Ghost for Sale

June 5, 2003 2:59 PM

How much would you pay for a ghost? At the time of posting, the bidding for this "Ghost in a Jar" had reached over $750,000. Given the seller's stated experience with the ghost, would you buy this?
posted by darsh (35 comments total)

No, I'd go for one of the others. There's bound to be a bargain or two there.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 3:08 PM on June 5, 2003

I've got some lint in my pocket. Do you think he would trade?
posted by moonbiter at 3:15 PM on June 5, 2003

Aren't there some pretty serious liability issues associated with selling something like that?
posted by mr_roboto at 3:23 PM on June 5, 2003

whoa over $2mil now...
posted by ubi at 3:24 PM on June 5, 2003

The ouija board says:
e-b-a-y-f-i-l-t-e-r
posted by 111 at 3:26 PM on June 5, 2003

Now it's at 30 million.... he'll have to re-auction it. People are just messing with him, perhaps not realizing the legal implications.
posted by Spacelegoman at 3:26 PM on June 5, 2003

this toast in jar chick is hot
posted by delmoi at 3:27 PM on June 5, 2003

Weird thing is, the high bidder at $31 million has a feedback rating of over 100. What's with that? Is a feedback of 104 something you just throw away on a joke bid?
posted by mr_roboto at 3:29 PM on June 5, 2003

$100 Million. Bargain.
posted by crayfish at 3:31 PM on June 5, 2003

Wow, $100 Million? If I'd have known necromancy was so profitable, I'd have picked a different major in college!
posted by Mitrovarr at 4:01 PM on June 5, 2003

The ouija board says: e-b-a-y-f-i-l-t-e-r

The MetaTalk board says: shut up.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 4:03 PM on June 5, 2003

If I could own anything in the world, I would want to own a ghost in a jar. Just think about the implications of owning a ghost...
posted by catfood at 4:03 PM on June 5, 2003

It's like something out a movie - can't you picture a pair of millionare archaeologists who'd been searching for the Accursed Jar for years only to have it come up on eBay and embroil them in an insane bidding war?

What's in there, who wants it so badly, and what's going to happen to the people who win this auction? (Well, apart from the more-than-likely auction fraud case...)

On Preview: it's back down to $600,000... and now $550,000 - what's going on? Are they retracting the bids one by one?
posted by wanderingmind at 4:07 PM on June 5, 2003

down to $17,000!
posted by magnificentsven at 4:09 PM on June 5, 2003

Apparently the EBay bid database is haunted, too.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:12 PM on June 5, 2003

Just think about the implications of owning a ghost...

Ooh! Are there 13th Amendment issues?
posted by mr_roboto at 4:17 PM on June 5, 2003

Check the bid history. Virtually all of them are "fraud," "bogus" or "playing games, reported to ebay."
posted by Ljubljana at 4:45 PM on June 5, 2003

It's like something out a movie

I wouldn't be surprised if this is in fact a film stunt a la Blair Witch or AI.
posted by SilentSalamander at 4:58 PM on June 5, 2003

This gives me a good idea for a Call of Cthulhu game.
posted by Hildago at 4:58 PM on June 5, 2003

Recipe for a "real" ghost-in-a-bottle:

1) Find yourself an empty soda bottle or somesuch. Glass works best, but I suppose you could try it with plastic. Don't blame me for the consequences if you deviate, however.

2) Put the bottle in the freezer for an hour or so. Let it get good and freezy.

3) Get a penny, and get that penny good and wet. With water. Okay, maybe spit will work, too.

4) Take the bottle out of the freezer, and put the moistened penny over the opening of the bottle, so it covers the whole thing. Put another drop or three of water on the penny, so it makes a nice little seal over the top. (If the penny falls in, you're using the wrong kind of bottle. Try again.)

5) Put your hands around the bottle to warm it some and wake up the ghost. Chant the magic words: "Eyam-Abi-Gold-Ummi". You will see the penny rattle as the ghost attempts to esape from its glassy prison.

6) Quickly put the bottle back in the freezer. Repeat as desired, or try to sell it on ebay.

I take no responsibility for any Black Shape activity. Perform at your own risk.
posted by majcher at 5:11 PM on June 5, 2003

"This is where we put all the vapors and entities and slimers that we trap. Quite simple, really. Load a trap here, open, unlock the system. Insert the trap, release, close, lock the system. Set your entry grid, neutralize your field and... the light is green, the trap is clean! The ghost is incarcerated here in our custom-made storage facility."
posted by eyebeam at 5:38 PM on June 5, 2003

It appears an eBay user with a rating of -2 has won the auction with a bid of $50,000.

Gosh. I wonder if he's a real user who's going to pay.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 6:10 PM on June 5, 2003

Ah, but the runner up bidder has the "original" ghost in a jar...apparently, in a bid to be the ebay microsoft, he's buying up the competition.
posted by dejah420 at 6:55 PM on June 5, 2003

I seem to recall a similar story about a sponge.
posted by son_of_minya at 7:43 PM on June 5, 2003

Even more lame, someone actually registered ghostinajar.com, and.. perhaps even more so, someone (me) actually tried the domain name in the first place.
posted by wackybrit at 7:53 PM on June 5, 2003

No such thing as ghosts. And if there were I'd go catch one myself for free. If I wanted one. Which I don't.
posted by konolia at 9:07 PM on June 5, 2003

Having now read the post, what this guy really has is a demon in a jar.
posted by konolia at 9:10 PM on June 5, 2003

Any body else read expiration date?
posted by daver at 10:34 PM on June 5, 2003

Yes, I have. A step below the genius of Last Call, but still pretty good.
posted by monkeyman at 4:59 AM on June 6, 2003

I like the "Ghost in a pickle jar":

"I STUMBLED UPON THIS WHILE CLEANING OUT MY FRUIT CELLAR.

I DON'T KNOW IF I SHOULD OPEN IT, AS I AM AFRAID AS TO WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN.

I DO KNOW THAT MY CATS DON'T WANT ANY PART OF THIS.

I HAVE JUST BECOME AWARE THAT IT KNOWS IT IS BEING AUCTIONED, AND IT IS NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.

PLEASE, CONSIDER WHAT YOU ARE GETTING YOURSELF INTO BEFORE BIDDING!

THIS IS NOT A JOKE!! "

14 bids, $14,999 and counting.


I'm wondering if a should put my "Henry Kissinger in a jar" up for bidding?
posted by troutfishing at 5:58 AM on June 6, 2003

Hildago, Lovecraft beat you to the ghost in a bottle idea a long time ago, check out the "The Terrible Old Man". The story can be found in this anthology: The Road to Madness.
posted by GreenDragon at 7:23 AM on June 6, 2003

The ghost in a jar meme seems to be this month's "giant cheeto". The joke auctions have begun to pile up already. Even Rob from cockeyed got in on the action.
posted by O9scar at 7:36 AM on June 6, 2003

This is wrong. All wrong. The ghost is supposed to be in the machine. I think it's the Genie that's supposed to be in the jar; either that or in the lavalamp, I'm not sure. But I'm sure the ghost is supposed to be in the machine.

So, yes. A very active little Ebay Ghost-in-a-Jar cottage industry springing up, but here's one I like. A lot. If I were in the U.S., I'd get this as a future memento of when the internet was pubescent and innocent, and we still sold ghosts in jars...
posted by taz at 7:48 AM on June 6, 2003

Meesa no like this meme.
posted by yhbc at 7:52 AM on June 6, 2003

Alas.. everything is for sale.. for the right price. EBay auction of www.ghost-in-a-jar.com
posted by Nauip at 10:43 AM on June 9, 2003