Here is a rundown of the top stories in pseudoscience and paranormal news from the past week courtesy of Doubtful News.

There were two huge strange stories this week that went all over the Internet.

A man in Montana was attempting to prompt some Bigfoot reports by dressing up in a camouflage suit and jumping out on a dark highway. It turned tragic when he was hit by a car and run over by another. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Social media facilitated a scare over a lion sighting in Essex in the U.K. When some witnesses interpreted an animal in a field as a large cat, they reported it to police who launched a large search for the creature. Turns out, there was no lion.

Sometimes well-meaning parents fall prey to scams. The FTC turns a suspicious eye on a company who sold products that supposedly could teach your baby how to read

Chinese parents are mad that this class DIDN'T enhance their kids psychic abilities but instead developed their ability to cheat. 

Are paranormal celebs resorting to cheap parlor tricks to liven up their dead shows? A person attending a paranormal presentation observes some suspicious behavior when paranormal events supposedly happen during the event. Sadly, those darn skeptics are not welcome to contribute their opinions on the observations.

Here is a old occult story in a new light: A movie coming out soon introduces audiences to the curse of the dybbuk box.

Creationists are attempting a Hat Trick. Their Creation Museum in Kentucky will be joined by an exhibition on Noah's Ark and, just announced, a Creation scientist Hall of Fame. But, the tricky part is… those two words, creation and science, just cancel each other out. Their idea of science is really different than the standard one.

In a very disturbing story, a Swiss acupuncturist and healer has been charged with infecting people with HIV via the needles.

Lax standards in alt med are also exhibited in this story which tells of heavy metals found in traditional meds to alleviate troublesome pregnancy symptoms.

Dowsing is known by those in the skeptical community as an "unsinkable rubber duck". People will continue to subscribe to its validity even though after all these centuries of use, it has never been proven to work. In times of drought, people STILL want to see water witching magic along with sound science for well drilling. 

As Doubtful News suspected very early on, actual scientists looking at the mystery object in the Baltic Sea have determined that the anomaly on the sea floor is far more likely to be a glacial feature than a retrievable object. http://doubtfulnews.com/2012/08/baltic-sea-object-is-most-likely-the-thing-we-said-all-along-natural-not-mysterious/

As always, there are news stories about the tremendous power of belief. Padre Pio, not even beloved in his own time, still has faithful followers who claim his relics are miraculous. http://doubtfulnews.com/2012/08/relic-from-padre-pio-associated-with-healing-miracles/

Finally, controversy surrounding the installation of smart meters comes up nearly every week as people express their suspicions about their safety and usefulness. In Texas, they are violently against them even though it would save money and be good for the whole.

 

An expert take on skeptical news of the week is available on a new video cast called Virtual Skeptics. We talk about the latest events that occurred that week. Check it out and tell us what you think.

Visit Doubtful News for more stories, updated every day. Be sure to check out the comments on the stories for some additional info and add yours. There is also a Submit a Story page for you to tip us on a good story about which a larger audience would appreciate knowing.

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Sharon Hill runs Doubtful News, a unique feed of news stories about the paranormal, pseudoscience, the weird and the unexplained with questioning commentary.