Hardwired for weird?

Scientists say a holy trinity of conditions makes ghost sightings more probable.

One in five American adults says they’ve seen or been in the presence of a ghost, according to the Pew Research Center, and about 29 percent say they have felt in touch with someone who has already died.

In her new book, “Science of the Supernatural,” psychologist Melissa Maffeo argues that such supposed hauntings could be the brain misinterpreting the external world. Reporting for Live Science, Maffeo, who does not definitively say whether ghosts exist, lists three factors that can contribute to our perception of the paranormal.

Environmental sensations

Devices that measure electrical or magnetic activity (EMFs) are ubiquitous among ghost hunters.

While there is no concrete evidence that humans can sense EMF in their environments, studies have shown that EMF levels fluctuate more in “haunted” areas.

Further, some experts maintain that high electromagnetic fields can influence temporal lobe activity, triggering strange sensations, time distortions and hallucinations, leading people to believe that they are in the presence of ghosts.

Meanwhile, infrasound, very low-frequency sound below 20 hertz that humans typically can’t hear, has been shown to cause increased irritability and higher cortisol levels.

“People might unknowingly be detecting changes in environmental stimuli, like electromagnetic fields. The question then becomes: Did the ghost cause the EMF, or did the EMF cause the ghost?” Maffeo wrote in Live Science.

A 2009 study that created a “haunted house” by manipulating EMFs and infrasound found that the paranormal sensations reported by participants, including dizziness, the presence of ghosts, and disassociation, did not correspond to the environmental conditions.

Moreover, those who derived peculiar experiences were the same who self-reported a strong belief in the paranormal.

“On the one hand, there is a correlation between reportedly haunted places and EMF variability. And there are some indications that humans can detect magnetism. On the other hand, experimental manipulation of EMF did not relate to weird perceptions in a lab setting,” said Maffeo.

Crossed-wires in the brain

Maffeo shared that disruptions to the temporoparietal junction, the brain region responsible for our ability to locate ourselves within our bodies, can trigger strange sensations and misinterpretations.

She identifies sleep paralysis as one such misinterpretation.

During REM sleep, the brain sends a message to the muscles to suspend movement, preventing us from acting out our dreams. However, for some, this paralysis persists when they wake up from their REM sleep as a mismatch of feedback from the body to the brain results in terrifying immobility.

“Most people respond to the missing sensory information with fear, which makes them more likely to experience the sights and sounds from their dreams as reality,” said Maffeo.

Somewhere between 25% to 50% of Americans have had sleep paralysis at least once in their lives, according to WebMD. 

Schizotypy

Maffeo points to a growing body of research suggesting that people with certain personality traits are more likely to believe in and perceive the paranormal.

The combination of magical thinking, disorganized behavior, distorted thoughts, and difficulty forming close relationships is a constellation of traits known as schizotypy, and according to Maffeo, those with high levels are more likely to believe in ghosts and experience disembodiment and spontaneous sensory perceptions.

In addition, those with high levels of schizotypy often struggle to distinguish between themselves and others.

In essence, believing is a precursor to experiencing paranormal activity, and the more disconnected a person is from their physical form, the more likely they are to report those experiences.

“Belief alone might not create a ghost, but belief combined with at least one haunted factor — environmental stimuli, neurological hiccups or psychological conditions — might be enough to make a ghost real,” she said.