That Time Apple Jacks Was in the Ghost Hunting Business: A Friday Funny

As a paranormal investigator, I’m always on the lookout for affordable, out-of-the box tools and techniques for detecting ghosts. Way back in 1989, a ‘free,’ VERY portable, and quite unique little device became available for would-be ghost hunters…but it would come from a very unlikely source.

That year, Kellog’s Apple Jacks cereal offered up an in-box (heehee) prize that definitely would have appealed to six year old me had I seen it. It was a small, hand-held GHOST DETECTOR! According to the back of the package: “The Ghost Detector is a toy created for play and amusement. There are no real ghosts, but you can still have lots of fun with your friends. If the Ghost Detector turns upright in your hand, flops over after a few minutes, or crawls off your hand, there are no ghosts in the room.”

Kids had a chance at receiving one of three varieties—a neon green, pink, or orange image of a ghostly, shrouded figure on thin black plastic. When the device was placed in the hand, it would react strangely, curling and flopping around, ensuring to the child that there were no ghosts present. But why did this strange little piece of plastic react so erratically when held?  Well, science!

These things operated on the same principle as the Fortune Teller Miracle Fish. Fortune Teller Fish, those red, plastic toys found as carnival prizes and stuffed down English Christmas crackers, were a favorite of mine as a kid, and back then, I loved to watch them writhe and flip and twist in my hand, while consulting the guide to see what each unique movement had to say about my personality and future. What I didn’t know was that there was a perfectly logical explanation as to why they reacted the way they did. 

Fortune Teller Fish, and presumably the Ghost Detectors were made with sodium polyacrylate, a special salt that will grab onto any water molecule it comes into contact with, changing the shape of that molecule, and thus the shape of the fish. Your palm is full of sweat glands, so there’s plenty of moisture to grab onto, making sure that the fish (or ghost detector) WILL move. (Article on how Fortune Fish work)

Personally, I think I would have changed up the marketing and claimed that the movement indicated a ghost WAS present, and that the different movements maybe meant different types of ghosts or different temperaments of the ghost, but I guess that may have been a little too scary for most kids. Six year old me, however, would have been fascinated. I was always a strange kid, though. 

Anyway, hope everyone has a safe and spooky weekend and please let me know…what are some of YOUR favorite cheap and non-traditional investigative tools? Let me know in the comments below, or find me over on Facebook at Theresa’s Haunted History of the Tri-State. Stay spooky, ya’ll!