A family were given holy water to sprinkle around their house after the ghostly shape of a 'civil war maid' floating in their living room was caught on camera - with their terrified dog looking right at it.
Tim Welty, 25, had visited his parents' home to fix their computer when his mother got in touch to say their camera installed to keep an eye on the dogs had captured something unusual while he'd been round.
A picture that the camera had taken while he had been sat in the room alone showed the shape of a large lady hovering over the sofa and the cocker spaniel looking up at her, with her ears pulled back in fear.
Tim Welty claims his dog spotted the ghost of a civil war maid inside his Virginia Home
Welty believes the dog is alerted to the presence of the apparition which is captured on video
Tim Welty, pictured second right, along with his family Anna, left, mother Cheryl, brother Chris and father Bill, right, was fixing their computer when the ghostly apparition appeared.
After sharing the image, some Catholic friends of the family were so 'freaked out' by what they saw that they gave them holy water and urged them to sprinkle it around.
The family home is thought to be based on the location of a bloody American Civil War battle, and Welty claims the woman looks like an old farm maid from the period.
Father-of-two Welty, from Manassas, Virginia, said: 'It definitely looks like the shape of a woman.
'Our house is on the area where all the civil war farms were. In fact, our house is right on top of the location of the First Battle of the Bull Run - that's where it would have been fought.
'For me, it looks like an old-time work or farm maid. If you zoom in you can see highlights that show a chin so she could be facing forwards. Her nose and chin can also be seen.
'I was completely alone in the house at the time. I was waiting for the computer to update as I was fixing it for my dad.