Ring doorbells might be designed to spot physical intruders.
But that hasn’t stopped the high-tech devices from capturing some of Britain’s strangest supernatural trespassers in terrifying detail.
With Halloween just a day away, Ring has released footage of paranormal activity captured by members of the public.
In one haunting video, a ‘ghost’ orb is spotted on camera as it drifts across a Preston kitchen.
Rebecca Reeves, who submitted the footage of her kitchen, says she thinks the spectral apparition could be a deceased relative dropping in to say hello.
‘I think it’s an orb with the way it glides in the room,’ Ms Reeves said.
‘I didn’t feel uneasy about it because I’m not really sure what it is.’
‘I did look online about orbs and their nature, and didn’t read anything negative about them, so that did make me think maybe it’s a relative keeping an eye on our pet dog Albus whilst we popped out.’
Ring cameras have captured eery footage from inside Britain’s spookiest homes. This image shows the moment a ‘ghost’ orb appears inside a kitchen in Preston
Dawn Gallagher, who shared the video of her Glasgow home, says that she noticed the activity after the mysterious orb set off the camera’s movement notification
Yvette Fielding, former star of ‘Most Haunted’, partnered with Ring to reveal the most haunted homes around the country.
In the clip chosen by Ms Fielding as the spookiest of all, footage from a Ring camera shows the interior of a kitchen.
The camera then captures the moment a silvery orb appears to emerge from nowhere and drift towards the camera before fading away.
Although Ms Reeves says she is not concerned about the presence of a floating orb in the kitchen, she also notes that the potential haunting could be having other effects.
‘I do suffer with sleep paralysis at times so I never know if it’s that that is causing me to experience things, such as the feel of someone being in the room with me or feeling like someone is sat on the end of the bed,’ she said.
In another video, which was selected as a runner-up, the Ring camera footage shows what appears to be another orb drifting.
Dawn Gallagher, who shared the video of her Glasgow home, says that she noticed the activity after the mysterious orb set off the camera’s movement notification.
‘This was the first time we have caught anything paranormal on our Ring devices,’ says Ms Gallagher.
Veteran ghost hunter Yvette Fielding says that orbs like these could be the first signs of a ghostly manifestation
‘To us and everyone I’ve shown the video to, it looks like a white orb with a trail. At the time my partner Alex and I were quite shocked as it didn’t look like an insect.’
Even though these clips might not seem that shocking, Ms Fielding says they could be a sign of more activity to come.
‘The light anomalies caught on the Ring device are interesting,’ she explained.
‘The fact that there is only one on its own in each video makes this footage fascinating as it could be the first stage of a ghost manifestation and worthy of further investigation.’
However, many sceptics would naturally call these conclusions into question.
In a blog post, the Paranormal Investigators of Milwaukee (PIM) write: ‘The truth of the matter is, 99.9% of all orb pictures can be explained as dust, insects, mold spores, or pollen.’
They explain that small particles in the air which would be invisible to the naked eye can refract light into bright flashes.
This effect causes a small piece of dust to appear like a floating orb which drifts aimlessly in front of the camera.
The PIM adds: ‘Calling orbs anything else is either ignorant, misleading, or both.’
As for Ms Reeves’ sleep paralysis, this is an entirely natural phenomenon which could affect anyone.
During sleep paralysis, a person is caught in between the stages of sleep so their brain is awake and active while their body is still fast asleep.
One clip captured by a Ring camera which cannot be explained by dust motes or sleep paralysis was submitted by Rose and Paul Lynch from Hampshire
In the footage, Paul Lynch from Hampshire (pictured) turns to answer the ghostly voice only to find that there is no one there
This can cause total paralysis accompanied by an intense feeling of fear which can last for several minutes.
What makes this so scary is that hallucinations, a feeling of pressure on the chest, and the sense of a ‘presence’ in the room are all common and natural side-effects of the condition.
This would go a long way to explain why Ms Reeves says she feels like someone is in the room with her during her incidents of sleep paralysis.
However, one clip captured by a Ring camera which cannot be explained by dust motes or sleep paralysis was submitted by Rose and Paul Lynch from Hampshire.
This footage appears to show a disembodied voice saying ‘Morning mate’ while no one is nearby.
Ms Lynch says: ‘You can see Paul responds automatically and then looks around puzzled as he can’t see anyone and the voice sounds close like it’s right behind him.
‘As soon as he got in his work van parked just to the right of the video, he called me and asked me to check the Ring doorbell as he was a little freaked out.’
While skeptics might have their own interpretation, for Ms Fielding this is strong evidence that paranormal activity is afoot.
Ms Fielding says: ‘It can be quite daunting hearing an unexpected voice at your door, even more so when there’s nobody there.
‘Hearing disembodied voices is a sign of a potential haunting within or around the home, so there could very well be something paranormal occurring here.’
Luckily, if you encounter something which seems paranormal this Halloween, Ms Fielding says that there are some simple steps you can take.
‘The very first thing to do is to talk out loud to the spirit in the house. You need to be firm, direct but respectful,’ she said.
‘Ask them politely to stop and that you mean them no harm or disrespect.’
She adds that it is important to record the incident on video and make a careful diary of anything going on at the time.
This will ensure that you are able to prove what happened was real or find a natural explanation for the strange events.
And, if the polite approach fails, Ms Fielding says that you should call in the professionals to deal with your ghost problem directly.
She concludes: ‘If this doesn’t help then call in a professional paranormal investigation group. Make sure you do your research before engaging a company.’
