Weird Stories for Wednesday's Halloween

Around Halloween, I note weird stories in the media; and some relate somewhat to the topics of this blog.

In the spirit of the spirits, I note four brief news reports that I found on Halloween's Eve on Comcast (and elsewhere, too) that are weird in different ways:

"Couple Dead Serious About Selling House" (Wexford, PA; 10/30/07), also posted on MSNBC here:

It's the deal of a lifetime. Bob and Ricki Husick of Pittsburgh are offering anyone who buys their home a full refund when they die.

The Husicks have been trying to sell their suburban home for almost a year, but have failed to do so in the current shaky market. * * *

The couple have no heirs and built the house in 1993. They want $399,900 for the four-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath home, which is located about 20 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Under the Husicks' offer, the buyer would get the sale price back when they die.

Wait, there's more: If the buyer agrees to care for the couple in old age, he could also inherit their retirement home in Arizona. * * *

"77-Year-Old Gets Carded in Beer Purchase" (Gallivare, Sweden; 10/30/07), also posted on Yahoo! News here:

He may look young for his age, but 77-year-old Swedish retiree Per-Eric Henricsson was not flattered when his local supermarket asked him to show ID to prove that he was old enough to buy a case of beer.

Now, Henricsson has asked the National Association of Senior Citizens for help in adressing the ICA supermarket in Gallivare, northern Sweden, to stop carding the elderly. * * *

The minimum age for buying low-alcohol beer and cider in Swedish supermarkets is 18. Beer with higher alcohol content, wine and spirits are sold in government-operated liquor stores, where 20 is the age limit.

Henricsson had planned to buy a case of beer for a social gathering of the local senior citizens group he leads when the cashier asked for his ID. He said he was so insulted by the request that he refused to make the purchase and left the store. * * *

"Elvis Is Forbes' Richest Dead Celebrity" (New York; 10/30/07), also posted on Yahoo! News here:

Elvis Presley is still the King. Presley, who earned an estimated $49 million in the past 12 months, has reclaimed the No. 1 spot on Forbes.com's list of Top-Earning Dead Celebrities. He last topped the list in 2005.

John Lennon ranks second with earnings of $44 million, followed by Charles M. Schulz ($35 million), George Harrison ($22 million), Albert Einstein ($18 million), Andy Warhol ($15 million), Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) ($13 million), Tupac Shakur ($9 million), Marilyn Monroe ($7 million), Steve McQueen ($6 million), James Brown ($5 million), Bob Marley ($4 million) and James Dean ($3.5 million). * * *

Forbes said the celebrities on the list, posted Monday, earned a combined $232 million in the past 12 months.

"Traffic Stop Yields Embalmed Heads" (Royse City, TX; 10/30/07), also posted on Yahoo! News here:

A traffic stop in Texas yielded about two dozen embalmed heads. But it's no Halloween joke. Investigators said the human heads had been used for medical training in the Fort Worth area and were being returned to Little Rock, Arkansas.

Hunt County Justice of the Peace Aaron Williams was summoned during a traffic stop Sunday in Royse City after a trucker was suspected of speeding.

"This is in the top five of the strangest things maybe the strangest that I've ever encountered," Williams told The Dallas Morning News on Monday. * * *