IT'S EASY TO forget how many paranormal news stories are reported with a year until you see a roundup like the one following. And these are just the top stories; there were many, many more, proving that 2012 was another remarkable year for the unexplained. There were ghost sightings, ghost pictures and video, dozens and dozens of Bigfoot sightings and lots of alleged Bigfoot pictures and videos. There were also many sightings of lake monsters, chupacabras, and other undefined crypto-creatures.

There were reports of psychic phenomena, work by psychic detectives, stories of exorcisms and miracles... and a lot more, as you'll see in this roundup of the entire year.

GHOSTS, POLTERGEISTS AND HAUNTINGS

Ghost photos and video. The ghost of an 18th century nun was photographed in Galway. The ghost of Guildford was photographed in thick fog. A ghostly photo was captured by students from Triabunna High School. The ghost of Glastonbury pub was allegedly also caught on camera.

A ghostly apparition caught on camera at Perth tearoom was hailed as best evidence of paranormal in 10 years, while a daylight photo from a gazebo at the Weems-Botts Museum shows a ghostly figure. Guests captured yet another spooky visitor in a picture at the haunted Glastonbury pub.

Workers at the Manchester Arms pub in Hull's Old Town claimed to have captured a ghost on video. A grandmother was astonished when a photo from her granddaughter's christening seemed to show the ghost of her late husband. And reporter Vanessa Bolano was working on a story about a haunted plantation when she discovered a ghost on film.

Then some said a ghost appeared in a photo taken at the Stansted pub.

Poltergeists.A grocery throwing poltergeist was reported in a Brompton IGA store. A woman pleaded for help in her own poltergeist nightmare. And a phony video of a woman who claimed she had a haunted toaster went viral.

Haunted places. Noise from a "ghost train" drove residents mad in Kerry. A couple tried to sell a house plagued by the ghost of the Titanic captain who was born there. And a family in Toms River fled their house that they said was haunted.

The Sports Legends Museum was speculated to be haunted. Screaming spirits, unexplained voices and ghosts were reported in the kitchen of a New Mexico haunted saloon. Kansas City was named haunted house capital of the world by USA Today, while Hertford claimed to be the most haunted town in the U.K. And ghosts doled out advice at the Hotel Galvez in Galveston.

Ghost hunting.Grant Wilson explained why he left the Ghost Hunters Syfy show. And a ghost hunter died after exposure to bat and rodent droppings during an investigation.

Life after death. A University of California, Riverside philosophy professor, John Martin Fischer, was awarded a $5 million grant to study life after death. And two quantum physics experts claimed that near-death experiences occur when the soul leaves the nervous system and enters the universe. A woman claimed that her dead son was guiding her hand to send her messages from beyond the grave. Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil analyzed brain activity of spirit mediums.

PSYCHIC PHENOMENA AND PROPHECY

Prophecies. December 21 came and went without an apocalypse or advance in human enlightenment, nullifying any fears about the Mayan calendar. NASA did its best to debunk the prophecy, but mild panic arose in some places.

Mind over matter. A woman in Pittsburgh stunned doctors with her ability to control a robotic arm with her thoughts alone.

Psychic phenomena. A Forest Lake mum won $1.3 million in Gold Lotto after a psychic prediction. Remote viewers in Nevada helped solve a California murder. A US intelligence officer revealed that a psychic was used to track spy Jean-Philippe Wispelaere during a secretive operation.