended, including soccer parents, siblings of the contestants and 47 volunteers.

All of the children who participated were winners, the Elks said.

An awards night following the event on Oct. 6, was hosted by the Green Valley Elks Lodge to recognize all first and second place winners. All were given a trophy to recognize their accomplishments.

In addition, the two overall winners were presented with the Jim Kear Award.

All first-place winners will advance to the South District Soccer Shoot Competition which was be held at the Jesse Owens Park in Tucson this today, Oct. 19. (We are awaiting those results.)

A summary of age group winners ranging from eight and under, to age 14 and under, is as follows:

The first-place winners were: (age 8 & under) girls, Siena Ciruli and for the boys, Seth Johnston; (girls 10 & under) Lindsay Lanaman and boys, Cesar A. Cruz; (girls 12 & under) Alexus Alvarez and boys, Juan Ponce; (girls 14 & under) Brooke Weber and boys, Ben Bernthal.

Second-place winners were: (age 8 & under girls) Selma Cruz and boys, Bryant Harris; (girls 10 and under) Isabella M. Soloza and boys, Logan Lawrence: (girls 12 & under) Melanie Andrade and boys, Isaac A. Redondo; (girls 14 & under); Danielle Lemieux and boys, Kervens Bosma.

Recipients of the Jim Kear Award were Alexus Alvarez and Seth Johnston.

rford@gvnews.com