If you have the Facebook app on your smartphone, I'm sure from time to time, you've perused the "marketplace" feature to see what kind of crazy stuff people in your area have for sale.

As a self-confessed yard sale junkie, I often scroll through the marketplace when I'm killing time, with no intention of ever buying anything, but just to see what kind of treasures show up. It's like eBay used to be, before everything became categorized and sanitized. The Facebook marketplace really is just like having a flea market on your phone.

Cars are a big seller, so it wasn't completely surprising to find a 2000 Subaru Outback for sale this past Wednesday night...but what caught my attention on this one was it was marked "Ghostbusters Replica."

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I'm a real-life paranormal investigator and a lifelong Ghostbusters fan, so this had me geeking out. Not to mention, I owned an Outback briefly, and it was one of my favorite cars I've ever owned. If I had an extra $700, I'd be all over this thing.

The ad says the car "runs, drives, stops" with "no ticks, no smoke, no leaks." It has 250,000 miles, but that's not bad for an Outback that is only $700. Those cars are fantastic in the winters we get around here, and it has almost new tires to go with its all-wheel drive. You can go out and bust ghosts in all kinds of weather with this baby.

The ad also points out the Ghostbusters stuff is just temporary, and "I can take all the stuff off or leave it on, your choice." Wait, what? Who would WANT you to take off the Ghostbusters stuff? That's what makes it so awesome!

It's not every day that a replica Ecto-1 shows up in the Facebook marketplace--even if it is built out of an Outback instead of a 1959 Cadillac--so I had to do a little more digging as to how this thing even came into existence.

Was this the creation of a Ghostbusters super fan? Did it belong to one of the real-life Ghostbuster clubs that have been popping up among the cosplay crowds over the past decade or so?

I reached out to the seller, Cody Stephens, to find out more. It turns out his father, Mark Stephens, put the "replica" Ecto-1 together. Mark owns a company called "Stephens Canteen," operating canteen and food trucks, but as a side gig, he puts on professional movie nights.

"He has a big 35-foot inflatable screen, and a $10,000 projector, and he puts on a show," Cody said, noting he helps his father set up the shows. "He likes to do skits before the movie starts to get the crowd riled up, so he makes all the props he needs for the skit. This car was one of the props he made."

Last year, Mark showed Jaws and created a fullsize "Amity Island" billboard for the movie. He also showed Animal House, and made the "Deathmobile" that comes out of the float at the end of the film.

Cody Stephens/Facebook
Cody Stephens/Facebook
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Cody said the movie company can be hired for charity events, schools, company events, cookouts and pretty much any kind of party (and of course, the canteen business can also be hired, because what's a movie without some snacks?), and can even host the events if needed. Mark has a 2-acre front yard at his home in Brockton if you're looking for a place to hold an event.

"It's a big log home, so it's a nice, scenic place to be," Cody said.

For more information about Stephens Canteen or the movie nights, contact Mark at (508) 583-2476.

And if you're interested in purchasing the Ecto-1, well...be sure to swing by the WBSM studio some Saturday night during Spooky Southcoast and let me take it for a ride.

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