5 Scientific Explanations for Ghost Sightings
Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night to find a spectral figure looming over you? Maybe just feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and see movement out of the corner of your eye? Depending on how partial you are to flights of fancy — as well as found footage horror movies — you might be inclined to label such incidents ghost sightings. However, it was far more likely due to…
Infrasound
The next time you get a creepy feeling for no reason, infrasound might be to blame more than any vengeful spirits. It’s a range of low frequency sound that induces a sense of dread and even vibrates your eyeballs enough to “smear” your vision, convincing you that you saw blurry shapes that aren’t there. It can be caused by anything from faulty fans to earthquakes, so maybe heed that “get out” feeling.
Electromagnetic Fields
There’s a device called a “god helmet” that surrounds your noggin with magnetic fields that are said to induce the sensation of an unseen presence, ostensibly God but also ghosts if you’re more Flanagan than Vatican. The device’s creator, neuroscientist Michael Persinger, believed this was because electromagnetic fields disrupt the brain’s ability to communicate with itself, and strong enough fields can be generated by landline phones and even hair dryers, so if you sense something spooky behind you at the salon, it’s probably just your stylist.
Poison
Of course, if someone squirts acid into your Yoo-hoo, you better hope that all you see are ghosts. But apparitions can also be caused by poisoning that no one knows is happening, chiefly carbon monoxide and toxic mold. It’s believed this is why Victorians were so ghost-happy — the gas lamps lighting their old, damp homes made them see all kinds of stuff, including top hats that looked cool.
Sleep Paralysis
If you’re one of the one in five people who suffer from sleep paralysis, good god, we’re sorry. It’s a state of consciousness, usually just after waking, where you’re still kind of dreaming, so you’re prone to all manner of hallucinations, but most commonly “faceless shadow creatures.” Also, as the name implies, you can’t move, so that’s fun. A huge number of “ghost sightings” occur just after waking, so if you experience one, you might just be one unlucky bastard.
Dementia
Ghost sightings are common among the elderly, which makes sense because they have a lot more dead friends. It’s purely a numbers game. But it may actually be far more sinister: Patients with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia often hallucinate ghosts and monsters. It seems to be caused by the same forces of the disease that are wreaking havoc on certain parts of their brains. It’s also a huge bummer, so maybe just believe grandpa when he says he saw his old war buddies.
