Electricity and energy could be cause of ghost sightings.

[teenyweeny]

watched a good programme on tv the other night,there was a scientist type person who specialises in the brain and how it reacts to electric fields and energy etc..making it feel like you have had a sighting of a ghost or felt something.this is a more plausible explanation of ghost sightings.these electrical fields what we cannot see seem to stimulate part of our brain making us think weve had a paranormal expierience and suchlike.that explains one theory but there are plenty of other unexplained things like these orbs,anyone got a take on this.and what do you really believe.me im not entirely sure but the scientist theory is more plausible.

[flamingjimmy]

watched a good programme on tv the other night,there was a scientist type person who specialises in the brain and how it reacts to electric fields and energy etc..making it feel like you have had a sighting of a ghost or felt something.this is a more plausible explanation of ghost sightings.these electrical fields what we cannot see seem to stimulate part of our brain making us think weve had a paranormal expierience and suchlike.that explains one theory but there are plenty of other unexplained things like these orbs,anyone got a take on this.and what do you really believe.me im not entirely sure but the scientist theory is more plausible.

 

It is infinitely simpler and thus far more likely to be correct.

 

A similar phenomenon is infrasound, which you might like to read about.

[Guest]

... but there are plenty of other unexplained things like these orbs,anyone got a take on this.and what do you really believe.me im not entirely sure but the scientist theory is more plausible.

Orbs are easily explainable: camera artefacts. Light/camera/dust particle/water droplet etc interaction. The phenomenon is about as paranormal as my fridge, ie. not at all.

 

ETA: a Ghostbuster-friendly link:

Orbs are circles of light, generally varying between white and dull grey, that appear in some photographs. They became common with early digital cameras but are gradually becoming rarer as technology improves. Some people took orbs to be a paranormal phenomenon, particularly when they showed up in photos of haunted locations.

 

Although most serious paranormal researchers regard orbs as just photographic artifacts, interest remains high, particularly among the public and media

[fake]

I'm sure the program was entertaining but I am a bit dubious about the claim for electric fields.

 

Any home that uses electricity will have electric fields inside and outside the power lines and radio transmitters also produce them. Since the space around us is not free of them why don't more people experience ghost sightings? The other big problem I have with the idea is that electricity, especially in homes, has not been around that long and ghost sighting pre-date the invention of electricity.

 

If electricity was the cause then it should be fairy easy to replicate the effect.

[flamingjimmy]

If electricity was the cause then it should be fairy easy to replicate the effect.

 

It's been done, and yes, it does work.

 

It is entirely possible to stimulate hallucinations using electromagnetism.

 

The same goes for infrasound (which in my opinion is probably responsible for more 'ghost' sightings than anything else imo).

 

Using infrasound not only can you stimulate visual hallucinations, but also feelings of 'awe' and 'fear' etc. In fact the american military even experimented with using it to demoralise enemy combatants.

 

Knowing this, let's apply Ockham's razor. The conclusion is obvious: ghosts do not exist.

[Karis]

Knowing this, let's apply Ockham's razor. The conclusion is obvious: ghosts do not exist.

 

Can I add to this and say I've seen mass hysteria in effect. I've actually seen groups on ghost hunts swearing blind they've seen a ghost (actually, it's always 'something') when I've seen absolutely nothing at all...

 

So there's a bucket full of factors that contribute to the ghost phenomenon.

[fake]

It's been done, and yes, it does work.

 

 

Thanks for that, interesting reading.

[teenyweeny]

not sure how ghost sightings would work pre electricity,can anyone shed a light on this.

[flamingjimmy]

not sure how ghost sightings would work pre electricity,can anyone shed a light on this.

 

Sleep paralysis, simple tricks of the brain, people making up stories, hallucination.

 

Also, there's the infrasound thing that I've mentioned several times.

 

I don't think anyone is claiming that electromagnetism accounts for all ghost sightings, just that it can make them more likely.

 

The human mind is capable of making so many mistakes, it's so easy to remember things wrong. People add details to stories that weren't actually there in the first place all the time.

 

Seeing something in the corner of your eye and being a little creeped out suddenly turns into feeling absolute terror and seeing an old woman with blue eyes when it comes time to actually tell the story. It's not necessarily lying, our brains just add things to convince us that something important happened.

[Tony]

Infrasound seems the best candidate as the main explanation after bio-chemical factors are accounted for, and Vic Tandy hasn't told us that he was wrong about it yet.