/ 15 January 2005

Castle ‘ghost’ sent to jail

A Polish woman who pretended to be a ghost and ”haunted” an Alpine castle was sentenced to four months in prison by an Italian court on Friday.

Police were called in to investigate mysterious creaking doors and other unexplained nocturnal noises heard in 15th-century Castel Coldrano, near the Swiss and Austrian borders, by a female occupant who ran the castle’s cultural centre.

Video cameras placed by investigators revealed the noises to be manmade, and arrested the 42-year-old Pole, whose husband worked for the centre.

Police said she was motivated by ”a personal rancour” against the manager, and charged her with harassment and incidental damage to the castle. — Sapa-AFP