If you're looking for something spooky to do this Halloween, you might consider walking around the block to search for ghosts in your neighborhood.
Just in time for the scariest night of the year, networking and communications company D-Link announced it is offering customers free refurbished cameras equipped with motion detectors and night-vision capabilities — perfect for keeping an eye out for things that go bump in the night. These Wi-Fi-enabled cameras, which let users monitor footage in real time from a mobile device, will be given away to those "looking to capture paranormal activity this Halloween season," according to company representatives.
But to get a free camera, you'll first have to prove your chops as a ghost buster. You can do this by going to D-Link's Web page and submitting a story about how you plan to use the camera. If you're chosen to receive a camera, you'll be asked to create a video detailing how you used the ghost-monitoring apparatus. Then, you'll have to spill all the gory details about what you saw. [13 Halloween Superstitions & Traditions Explained]
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"When we ask customers what they're monitoring with our Wi-Fi cameras, we're always surprised to hear how many are looking to capture the paranormal," Daniel Kelley, vice president of marketing for D-Link, said in a statement. "So, in the spirit (pun intended) of the season, we decided to arm those DIY ghost hunterswith cameras and see what ghoulish images they come up with."
In your request for a free camera, you will need to specify whether you want to monitor ghostly activity inside (with D-Link's Cloud Camera 5000) or outside (with the Outdoor Cloud Camera). Footage from both cameras can be captured in real time from a laptop, smartphone or tablet device. You can also set up instant email alerts that will notify you if the motion sensors on the camera pick up any activity — paranormal or otherwise.
Though D-Link's decision to put free cameras in the hands of ghost hunters is a seasonally appropriate marketing move, it also speaks to a growing trend of ghost huntingthat has gripped parts of American society. Aided, in part, by the SyFy channel series "Ghost Hunters," Americans — as well as those in other parts of the world — are taking to local haunts in hopes of documenting paranormal activity.
And if you're a believer in spooky sightings, you're not alone. A 2005 Gallup poll found that 32 percent of Americans believe in ghosts and 37 percent believe some houses are haunted.
Follow Elizabeth Palermo @techEpalermo. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
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