Like btcney said, it's mostly to do with media attention.  Although, it might have had a bit to do with Bitcoin Futures where some investors decided to diversify into litecoin, but btc futures didn't really affect the price of bitcoin negatively.  But that's just an opinion.

I also read an article that was calling Litecoin the silver to Bitcoin's gold.

I read an article that some people are actually mortgaging their homes to invest in bitcoin.  If that's happening right now, how much of a risk do you see this as being?  Would other cryptocurrencies be a better option at this point?