Paula Abdul has reportedly hired a witch doctor to cleanse her home of spirits.

The American star is known for her belief in ghosts and other-worldly beings. She is said to be convinced her Los Angeles home is inhabited by a ghoul of some kind so has gone to great lengths to flush it out.

"Paula claims she's witnessed strange happenings, like lights mysteriously turning on and off, for years. So her rabbi came over and blessed the house, the priest and the minister performed cleansing ceremonies and the witch doctor walked through every room waving a frond of burning sage, sending ghost-busting smoke into every nook and cranny," a source told National Enquirer.

Paula has discussed her knowledge of the spirit world on American TV show The X Factor.

Her beliefs again came to the fore after Paula and her co-judges Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid checked into a supposedly-haunted hotel in Dallas. Music mogul L.A. was so spooked by the establishment he decided against staying there.

"L.A. didn't even know the story of the ghosts; he just couldn't be inside the hotel," a source said. "He was first to check in and left before the others arrived, saying it had a 'weird feeling about it.' Everyone joked he was being a diva, but when they heard about the hotel really being haunted they just thought he was smart!"