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Introduction
The late Vic Tandy was working in a medical equipment diagnostics lab, which had been suspected of being haunted. His co-workers, bosses, and even he had felt unusual presences and even reported seeing a gray apparition there. After confronting the gray apparition late one evening, Mr. Tandy was starting to question his skepticism. The next day, he inadvertently stumbled upon the source of the ghost. As he was preparing his fencing foil for a competition, he noticed that the blade, when stationary, started to vibrate. As this is an abnormal occurrence, he began to investigate. By taking this information, and using some deductive reasoning, Mr. Tandy concluded that the vibrations were strongest next to his desk (Tandy & Lawrence, 1998, pp. 360-361). He determined that the frequency of the vibrations were around 19 Hertz (Hz), just above the vibration frequency suspected of causing visual disturbances of the human eye (Tempest, 1976, p. 212). This was relevant, as one of the phenomenon being witnessed was a grey spectral form. He asked the maintenance staff if any work had been done in his office recently, and they noted that a fan had been installed. Mr. Tandy turned off the fan, and the vibration, apparitions, and sense of another presence in the room went away. With the fan off, these occurrences were not reported again. Had Mr. Tandy busted a ghost? After becoming a professor at the School of International Studies and Law at Coventry University in the UK, Mr. Tandy decided to test the theory he devised back in his old lab that paranormal experiences could be due to low frequency audio waves, or infrasound. He went to numerous locations in England, reported to be haunted, and tested for the presence of these standing waves. He found that some of these locations were affected by these, either from natural or mechanical sources (Tandy, 2000). Science had finally found the source of ghosts. Ghosts were basically caused by focal points of sound waves in our environment. Wait a second. Does that legitimately explain all ghosts? While a few locations visited by Mr. Tandy have yielded predicted results relating to a resonant frequency being present, not all locations have. Compounding the inconsistency of the presence of a resonant frequency is the fact that, at most of the locations with infrasonic activity, the sources of the waves has yet to be determined (Tandy, 2000). With all of the advances that mankind has made scientifically, all too often we overstep our boundaries and quickly label evidence as a smoking gun to prove or disprove our world. After a quick evaluation, one will see that the story is no different in relation to ghosts. To put it simply, science may not always have the answers. Sub-audio ghosts One of the stimuli that we utilize to gather information about our world is sound. It is all around us, but there are levels of sound that we encounter that we do not register with our ears. Larger animals that communicate at a long distance, such as whales and elephants, use infrasound, or sound below 20 Hertz (Hz), sounds that human beings are incapable of hearing. The reason is because the sounds can contain a tremendous amount of power and travel great distances. According to Diana Fernandez-Valencia, the power of the waves has been shown, for example in whales, as being powerful enough to incapacitate prey (2007, P.1). Numerous studies have been conducted concerning this phenomenon. Some of the studies have been related to non-lethal weapons technology, as well as effects caused by the industrial age. During these studies, the human body was mapped to determine at which frequencies the internal organs resonate, or vibrate. The chest, abdomen, head, and eyes were tested and all were found to have resonant frequencies between 2-27Hz (Tempest, 1976, p. 212). The interesting part of the study is what happened to individuals experiencing sounds between 15-20Hz. This is just below the spectrum of human hearing. What was found was that in the 15-20Hz range, subjects "experienced sensations of fear including excessive perspiration and shivering..."(Tempest, 1976, p. 107) and, according to Diana Fernandez-Valencia, blurred, difficult vision. Could these physical manifestations account for paranormal phenomenon? On May 31, 2003, there were two concerts conducted at the Purcell Room in London. A 17Hz infrasonic generator played at various times in the concert, while members of the audience completed questionnaires about their feelings and experiences. Everyone was informed that the concert would utilize an infrasonic generator but were unaware of when it would be used (Fernandez-Valencia, 2007, p. 4). The audience was asked to rate their feelings before and after each of the six pieces were played. Upon completion of the concerts, all of the questionnaires were reviewed and the results categorized. The results of the experiments were quite interesting. One of the questions asked was "Do you believe in the existence of paranormal phenomena? i.e. phenomena that appear to be beyond normal explanation, such as telepathy or fortune telling?" (O'Keeffe, 2003, p. 3). Forty three percent of the audience answered yes, while thirty five percent answered no. Twenty two percent were uncertain. With the roughly even split of the audience on that question, is was noted that across the broad spectrum of the concerts, heightened states of emotion (i.e. nausea, anxiety, tingling sensations) were reported by a higher percentage of audience members during the periods of infrasound, than were reported during periods of no infrasound (Fernandez-Valencia, 2007, p. 5). The results of this experiment are intriguing, but bear little relevance in backing the claim that ghosts are natural occurrences caused by low frequency vibrations. While the experiment showed that there was an increase in the amount of audience members that reported out of place feelings during the infrasound-laced pieces, there was not a substantial difference from the members not reporting it (O'Keeffe, 2003, p. 6). Also, one of the factors for the readings has been attributed to the fact that people knew that there would be additional stimuli during the concert. This would account for members of the audience reporting the heightened feelings during sections of the concert containing no infrasound (Fernandez-Valencia, 2007, p. 5). Another aspect that the experiment failed to address was the absence of visual phenomenon. As this is a common occurrence in reported spirit phenomenon, one would expect that there would be some investigation into whether infrasound could have some effect on visual acuity. Since the resonate frequency for the human eye is between 15-20Hz, there was the possibility that audience members could experience visual phenomenon along with the changes in their feelings, but it was not incorporated into the experiment, nor was it reported by any members of the audience. Ghosts in the Mind Another focus of scientists and skeptics has been whether or not ghosts are not just "all in your head". Throughout history, the methodology for strengthening this argument has been an individual's suggestibility and what Daniel Dennett calls the "creeping mechanism" - a human's fear that they are nothing but a physical being (Clark, 2006, p. 54). People are influenced by society, church, stories and the media. It was well into the 20th century before more scientific methods were available to unlock the mysteries of the mind and to help locate where the "hauntings" of the mind occur. During experiments to treat various forms of mental illness, researchers were intrigued by some patients reporting feelings related to enhanced spirituality and unseen presences. It was deduced that the method of these initial treatments, EMF (Electro-Magnetic Field) radiation was the cause. A study was devised by Dr. Michael Persinger where subjects would be exposed to low level EMF by wearing specially designed helmets that would focus the radiation on certain regions of the brain. Dr. Persinger was especially careful to limit the experiment to low level radiation. High level EMF radiation has been under constant scrutiny by the scientific community and the federal government for its possible link to increased cancer rates and other health issues (U.S. House of Representatives, 1991). The experiment was set to use a common method to stimulate brain activity. It is called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS (Granqvist et al, 2005, p. 2). This method has been documented during treatments for mental illnesses such as depression. Normal TMS usage incorporates EMF fields in the Tesla (T) range. Situations where the subjects were reporting extraordinary sensations were in the microTesla (μT) range (Persinger, 2002, pp. 267-284). MilliGauss (mG) and μT are units of measurement in regards to EMF strength. The measurements are comparable, with 1 μT = 10 mG. While mG offers greater accuracy of low field strengths, the scientific community is adopting the μT standard. With all of this indirect data, the theory was devised that paranormal and spiritual feelings were a direct result of the environment, not an actual phenomenon. The experiment conducted to test this theory was designed to see if significant simulated sensations could be replicated in a controlled environment. First, participants were gathered from volunteers and undergraduate students. They were informed that the experiment would test the effects on states of emotions and feelings by weak complex EMF fields (Granqvist et al, 2005, p. 3). They were exposed to the weak fields for increments of between 15-30 minutes, in bursts that were between 200-600 microseconds (μs) (Granqvist et al, 2005, p. 2). The strength of the EMF radiation was comparable to that of the average computer monitor (Khamsi, 2004). The participants were asked to note any feelings that they felt, regardless of their relevance. Upon completion of the study, Dr. Persinger found that the exposure to the complex weak EMF radiation caused 80% of the subjects tested to report the feeling of an unseen presence (Khamsi, 2004). One individual, psychologist Susan Blackmore, stated after going through the experiment,"When I went to Persinger's lab I had the most extraordinary experiences I've ever had." (Khamsi, 2004). To skeptics, this was the last nail in the coffin for the existence of ghosts. While noteworthy, this experiment does not relate to a real world environment. Pehr Granqvist et al. (2005) conducted a second experiment that utilized the same methodology as the Persinger experiment, plus they incorporated a double blind control, a method of experimenting where neither the participants nor the conductors are knowledgeable of the experiment's workings or variables, and random sampling of participants. They were broken up into two groups. One group received EMF radiation, while the other did not. With these controls in place, the Granqvist experiment failed to find a substantial difference between the two groups and any perceived feeling of paranormal or spiritual significance (pp. 1-6). It also did not factor in the variable that EMF fields lose strength at a distance. During both experiments, the subjects were subjected to EMF radiation emitted from a helmet that focused the energy to very specific areas of the brain. It is noted that people who have reported seeing spirits or having any other interaction with the dead have rarely been attired in such a way. The radiation has to come from sources not in direct contact with an individual's head. A normal haunted house will have numerous sources of EMF radiation. It could come from overhead powerlines, the house's wiring, even the appliances that are plugged in. Depending on the circuit configuration in this house, the EMF field will exhibit strength loss in various ways. According to Scantech, circuits that are utilizing two conductors, or two wires, the loss of field strength at distance can be represented by the equation (1D2)F, where D is the distance from the source and F is the EMF strength at the source. For grounded, or single conductor circuits, the equation changes to (1/D)F. Lastly, transformers that are utilized for everything from chargers to running radios emits EMF radiation, and their equation for strength loss would be (1/D3)F (Scantech, 2008). In order to replicate the levels that the experiment produced, the EMF levels would be too high to be safe. On top of the proximity of the radiation source, there is the issue of the length of exposure. The experiments were conducted in intervals of 15-30 minutes, but the length of EMF exposure was between 200-600 μs (Granqvist et al, 2005, p. 2). A μs is the same as 0.000001 second. This means that the fields generated on the brain were in existence only 0.0002 - 0.0006 seconds. In order for the data collected to be relevant to the real world, it would have to be shown that the fields present in the haunted location were the same as those tested, but only in the location where the spirits or phenomenon were reported. In addition to this, 80% of the people that are in that location would have to report feeling the phenomenon, just as in the experiment. Conclusion Science does not have all of the answers, especially in regards to the paranormal. Too many scientists are solely focused on the belief that what they do can answer everything in the world. Their belief perseverance, the need to keep believing in something even after facts are shown to insufficiently support that belief, prevents them from accepting that they might not know it all (Myers, 2007, p. 295). Albert Einstein stated, The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed (Harris, 1995). There are things that we know for fact now that could be changed into fallacy the next time our ability and level of understanding grows explosively. The efforts of Mr. Tandy, Mr. Persinger, Mr. Granqvist and others to scientifically quantify the perception of ghostly experiences are definitely on the right track. Limiting ghostly experiences to bad vibrations or exposure to magnetic energy does relate to some phenomenon. Their work, however, does not address any historical haunting prior to the Industrial Revolution, not any in areas free from sources of vibration. There is too much that is still unknown to draw a decisive conclusion from the scientific studies conducted to date. Click the following link to download full paper in PDF format with full cited works. Full Paper |