CHESTERTOWN, Md. (AP) - It turned out to be just a bug on the lens of a security camera. The would-be ghost haunting Kent County Court House is an anomaly that's happened before, a security company said.

On July 29, for a little more than an hour, a courthouse security camera showed a round, translucent, white object that seemed to ``walk'' up and down a set of stairs inside the newer wing of the courthouse. A security officer first saw the strange light on a delayed video and then live on the video system.

``I've seen it so many times, it's not funny,'' said Brooke Eyler, general manager of Atlantic Security, which installed the courthouse cameras. ``It's definitely a bug.''

But a self-proclaimed ``ghost investigator'' wants to have another look.

Beverly Lipsinger, president of the Maryland Ghost & Spirit Association, said the descriptions she's heard don't sound like a bug. But she hasn't seen the video yet for herself.

``It's a ghost,'' said Lipsinger, a Randallstown resident. ``They don't want to believe, so they're coming up with something.''

She said she wants to view the video and bring in her ``ghost detection equipment,'' including night vision, temperature gauges and en electromagnetic field detector.

Eyler said he has seen how bugs can be distorted on a lens. He said an insect would appear as a white spot due to the curvature of the lens that is focused on a distant spot.

Part of the courthouse dates to 1860, and the newer half was constructed in 1969 on top of a former cemetery. Some courthouse employees said the anomaly on the video confirmed what they believed - that the courthouse is haunted. They said they have heard strange noises such as doors opening and closing when they were alone in the building.

Kent County Sheriff John Price IV said he is satisfied with the technical explanation, which should put the matter to rest.

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