Chances are, you know someone who claims to have had a ghost encounter. You may even have a story of your own.
More than six in 10 adults believe in ghosts, despite the fact no one has managed to definitively prove that ghosts really exist.
So why is it that these ineffable experiences feel so real, when science tells us they cannot be?
The answer lies in a mixture of psychological, social and societal factors that have bolstered the idea that ghosts are real even in the absence of strong evidence, experts told DailyMail.com.
More than 60 percent of US adults believe in ghosts, despite the fact that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that the spirits of the dead can walk among us
Aspects of human psychology have played major roles in shaping a widespread belief in ghosts.
When people experience something unfamiliar and inexplicable, it triggers a ‘primitive motivation’ to seek an explanation, Barry Markovsky, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of South Carolina, told DailyMail.com.
The brain uses two systems to come up with that explanation: rational cognition and emotional response, he explained.
‘The first thing we might experience upon encountering some unfamiliar, bizarre event is that emotional reaction.
‘And unfortunately, the evidence seems to show that emotional responses tend to dull cognitive analysis,’ he said.
Fear is an emotion that has a particularly powerful effect on rational thinking. It’s an ‘incredibly powerful persuader and motivator, Brian Cronk, professor of psychology at Buffalo State University, told DailyMail.com.
Plus, the brain has a tendency to draw conclusions based on the first piece of information that comes to mind, Cronk said.
This is called the availability heuristic. ‘It’s a shortcut the brain uses to come up with answers when it doesn’t have time to do real analysis,’ he explained.
The fact that our media is flooded with stories of ghosts, hauntings and possessions means that our minds are too.
Much of the ‘proof’ of ghosts – such as videos of floating orbs or recordings of disembodied voices – actually have totally normal, explanations, Kenny Biddle told DailyMail.com.
So when something goes bump in the night, we might recall those stories and think something similar must be happening. Then, fear could hinder our ability to come up with a more rational explanation.
These aspects of the brain can explain why ‘paranormal encounters’ feel so real for people who claim to have experienced them.
And when they share the story of the incident with others, it can make them even more entrenched in their beliefs, Markovsky said.
These stories have a ‘cool factor’ that makes them intriguing and exciting, he explained. They capture people’s attention, and in this way, they can become almost like a social currency.
This may entice a person to stick by their story even if there’s no evidence to suggest it was really a paranormal experience, just so that they can keep telling it.
Others may subconsciously want to believe in ghosts because it makes them feel connected to deceased loved ones, or eases their anxiety about what happens after we die, Markovsky said.
‘We’re tempted for to leap to those kinds of beliefs mainly on emotional grounds,’ he said. ‘There’s something very deep and satisfying about it that kind of sidesteps rationality.’
if you find yourself seeking paranormal explanations for some strange event, Biddle’s advice is to always ‘be skeptical’
Plus, there’s a lot of false ‘proof’ of ghosts out there that can strengthen people’s beliefs.
But this evidence – such as videos of floating orbs or recordings of disembodied voices – almost always has a totally normal explanation, Kenny Biddle told DailyMail.com.
Biddle is the Chief Investigator for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, a group of experts that aim to promote the use of reason in investigating paranormal claims.
‘My job is to go in and look for a cause,’ he said.
He has spent over two decades looking into – and debunking – people’s ghost stories. But when he first started out in his 20s, he was a believer, he said.
As a young ghost hunter, he used cameras, audio recorders, cassette tapes and electromagnetic field (EMF) readers to try and find evidence of ghosts.
But the problem with using these gadgets is, ‘if you’re not putting experimental controls around your usage, then you’re not doing science. You’re doing pseudo science,’ he said.
Take an EMF reader for example. This device detects electromagnetic fields, which humans can’t see, hear or feel.
So when the reader sounds an alert, there’s no way to confirm whether a ghost triggered it, or something totally benign. For example, EMF readers can be triggered by radio waves or electrical equipment that cycles on and off, Biddle explained.
Cameras can be misleading too. People often attribute floating orbs captured in photos or videos to ghosts, but these are actually just dust, pollen, insects or drops of liquid in the air that catch the light, especially when flash is used.
The Panasonic DR60 is another device commonly used by ghost hunters to record disembodied voices, moans or whispers.
This recorder is considered the ‘Holy Grail’ of ghost hunting equipment, but it’s ‘severely flawed,’ Biddle said.
The DR60 is highly sensitive, and designed to start recording when it hears a sound. Even the investigator’s own breathing can make it start recording, he said.
It also generates sounds internally due to glitches and malfunctions, Biddle explained. In most cases, the noises these recorders pick up aren’t coming from external sources, but rather from the recorder itself.
This is where confirmation bias comes into play. When ghost hunters are actively looking for evidence of a specter, they may interpret totally meaningless recordings as words, growls or groans, he said.
Whatever the reason behind the belief may be, once it’s formed, it’s hard to let go of it, Cronk said. This is called belief perseverance – or the idea that our believes persevere even in the face of skepticism and scrutiny.
Thus, it’s unlikely that people will stop believing in ghosts anytime soon. But if you find yourself seeking paranormal explanations for some strange event, Biddle’s advice is to always ‘be skeptical.’
Ghost stories have been around for thousands of years, dating back to ancient civilizations.
Once the scientific method was developed in the early 17th century, people finally had a way to actually investigate paranormal claims.
