WELLINGTON - A New Zealand woman sold two vials that she said contained the ghosts of an old man and a young girl for almost NZ$2,000 (S$1,963) after a fiercely contested online auction, local media reported.

Avie Woodbury from Christchurch told TVNZ that she captured the spirits after an exorcism session of her house and for which she paid roughly US$100.

Woodbury then put the ghosts into holy water and stored them in separate vials before deciding to auction them.

The web page for the sale attracted more than 200,000 views before the auction ended on Monday after a week. Woodbury said all proceeds from the auction, minus the exorcist's fee, would be donated to an animal charity.

"I would get things like the jug boiling itself, touching on the back of my neck, voices from other rooms, and items going missing then turning up in weird places," she said.

"I just want to get rid of them as they scare me. But someone might like these to play with," she said.

Woodbury said she felt a better vibe in her house after the exorcism. "Whether it is psychological or not but I definitely felt a new vibe in the house," she told TVNZ.

The winning bidder was an electronic cigarette company, which local newspapers said was now asking for ideas on what to do with the vials.