Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Study: Horror films burn calories WESTMINSTER, England, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Scientists at a British university said their research indicates horror movie viewers could burn up to 113 calories in 90 minutes. Advertisement Dr. Richard Mackenzie of the University of Westminster, England, said he and his team monitored the heart rate, oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output of people watching scary movies and discovered some of them were burning the same amount of calories found in a chocolate bar, The Mirror reported Monday. "The 10 films tested set pulses racing," Mackenzie said. "Adrenaline is known to lower the appetite, increase the basal metabolic rate and ultimately burn calories." Mackenzie said those watching "The Shining" burned an average 184 calories viewing the film, while "Jaws" viewers burned 161 calories, those watching "The Exorcist" burned 158, "Alien" watchers burned 152 and "Saw" watchers burned 133. Orphaned foxes released after six months Advertisement WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Wildlife rescuers in California said a trio of orphaned gray foxes have returned to the wild after months of attention from rescuers. Jean Yim, wildlife rehabilitation supervisor at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, said the foxes were found in a residential area about six months ago and were cared for by rescuers with the museum until they were healthy and large enough to take care of themselves in the wild, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday. The foxes were released Sunday in the Moraga Hills. "These foxes don't want to be with us, they want to be free," Yim said. "It's a really nice feeling to go through all this work and then see these foxes go back into the wild where they should be. This is what we're all here for." Yim said a fourth fox rescued at the same time was not ready for release Sunday and will continue to be cared for by the museum. Ghost hunters hold seance in Calif. SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- About 50 people, mostly members of the Bay Area Ghost Hunters group, gathered in a San Jose building for a seance. Advertisement The event, organized by the group and led by Livermore-based psychic adviser Irma Slage, allowed participants Sunday at downtown's The Old Spaghetti Factory to ask Slage questions about deceased loved ones, the San Jose Mercury News reported Monday. "A local historian once told me there are no ghosts in San Jose, but she's wrong," said Deb Wible of the ghost hunters group. "Who could even declare such a thing?" The Bay Area Ghost Hunters group is described online as "a networking group for the free flow of paranormal information both in person and on the Internet." 991.5-pound pumpkin tips scales IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- A California man's 991.5-pound pumpkin was the top prize winner at the 2012 Pumpkinmania giant pumpkin weigh-off. Stuart Shim, 53, event organizer and financial manager from Rancho Santa Margarita, said John Sach of Whittier brought the heaviest gourd to the Irvine for Sunday's weigh-off, a 991.5-pound pumpkin he dubbed Sally, The Orange County Register reported Monday. Sach, 68, said his secret to pumpkin growing involves "a lot of water and a lot of food." Sach took home a $1,000 grand prize check.
