OK, whatcha think about this

[Denray]

My first.

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[Marc]

The sensitivity of the non-contact tester goes far beyond that of the 3-prong tester.

Stray voltages are being induced into the wiring. That's my guess.

Marc

[Charles46]

Unless the top outlet was controlled by a wall switch and the bottom outlet is always live. I see that in master bedrooms with some regularity.

[Denray]

Here's the back side. Is it possible that the hot wire is in there, but not connected to the screw and is touching the box?

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[Jim Katen]

Non-contact voltage detectors are useless for this kind of troubleshooting. Put it back in the bag and get out a multimeter or a wiggy to find out what's really going on.

[Rob Amaral]

Jim's right.. Fields can wreak havoc with your findings with those things..