By Diane Mapes

Spooky footsteps, faint figures, the feeling of being watched – these unsettling signs of a ghost are as familiar to us as the goose bumps on the back of our arm (or neck).

But are there physiological explanations for those things that go bump in the night?

Absolutely, says Joe Nickell, a senior research fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, an organization that promotes scientific inquiry and critical investigation of paranormal and other extraordinary claims.

“I’ve investigated haunted houses, inns, theatres, graveyards, lighthouses, castles, old jails, and even office buildings,” says Nickell, who’s researched stories of ghosts, vampires, werewolves, sea monsters, psychic phenomenon and other unusual phenomenon for 40 years. “And I’ve never found a paranormal explanation.”

Instead, Nickell says “ghosts” are often the result of pranks, environmental phenomenon, or physiological conditions such as sleep paralysis and the hallucinations that accompany it.

By Diane Mapes, contributing writer

Turns out Mom was right yet again. You can scare yourself to death, although not necessarily by watching Halloween horror movies.

Dr. Martin A. Samuels, who studies the sudden death phenomenon, says some people do have the potential to suddenly drop dead from fright.

“It’s a relatively uncommon thing, but it does happen,” says Samuels, chairman of the department of neurology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “You can even find references to it in the Bible.”

Not to mention Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum,” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles” and even recent headlines (“Robber scared grandmother to death”.)

How can a person literally drop dead from fear?

By Diane Mapes

The phenomenon of hair turning white from fright (or shock or grief or stress) persists in literature, poetry and even a handful of medical journals.

But is there any truth to the rumor that we can actually scare our hair?

Yes and no, says dermatologist Dr. David Orentreich, associate director of the Orentreich Medical Group in New York and assistant clinical professor in the department of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

“It’s appealing on a literary or poetic level that a person’s experience could be so severe or terrifying that they age overnight,” he says. “But you can’t lose pigment in your hair. Once it leaves your scalp, it’s non-living, it’s dead."

But, Orentreich says, while fear can’t suddenly cause your hair to turn white, there is a medical condition that could make people think it has.

By Diane Mapes, contributing writer

We all get busy at times, so overwhelmed with work, family, friends and obligations that we neglect our bodies. But how is it possible to be so out of touch with your body that you don’t know you’re about to give birth?

Easy, say the people involved with “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant,” a 10-episode reality TV show that tells the story of 10 women who conceive and carry babies full term without realizing they’re pregnant.

“I think at first glance you think, how could a woman not know,” says Wendy Douglas, director of production for the TLC network. “Clearly she’s not paying attention or not smart or something. But that’s really not the case.”

by Diane Mapes, contributing writer

When Arkansas mom and reality TV star Michelle Duggar announced on the Today show Sept. 1 that she was pregnant with her 19th child, millions of Americans expressed joy and amazement.

But others – undoubtedly the queasiest of the bunch – were a bit uneasy. How could one woman – or rather, one uterus – bear so many children? Isn’t that, well, stretching things a bit?

Not necessarily, experts say.

“The uterus is a remarkably flexible organ,” says Dr. Florence P. Haseltine, ob/gyn and founder of the Society for Women’s Health Research in Alexandria, Va. “It can grow rather rapidly and it can recede rather rapidly. It’s able to reconstruct itself and reconfigure itself quickly.”

By Diane Mapes

We do it when we’re sick, when we’re cleaning out our closets and, according to a recent YouTube chat with astronaut David Wolf, we do it in space. Even pandas do it.

Few really understand what’s happening when our noses explode in a sneeze. As we head into cold season and the dreaded return of swine flu, even the most innocent sneeze (Do you have a cat?!) can spread paranoia. Let go with a noisy honk and watch the uncomfortable reaction, or downright hostile stares, of nearby strangers. But are those powerful sneezes — called sternutations — proof that we’re carrying some kind of virus? Why do we sneeze anyway?

By Diane Mapes

It’s hard enough for anybody to find love, but what do you do if you have a genetic disorder that leaves you completely covered with hair?

In the case of circus star Larry Ramos Gomez, better known as “Wolfboy,” you get your own reality dating show. At least that’s the plan hatched by Zoo Productions, creators of such reality TV fare as “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” and “Girls Behaving Badly.”

Recently divorced, the 31-year-old Mexican, who performs daredevil acrobat acts with his brother Danny, suffers from an extremely rare form of hypertrichosis, a genetic disorder that causes excessive hair growth in places you wouldn’t normally expect it, such as the face.

The reality show, tentatively titled “Wolfboy: Divorced and Looking for Love,” will document Gomez’ search for a girlfriend and his quest to find acceptance as a normal guy.

By Diane Mapes

Spring is here and with it the traditional sounds of allergy season: Sniffling, sneezing, wheezing and “honking.”

But while nearly 35 million Americans cope with everyday allergens like pollen, dust mites or pet dander, there are some itchy souls who suffer from more unusual triggers – nail polish, cockroaches and iPods, to name a few.

“Women will come in with redness on the lids of their eyes,” says Dr. Beth Corn, assistant professor of medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. That’s a telltale sign of nail polish allergy – triggered by a fairly common reaction to the ingredient toluene sulphonamide formaldehyde resin. “I’ll tell them they’re allergic to nail polish and they’ll be shocked. But fingers touch your face a lot, particularly your eyes.”

By Diane Mapes

Misheard song lyrics, sometimes referred to as mondegreens are incredibly common, often hilarious, and always a crowd pleaser, judging by the number of stories, Web sites and water cooler chatter devoted to the topic.

But while we can all point to common misinterpreted lyrics (think “wrapped up like a douche” from Manfred Mann’s “Blinded by the Light”), most of us don’t really know exactly why it happens.

A new study by Dr. Wei Ji Ma, assistant professor of neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Tex., may finally reveal why so many of us think Freddie Mercury is singing “Beelzebub has a devil for a son named Steve” in Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

By Diane Mapes

With the inauguration of President Barack Obama, the left has taken over the White House yet again – just as it did with Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Confused? Don’t be. We’re talking hands, not political ideology.

“I’m a lefty. Get used to it,” Obama said as he signed his first official documents on Tuesday, making him the sixth southpaw-in-chief we’ve seen since the end of World War II. Interestingly, his opponent John McCain was also left-handed, as were former presidents Harry Truman and Bill Clinton, former vice presidents Nelson Rockefeller and Henry Wallace and the 1992 presidential candidate Ross Perot.

Why are so many lefties in or near the White House?