(Original headline: Steve invents ghost busting machine )
Troubled by that mysterious bump in the night, creak of the floorboards or unaccountable closing of a door?
Mechanical engineer Steve Watson has the answer -- his spirit sensor.
Steve, 48, of Westburn Avenue, Keighley, has invented a machine which will register ghostly goings-on or supernatural shenanigans invisible to the naked eye.
And when his glass domed device picks up the presence, it gives off a cheery chime and flashes red and blue as an alert.
He has already convinced the patent office that there isn't another like it.
Now he is looking for a manufacturer to help him mass-produce the electro-magnetic sensor.
It sits on the mantle piece like a glass domed clock and is activated by electro-magnetic impulses in the room.
And as well as its supernatural function, it can be used for more down to Earth detection.
It will pick-up levels of electro-magnetic waves from electricity pylons, power lines and mobile phone masts, so it is a health aid.
His brainwave came as he stood musing on the paranormal at his works machine.
Steve, who has had a number of mysterious encounters, had been contemplating for some time how to produce a more sophisticated ghost finder.
He was not convinced by instruments already on the market, such as the dream catcher.
"The inventor claims it can catch bad dreams as you sleep by placing it above your bed. In the morning the idea is that they can be shaken out of the bedroom window," explained Steve.
"I wanted something more modern and had been working on my idea for some time when I saw a programme on television about inventions called What's the Big Idea, which featured Colin Cramphorn of the Inventions company.
"I contacted him and he put me in touch with Alister Swanwick, of Innovate, in London, who helped to construct and design the sensor.
"When I went back down to London about six months later and saw the prototype, I was really impressed. It's unique and I'm sure it will not just appeal to people interested in the paranormal."
Steve also sees his spirit sensor as an interesting conversation sparker.
"When it goes off, people might argue about what had caused it. Was it a ghost or wasn't it? It's a talking point," he said.
His own strange encounters have included the vision of a mysterious plume in a bedroom and an apparition in Blea Moor Tunnel, on the Settle to Carlisle railway line.
A spokesman for the company Inventions, which helps with the research, said: "Recently it has been postulated that spirits or ghosts cause electro-magnetic disturbance when they are present."
The spirit sensor was a novel yet highly effective means of detecting this energy, he said.
