Gary Cox, who lives with his dog, Honey, in Benteen Park in southeast Atlanta, first encountered the ghost who lives in his house while taking a shower. He later had to shoo away Steve the Ghost, as the being is known, to calm Honey. “Get out of the house, you’re scaring the dog!” Cox shouted. That worked, and he and Steve coexist peacefully now.

Will Gara of Grant Park has seen a black-clad figure more than once in the doorway of his Grant Park home, but his specter is far less friendly. The Shadow Man, as Gara calls him, always seems to bring bad news.

Cynthia Rintye makes a living in the afterlife. She leads ghost tours in Lawrenceville and has a new spoken word album, “Veil of Time,” coming out soon. But after the harrowing night she endured in a graveyard a few years ago, she’s always sure to watch her step.

We asked readers to share their true ghost stories for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's new podcast, "Spooked," and heard these and others. You can listen to our first episode online, on your computer, phone or other mobile device, at buzz.blog.ajc.com/2016/10/05/spooked/.

Narrated by the AJC’s Mark Davis, the first episode of “Spooked” also includes stories from Audrey Helfman of Roswell, whose former college roommate introduced her to a spirit who seemed to enjoy cooking, and from Scott Addison of Fayetteville, who recalls the time he was home alone, or so he thought.

Nadia Lelutiu of Tucker shares her family’s experience in a house they vacated after just six months. She’d hear little feet running around at night and a child’s voice calling, “Mommy, mommy,” when in fact her son was fast asleep. Then hundreds of black birds would show up and cover her entire yard and all her trees. What she saw appear on the ground around her car one day gave us chills. If you’re home alone when you tune in, turn on some lights.

We’d love to hear your story, too. Email us at jbrett@ajc.com or mrdavis@ajc.com.