In some old houses, ghosts live. That’s what they are famous for – scaring people. Both believers and atheists. They are sometimes seen and heard. But more often felt – instinctively, so to speak, sensing the presence of something otherworldly.
Where does such nonsense come from? Scientists are trying to answer this question not only theoretically but also through experiments. Recently, Canadian neurophysiologists from MacEwan University and the University of Alberta made headlines.
And in the Soul – Anxiety
The enthusiasts essentially summoned spirits. "A strange state, as if there is someone or something frightening nearby" - this is how the subjects described their feelings when the researchers transmitted infrasound - low-frequency sound vibrations - around 18 Hertz along with music. These were secretly generated by special subwoofers.
The human ear does not perceive vibrations below 20 Hertz, but the body reacts to them. This was confirmed by the Canadians.
The experiments involved 36 students. Half were "exposed," and half were not. The phenomenon manifested itself only in those "exposed" to infrasound, who were unaware that they were being processed accordingly.
That the "feelings of the otherworldly" were not subjective was evidenced by the elevated levels of cortisol - a hormone and biomarker of anxiety, stress, and fear.
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Sources of infrasound vibrations in old buildings include pipes, foundations, and ventilation systems, - the scientists explained in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, where they presented the results of their research.
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An impressionable person who enters a castle where ghosts are said to reside may well attribute their anxiety to something supernatural, - the authors believe.
In the 1980s, research on the influence of infrasound on perception was conducted by a certain Vic Tandy - a computer science specialist from Coventry University. He believed that infrasound - with a frequency around 20 Hertz - could sometimes even materialize ghosts. Well, almost - low-frequency vibrations, according to the scientist, disrupt vision and cause visions akin to hallucinations.
Thus, ghosts "appear."
Otherworldly Forces
Dr. Michael A. Persinger - a neurophysiologist and professor at Laurentian University in Canada, who was called the inspiration for "real ghost hunters" - not mystics, but serious researchers, also suggested that ghosts represent a type of hallucination. However, he "sinned" on variable electromagnetic fields that affect the brain.
The clever helmet created by the scientist directed electromagnetic impulses to different areas of the volunteers' brains. Four out of five saw something very much like ghosts - at least everyone felt the presence of some foreign entity nearby. Some began to experience panic fear. There were cases when volunteers encountered long-deceased relatives. And some even saw aliens.
Ghost Alarm Clock
A few years ago, British scientists led by Dr. Jason Braithwaite - a psychologist and neurologist from the University of Birmingham - tested the "electromagnetic hypothesis" in the field. For their experiments, they chose the ancient English Muncaster Castle, which is nearly 800 years old. Rumor has it that it was teeming with ghosts. There were particularly many in the so-called Tapestry Room, where thrill-seeking tourists could spend the night. At night, children's screams, moans, strange rustlings, and footsteps could be heard here. People felt as if someone was touching them. But most importantly, the ghost of Thomas Skelton, nicknamed Fool Tom - a court jester murdered in the 16th century - often appeared. Sometimes the White Lady - the ghost of a girl killed in the 19th century - would also come by.
The sensitive MADS magnetometer of their own design (Magnetic Anomaly Detection System), capable of detecting ultra-weak fields (0.5 nanotesla), as well as impulses that could follow at 250 per second, helped to determine that anomalies concentrated in the "haunted" room. The fields present there had the most bizarre configuration, especially around the huge ancient bed where tourists were supposed to sleep.
As the scientists explained, the source of the anomalies was an old iron mesh with large cells that supported the mattresses. It significantly distorted the natural background. The mesh deformed when a person tossed and turned, "causing fluctuations in the electromagnetic field across a wide range." They were most strongly felt right around the pillow. Although there was probably enough infrasound in the castle as well.
Soon, Persinger also made headlines outside the laboratory: he relieved a 17-year-old girl of sexual nightmares. A black ghost visited her every night and excited her.
Through measurements, Persinger discovered that a weak field from an electronic clock located just 25 centimeters from her head was affecting the girl. The clock was removed, and the ghost stopped coming.
50 Minutes in the Room of Horrors
Professor Christopher Charles French - a psychologist from the University of London - once experimented comprehensively with both infrasound and electromagnetic fields. The scientist set up a sort of room of horrors. Its walls emitted either electromagnetic impulses or infrasound.
Almost all volunteers who spent 50 minutes in the room experienced unusual sensations - they were frightened and saw "others." Moreover, infrasound acted just as effectively as magnets.
It is possible that ghosts can be summoned by either one or the other.
INSTEAD OF A COMMENT
Infrasound is understandable - its sources are abundant in the surrounding world beyond old buildings: from hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes to waterfalls and ocean waves.
But what about the various electromagnetic fields? Surprisingly, they are not only abundant in our era. Therefore, ghosts provoked by electromagnetic radiation have appeared to people always and everywhere.
An example of passive influence is the mesh on the bed, which does not generate fields itself but significantly distorts the natural ones.
Active electromagnetic radiation periodically comes from the depths - tectonic faults and cracks suddenly start to "spark," and the sun creates magnetic storms. Thunderclouds also contribute their share. People caught in this "cacophony of invisible forces," in Persinger's figurative expression, may well react with hallucinations.
Research continues. Infrasound is quite capable of delivering surprises.
- We tested only a specific frequency. We will try others. There may be many more frequencies and combinations that will have their own effects, - promised the "Canadian ghost hunters."
