Tweeters are being invited to submit questions for the spirits of departed celebrities including Michael Jackson and William Shakespeare as part of the world's first Twitter seance. A psychic medium will then try to contact the stars - who were chosen along with actor River Phoenix and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain from nominations sent in by the public - at the London-based seance on Friday, the day before Halloween.
Other prominent dead figures nominated by tweeters keen to pose questions during the "tweance" included John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe, Abraham Lincoln and Houdini.
Twitter users will be able to follow the seance live on the micro-blogging site, which psychic Jayne Wallace will use to relay any responses she receives from the spirits. (Reuters)
China looking for US bomber missing for 59 years
China has begun looking for the remains of a US Air Force bomber and its crew that crashed over the southern part of the country some six decades ago during the Korean War, state media reported.
The B-29 "Superfortress" caught fire and came down in Raoping county, Guangdong province, on November 5, 1950, Xinhua news agency said. Villagers found 15 bodies, four of which were buried on the site of the crash.
The reported crash site is hundreds of miles from the combat zone in Korea, but en route to the US bases in Japan from which the bombers operated during the war.
Chinese military archivists are now looking through old documents and "could very likely discover the remains of personnel on the US B-29 bomber," Xinhua said.
"Primary research of the archives has found more than 100 documents relating to missing US servicemen," Xinhua added.
The US Department of Defence says more than 8,100 US personnel are still officially listed as missing from the Korean War, in which US-led forces faced off against the North Koreans and their Chinese allies. (Reuters)
Clown crashes into police car
A Vancouver-area man has learned that if driving erratically in a clown suit is not enough to signal intoxication, then crashing into a police car certainly is.
A police officer in suburban West Vancouver was searching for suspects involved in a reported fight when he spotted a man, later found to be wearing a brightly coloured clown costume, driving at him on the wrong side of the road.
The officer stopped his own car and turned on its emergency lights to warn the other driver, who nonetheless crashed head-on into the cruiser at 20-30 kilometres per hour. There were no injuries.
A 29-year-old man is facing charges including impaired driving. He "will have some explaining to do in court," police said in a statement. (Reuters)
Sour milk
People in the UK are more likely to be afraid of sour milk this Halloween than spiders, snakes or blood, research revealed.
While witches, ghouls and creepy-crawlies may be the more traditional spooky symbols, a survey has found people are more frightened of what is lurking in their fridge.
Researchers revealed that nearly 50 per cent of the 1,363 people questioned suffer from acerphobia - the fear of sour milk. (PA)
Pirate flag
A pirate flag raised to promote a Halloween event was taken down after complaints that it was inappropriate.
The Jolly Roger was hoisted above Inverness Town House to promote Highland Council's Blackbeard's Haunted Ness Islands, a theatrical Halloween event held during the Inverness Winter Festival.
The skull and crossbones flag was supposed to stay in place until Friday but it was replaced by the Saltire when it attracted complaints. (PA)
Fear of fear
While most people shy away from confronting their fears, visitors to a new attraction are being invited to do just that.
The London Bridge Experience is launching its Phobophobia show - which means the fear of fear - in time for Halloween. People will be invited to handle real snakes and spiders or allow a scorpion to crawl over their hands. (PA)
Troops' trouble and strife
Three paratroopers and three women face up to five years in US federal prison when sentenced for their roles in what authorities say was a marriage scheme that garnered US citizenship for Russian brides and coveted housing allowances for junior enlisted men.
One of the men, Sergeant Jason Hawk, met his bride for the first time when he picked her up at a bus stop near his Army base a day before their wedding. Prosecutors say the speedy romance was echoed by a fast honeymoon: Ayna Ivanova returned to New York soon after.
Prosecutors said the marriages cost the government at least $200,000 dollars (€135,000) in wages and benefits. (PA)
Money for nothing
A man admitted banking more than $470,000 US dollars (€317,000) in pay cheques from a company he never worked for.
Anthony Armatys, 35, of Palatine, Illinois, pleaded guilty in New Jersey Superior Court to one count of theft as part of a plea bargain.
Prosecutors say Mr Armatys accepted a job with Basking Ridge, New Jersey-based telecommunications company Avaya in September 2002, then changed his mind. But the company's computer system never removed his name from the payroll. (PA)