House Haunted Not by Ghost But by Uninvited 10-Foot Python
— -- For weeks Rachel Leck and Stephen Sagar feared their family's home was being haunted.
They came to this conclusion after finding that objects had been moved from their original positions. Other items, including wine glasses and decorations, had been knocked over.
Sagar told CTV he and his wife thought there was a ghost in their home in Midland, Ontario.
The reality turned out to be not so supernatural but no less scary: a very large snake had taken up residence.
Michigan Woman Finds Snake in Secondhand Couch
Photos Tell You Who Won Snake vs. Croc Battle
Snake Scare Grounds Plane in Australia
Rachel Leck and her son, Xavier, 10, eventually spotted the uninvited guest near the sofa.
"I saw it because it was dangling down as I was about to sit down on the couch," Leck said. "I jumped up, grabbed my kid and ran out of the house screaming."
It was the snake –- a 10-foot long reticulated python –- that had been knocking over items in the home. The reticulated python is the longest snake in the world. It can grow up to 30 feet in length and 300 pounds.
Police and animal control officers came to the home and removed the reptile.
One of the officers reported finding a "rather unhappy, rather ornery snake to deal with," that they were able to "get safely out of there."
Police found the owner of the python - a neighbor of Leck and Sagar - and discovered he had a second snake –- an anaconda –- in his home. The man was cooperative and received a $100 fine for owning exotic pets, which is illegal, police said.
Both snakes were released to a local zoo.
Leck and Sagar were already in the process of packing their things for a move out of the home.
