Paranormal phenomena, including supernatural ‘hauntings’, have been the subject of serious scientific investigation since the emergence of spiritualism during Victorian times.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of paranormal investigations have been of the pseudoscientific variety – based on incorrect, incomplete or misrepresented science, or invalid due to bias, manipulation, assumption or omission.
In these cases, the presented ‘evidence’ doesn’t satisfy scientific rigour, or can also be interpreted in ways that don’t require the paranormal. Other cases can be shown to be fraudulent. So, the conclusions (and methods) of such studies can be safely ignored from a strictly scientific perspective.
Of course, there are some cases of ‘hauntings’ for which there is evidence of some physical phenomena: magnetic, pressure or temperature variations, recorded images, video or audio, for example.
These phenomena don’t prove the existence of the supernatural though, as there’s no logical connection between the evidence and the conclusion. There may well be other, as yet unknown, phenomena that can explain the observations.
The problem is akin to the UFO, or UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena), issue. While there are undoubtedly numerous cases of unidentified aerial objects, some even with documentary or physical evidence, there’s no scientific reason to conclude that these are associated with extraterrestrial craft or ancient alien civilisations.
It’s an unscientific leap of faith to believe in alien visitation based solely on unexplained sightings. The same is true for the belief in ghosts; there’s no scientific rationale for it. Science does offer some potential explanations for hauntings. Most are environmental or psychological in nature.
Perhaps the most obvious is the simple misperception of perfectly normal experiences. Sleep paralysis (when the body is paralysed, as during sleep, but the mind is fully active) can create perceptions that can easily be misconstrued as paranormal.
Hallucinations can also be brought on by sleep deprivation, high stress, electromagnetic variations, infrasound (low-frequency sound), or simply high temperature environments. Surprisingly, mould, often found in old houses, may play a part.
Some species are known to cause inflammation of the optic nerve and subsequent hallucinations. Experiments have shown that Stachybotrys (black mould) induces a feeling of fear in laboratory mice.
One study even found that houses with reported hauntings were statistically more likely to contain mould. Other scientists have proposed that chemical intoxication can result in convincing ‘supernatural’ hallucinations or misperceptions.
Suspect chemicals include some pesticides and formaldehyde (which can be found in treated wood as well as some paints and varnishes). Also, carbon monoxide (CO) has been shown in several cases to be the cause of hauntings.
In February 1921, the American Journal of Ophthalmology published a letter in which a haunting, including ‘ghostly apparitions’, was unequivocally associated with CO. So, not only is your home CO alarm preventing you from asphyxiation, it may also be guarding you against ghosts and demons!
In conclusion, there’s no evidence that houses are haunted by the spirits of the departed. On the other hand, there are plenty of ‘hauntings’ that have been shown to have rational explanations.
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