As fun as it is to speculate about ghosts and spirits, science usually has a way of being a major paranormal buzzkill. Stories of haunted houses and alien invasions have been around since forever, but most of these cases have actually been due to some pretty regular (read boring) phenomena. If you’re afraid of scary movies, then this article might help you get over that fear, but if you like the kick of a good fright, then get ready to read some pretty normal reasons for a lot of strange cases.
Here are the scientific reasons behind a lot of ‘haunting’ cases!
1. Feeling a sense of doom and bleeding from ears
Caused by infrasound
Vibrating pipes of the right length can cause a whole range of unpleasant effects. In serious enough cases, it can even make you bleed from the ears. Apart from the physical effects however, it also fills you with a sense of fear and doom, something which has been attributed to the paranormal usually.
2. Ghost sightings and strange unexplained noises
Caused by Hypnagogia
The state of consciousness where you’re just about to fall asleep, this condition has been attributed to several instances of ‘ghost sightings’ and strange visions. While you’re still awake and aware in this state, you also experience visual and auditory effects.
3. Alien abductions and seeing shadow people
Caused by Sleep Paralysis
Sleep paralysis has been attributed to several cases of people witnessing ‘shadow people’, wherein a dark patch of shadow terrorises the person. Alien abduction cases have also been connected to this sleep disorder, which can cause a person to experience extreme emotions, hallucinations and an inability to move.
4. Seeing visions of women in white
Caused by Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
This is a certain kind of glitch in the brain which occurs when you are tired or distracted. Seeing something strange, like a woman in a white dress or a weird vision, is usually due to this problem. Usually glimpsed from the corner of the eye, these illusions are due to a momentary welling up of a mental image.
5. Cases of haunted houses and hallucinations
Caused by Carbon Monoxide poisoning
In 1912, an American family which had recently moved into a new house complained of growing troubles. They saw dark figures in the night, heard pots and pans crashing, and the children grew pale and unpleasant. Ten years later, it was discovered that a leaky furnace was sending carbon monoxide into the house, causing oxygen deprivation and serious hallucinations in the family.
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6. Unexplained Ouija Board movements
Caused by the Ideomotor Effect
The unexplained movements in an Ouija Board practise is actually due to the influence of suggestion or expectation on involuntary and unconscious motor behavior. This is known as the ideomotor effect , and can even be experienced by simpler tests.
7. Strange and scary Cold Spots in an area
Caused by Convection
Paranormal activity seekers usually speak of a certain part of a house that is cold, while the rest of the area is totally normal. While this may seem spooky to some, it is actually because of hot air rising and cold air dropping, especially in a humid room.
8. Feeling tense and sensing a paranormal presence
Caused by Ions
Several ghost hunters actually carry around ion counters. While positive ions do contribute to feeling tense and getting a headache, there is no otherworldly reason for this. Ions are also highly affected by weather and radon gas, so it’s quite a baseless argument.
