A Hubei woman has sought psychiatric help after her "ghost detector" app unearthed a deep-rooted fear of ghosts on Tomb-Sweeping Day.
The woman, surnamed Wu, "detected" three ghosts using the app, which surveys the room using the phone's camera and displays a blob-like image when a ghost is supposedly present. Wu, from Wuhan, was so scared by the fake paranormal episode that she has experienced hallucinations and insomnia since.
A chief psychiatrist at Hankou Hospital, Hu Honghui, diagnosed Wu as suffering from phasmophobia, or an endemic fear of ghosts. He linked her terror back to childhood episodes such as being involved in her aunt's funeral and parents telling her ghost stories to make her behave.
Although the app comes with a disclaimer saying that it is designed for entertainment purposes only, some internet users have said that this message could be clearer. Others have warned off anyone who is scared of ghosts from using the app.
"Some people really believe in [ghosts] and the app developer could get in trouble if something serious occurs," said one commentator, Rentian.
Others have criticised parents who use ghost stories as a way to scare their children into behaving, with one ifeng.com user saying "such trauma could last a lifetime".
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