Mysterious and scary things about ghosts and explanations from scientists

The term “ghost” is often used to refer to the spirit of a deceased person or animal that has the ability to influence the physical world. The concept of “haunting” can include anything from feeling the presence of a dead person nearby, seeing objects moving or spirits moving. Neil Dagnall, associate professor of applied cognitive psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University (UK), offers the most popular scientific explanations for why people see ghosts and other supernatural phenomena – although Many phenomena still remain a mystery.

Psychological factors

Some explanations for the phenomenon of people seeing ghosts are often based on psychological factors, such as suggestion. Therefore, hearing about a place being haunted makes us more likely to see ghosts in that location, Dagnall said.

In one study, participants visited five main areas of a theater before filling out a survey to rate their emotions and perceptions. Before the trip, one group of volunteers was told that the theater was haunted, while the other group was informed that the theater was in the process of being repaired and upgraded. The results were not surprising: the first group of volunteers had more intense experiences of paranormal phenomena.

The level of impact of listening to stories also changes, depending on each person's beliefs. People who tend to believe in paranormal phenomena are more susceptible than those who are skeptical about the existence of ghosts.

Infrasound waves and electromagnetic fields

According to Dagnall, another explanation for the cause of ghost phenomena is environmental factors affecting humans, such as infrasound waves and electromagnetic fields. Michael Persinger - a Canadian neuroscientist - has demonstrated that continuously changing the electromagnetic field around the temporal lobe of the brain can create haunting experiences, such as see the presence of ghosts, spirits or the feeling of being touched by someone. Some haunted places around the world, such as Hampton Court Palace (UK), are places with unstable magnetic fields.

Likewise, infrasound also helps explain the phenomenon of ghost sightings. Humans hear sounds in the frequency range from 20 to 20,000 Hz. Noises with frequencies less than 20 Hz are called infrasound. It forms from storms, winds, and even in many everyday devices. We cannot hear infrasound waves but can only feel them in the form of vibrations. When the infrasound wave has a frequency close to the resonance frequency of the human eyeball (about 20Hz), it will cause the eyeball to vibrate, causing people to see ghost images that are not real.

There are many studies that have found a connection between infrasound waves and strange sensations. In one experiment, scientists broadcast infrasound waves during a music performance. The audience was then asked to describe their reaction to listening to the music. Many people report having unusual experiences when listening to infrasound waves such as chills down their spines, feelings of anxiety, fear, discomfort or sadness. "Hollywood filmmakers have known this since the 1950s. That's why you often hear low-frequency sounds in horror movie soundtracks," said researcher Loyd Auerbach, author of several books on horror movies. ghost thread, said.

Infrasound waves are believed to be the cause of many mysterious and spooky places. Strong winds blowing against the walls of the ancient tower create infrasound waves - the type of waves that can penetrate the thickest walls. When living in such places, people often hear the sound of wind screaming along the hallway or creepy footsteps in the house.

Hallucinations caused by poison

Perceptions of supernatural phenomena can also arise from the effects of toxins, such as carbon monoxide (CO), formaldehyde and pesticides, Dagnall said. In 1921, ophthalmologist William Wilmer published a strange article in the American Journal of Ophthalmology. The article tells the story of a family and their haunted house. The people living in the house are haunted by the sounds of doors slamming, furniture moving around and footsteps in empty rooms, and the plants they grow in the house slowly die. They later discovered that the fireplace was broken, and instead of the smoke going out the chimney, it went inside the house. Therefore, their family was poisoned by CO gas.

CO is an odorless, colorless gas and very difficult to detect. It is very dangerous because human red blood cells absorb CO more easily than oxygen, long-term lack of oxygen will lead to symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, confusion and eventually death. People infected with CO often have hallucinatory experiences, like seeing ghosts.

Additionally, hallucinations caused by toxic mold can also stimulate perceptions related to ghosts. Shane Rogers and researchers at Clarkson University (USA) observed many similarities between mystical experiences and hallucinatory effects caused by mushroom spores. This may explain why ghost sightings often occur in old, moldy buildings with poor air circulation.

Some other theories

In cases where a person claims to see a ghost but it is not due to psychological or energetic factors, the “ghost” may simply be an optical illusion. Most commonly, it is a dim light source that is reflected off a window or other reflective surface.

In addition, ghosts can also be the result of the psychological phenomenon of pareidolia. Accordingly, the brain makes us look at images of natural objects such as clouds and rocks into familiar objects such as human faces. “Ghost sightings are always the result of misinterpreted natural phenomena. Humans are very susceptible to errors of observation and perception," said Dante Centuori, an expert working at the Great Lakes Science Center (USA).

Dr. Giulio Rognini at the Federal Polytechnic University of Lausane (EPFL) and his colleagues said that people who often experience this feeling are people who often experience special situations such asclimber, Explorer or people with several formspsychosis.

Mr. Rognini said that these people have a very vivid feeling, feeling the presence of someone nearby but just feeling it, not seeing it. “What is surprising is that these people often report that the presence always follows their movements and postures at the same time,” Dr. Rognini said. If they sit, the subject also sits, if they stand, the subject also stands.”

To investigate this phenomenon, thescientist scanned the brains of 12 people with neurological disorders who reported seeing ghosts.Researchers It was discovered that these people had brain damage in similar locations - places related to self-awareness, movements and body position in space.

In the next experiment, the scientists altered nerve signals in those brain regions in 48 healthy volunteers who had never experiencedabnormal phenomenon as above.

The research team blindfolded the participants and asked them to control a robot with their hands in front of them, and as they did so, another robot recorded their movements behind them. Scientists found that when the movements in front of and behind this group of people happened at the same time, they did not see anything unusual.

However, when the movements in front and behind them did not happen at the same time, 1/3 of this group of people noticed a ghost-like appearance in the room, including some people who felt up to 4 appearances there. . In particular, two people felt so strange that they couldn't stand it and asked to stop the experiment.

The team explains that this strange interaction with the robot temporarily changed brain function in areas related to self-awareness and the sense of body position. Scientists believe that when people feel the presence of ghosts, the brain is confused by miscalculating their position, identifying themselves with someone else who is there.

“Our brain has many ways of representing our bodies in space and under normal conditions, our sense of self is unified,” Dr. Rognini explains. But when that system malfunctions due to illness, or in this case robotics, it can create another representation of that person's own body."

The research team believes that this finding can help better understand neurological diseases such asmental illness Schizophrenia.