Jump to content
Join the Unexplained Mysteries community today! It's free and setting up an account only takes a moment.
- Sign In or Create Account -

Scientific explanations


GirlInBlack

Recommended Posts

Time and time again I read through these forums and I see a lot of people who are knowledgeable of the paranormal and are quick to warn about the dangers of stirring them up, but I don't hear a lot of scientific explanation on these types of phenomena. Paranormal investigators are often not true scientists and are simply investigating to find proof of paranormal behavior or to fuel their own curiosity.

Does anyone here know about any true scientific studies that have been done on ghosts and other paranormal activity? As an example, what happens to a persons physiology when they claim to be possessed?

What really makes a Ouija board move?

How do ghosts manifest? Is it some sort of electromagnetic field? If so, what causes it to happen?

Has anyone ever tried to make ghosts appear using technology?

Why do batteries die out in a couple minutes at a haunted location? Paranormal investigators will say it is because ghosts feed off the battery energy, but where are the tests that prove that to be the case? If it is true how do they accomplish it?

Has anyone every tried to capture a ghost or remove one from a house using means other than holy water and silly voodoo chants about Jesus?

I am a very scientific person and would love some explanation beyond "ghosts of dead relatives walk the earth" or "Ouija boards allow you to contact demons and other dimensions". Where is the science behind all the superstition and spooky rumors? Has anyone even tried to explain it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 32
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • She-ra

    4

  • GirlInBlack

    3

  • Pluto-x

    3

  • JackalnChainz

    3

Top Posters In This Topic

Well, to be honest hun, I can only share a few things here.

My advice would for YOU is go out and see what YOU experience. Then come back and tell us!! :)

Personally I don't think anyone would want to share their experiences with someone who's never even tried to experiment or had issues for herslf.

PS: why don't you ask MasterPro?

Edited by She-ra
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think there are plenty of scientific investigators, but the thing is that they CAN'T explain this stuff - that's why it's paranormal.

There was an interesting topic on another site that I read last year, I think, about a lady undergoing brain surgery while awake, so that they'd know which parts of her brain they were working on. When they touched specific places, she said she could see other people in the room and was very definite and descriptive.

Sleep paralysis has also been investigated.

You have to go and do some searchin' for the topics! I'm sure they'll be here in their hundreds!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good god She-ra ! We were just telepathic! (Even though it looks like I was several minutes behind, I was the only one who'd looked at this at the time) I must take ages to post.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good god She-ra ! We were just telepathic! (Even though it looks like I was several minutes behind, I was the only one who'd looked at this at the time) I must take ages to post.

Nah hun. We just know how to cut to the chase. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What if she has gone out and experienced nothing? Or maybe she's not totally sure what's what? Wouldn't that be an excellent chance for you to share experiences and help each other out? I'm just saying...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, to be honest hun, I can only share a few things here.

My advice would for YOU is go out and see what YOU experience. Then come back and tell us!! :)

Personally I don't think anyone would want to share their experiences with someone who's never even tried to experiment or had issues for herslf.

PS: why don't you ask MasterPro?

I am not technically gifted enough to set up anything elaborate. While I may be scientific minded I am not a scientist. I have had paranormal experiences and there is a haunted place near my home. About the only thing I am knowledgeable enough to do is take photos. I have done this. I have taken some good photos including a few infa red ones, but I am nowhere near technically savvy enough to run experiments.

The type of stuff I would want to know would take someone working full time in the field of paranormal study and they would have to be much more educated than myself. Me and my degree in engineering aren't up to the task, and my full time job prohibits me from going on a trek to find out the truth.

Thanks for the tip about masterpro.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just wanted to say that I believe that if ghosts do exist, there must be a scienctific explanation. (Although I still find this stuff so creepy!) There have been threads on here discussing scientific proof, studies of electromagnetism and so forth. I don't believe in the afterlife in the religious sense, but there could be something to energy imprints - who knows? What do you think, since you obviously believe in ghosts? ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Time and time again I read through these forums and I see a lot of people who are knowledgeable of the paranormal and are quick to warn about the dangers of stirring them up, but I don't hear a lot of scientific explanation on these types of phenomena. Paranormal investigators are often not true scientists and are simply investigating to find proof of paranormal behavior or to fuel their own curiosity.

No offense but then you're not reading close enough, because there are a lot of us that come in with logical explanations to the experiences that people have.

Does anyone here know about any true scientific studies that have been done on ghosts and other paranormal activity? As an example, what happens to a persons physiology when they claim to be possessed?

I believe that depends a lot on the culture and the person's motivation.

What really makes a Ouija board move?

Ideomoter effect.

How do ghosts manifest? Is it some sort of electromagnetic field? If so, what causes it to happen?

You'd have to believe in ghosts to answer that question.

Has anyone ever tried to make ghosts appear using technology?

Yes. Scientists stimulate the brain with EMF and can reproduce a lot of feelings associated with paranormal experiences.

Why do batteries die out in a couple minutes at a haunted location? Paranormal investigators will say it is because ghosts feed off the battery energy, but where are the tests that prove that to be the case? If it is true how do they accomplish it?

I don't think this is the case as a location would have to be proven beyond a doubt to be haunted, and that hasn't happened yet.

Has anyone every tried to capture a ghost or remove one from a house using means other than holy water and silly voodoo chants about Jesus?

I'm sure they have. Has it worked? Again you have to take in your own beliefs. You have to believe in ghosts and hauntings to begin with, and then believe that they can be removed by whatever way is being implemented.

I am a very scientific person and would love some explanation beyond "ghosts of dead relatives walk the earth" or "Ouija boards allow you to contact demons and other dimensions". Where is the science behind all the superstition and spooky rumors? Has anyone even tried to explain it?

Of course, that's what paranormal research is all about. The problem is it boils down to faith and beliefs again. I can say 1000 times that infrasound causes the same effects as what someone describes as a haunting, but if that person is convinced they are haunted saying it 10000000 times wouldn't be enough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You gave me some good things to consider, but there are so many more things I could ask.

Humans have an electric charge. If a person doesn't believe in spirits, perhaps another explanation for ghosts would be a leftover electrical residue that a person can leave behind in death. The persons soul is not present on earth, and you are simply looking at an echo. The leftover electrical charge from a persons body. That wouldn't explain hauntings in which the ghosts appear to be sentient. They might call your name or move objects in a meaningful way as an example.

The problem I have is that if you read the bible and believe it, there can be no such thing as spirits walking earth. If you go ask a priest about ghosts he will tell you there are no ghosts. God takes all spirits and put them in heaven or casts them down to hell. A priest would tell you that the only thing present on earth are demons that sometimes try to pretend to be human ghosts to fool you.

Either the bible is wrong or that ghost that looked just like my dead Grandma was a demon...hehe

I need to do some more web searching and see what I can turn up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cool topic... Scientific?

I do not speak for all Paranormal Investigators or Groups, but most of us are Scientific. Most Research Firms will use special & scientific technology in their hunt / investigation. Most Groups... not everyone, will use scientific methods and techniques along with the investigation. The most commonly used devices that are considered to a degree "SCIENTIFIC" are an EMF Detector ( Electromagnetic Field Detector ), a Digital Thermometer with Infrared or Ambient measuring devices that track hot and cold temperatures, Nightvision technology such as Hi8, HD Video, DVR Systems, Wireless Infrared Cameras, etc; They now have on the open market what you call a K-2 Meter which is a trained EMF Device that attracts entities or spirits ( Spirits can manipulate and use our atmosphere whether its EMF or Temperatures ) to communicate through this EMF Gauge that has a sensor on it.

The reason for these devices are to track spirit movement scientifically, measure the frequencies used and to document them.

It takes a lot of energy ( in theory ) for an entity or spirit to manifest, so they will use any energy source they can to help them manifest. They can use the EMF Field, Batteries, Human Beings, Water, Rock, basically anything that is made up of energy. Everything is energy...

Due to SO MANY THEORIES out there, that is why Paranormal Investigators cannot say 100% why things happen. All they can do for now is give you their opinion and validate any claims of Paranormal Activity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Science works by disproving and discarding an incorrect hypothesis. Not by proving or providing a solid explanation for things. So to look for confirmation for something you already believe is defeating your very purpose and is surely unreliable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a more technical definition of what science is and scientific;

Science (from the Latin scientia, 'knowledge'), in the broadest sense, refers to any systematic knowledge or practice. In a more restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on the scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word.

Fields of science are commonly classified along two major lines:

Natural sciences, which study natural phenomena (including biological life), and

Social sciences, which study human behavior and societies.

These groupings are empirical sciences, which means the knowledge must be based on observable phenomena and capable of being experimented for its validity by other researchers working under the same conditions.

Mathematics, which is sometimes classified within a third group of science called formal science, has both similarities and differences with the natural and social sciences. It is similar to empirical sciences in that it involves an objective, careful and systematic study of an area of knowledge; it is different because of its method of verifying its knowledge, using a priori rather than empirical methods. Formal science, which also includes statistics and logic, is vital to the empirical sciences. Major advances in formal science have often led to major advances in the physical and biological sciences. The formal sciences are essential in the formation of hypotheses, theories, and laws, both in discovering and describing how things work (natural sciences) and how people think and act (social sciences).

Science as discussed in this article is sometimes termed experimental science to differentiate it from applied science, which is the application of scientific research to specific human needs, though the two are often interconnected.

Scientific

The scientific method seeks to explain the complexities of nature in a reproducible way, and to use these explanations to make useful predictions. It is done through observation of natural phenomena, and/or through experimentation that tries to simulate natural events under controlled conditions. It provides an objective process to find solutions to problems in a number of scientific and technological fields. Often scientists have a preference for one outcome over another, and scientists are conscientious that it is important that this preference does not bias their interpretation. A strict following of the scientific method attempts to minimize the influence of a scientist's bias on the outcome of an experiment. This can be achieved by correct experimental design, and a thorough peer review of the experimental results as well as conclusions of a study.

Scientists use models to refer to a description or depiction of something, specifically one which can be used to make predictions that can be tested by experiment or observation. A hypothesis is a contention that has been neither well supported nor yet ruled out by experiment. A theory, in the context of science, is a logically self-consistent model or framework for describing the behavior of certain natural phenomena. A theory typically describes the behavior of much broader sets of phenomena than a hypothesis—commonly, a large number of hypotheses may be logically bound together by a single theory. A physical law or law of nature is a scientific generalization based on a sufficiently large number of empirical observations that it is taken as fully verified.

Scientists never claim absolute knowledge of nature or the behavior of the subject of the field of study. Unlike a mathematical proof, a scientific theory is empirical, and is always open to falsification, if new evidence is presented. Even the most basic and fundamental theories may turn out to be imperfect if new observations are inconsistent with them. Critical to this process is making every relevant aspect of research publicly available, which permits peer review of published results, and also allows ongoing review and repeating of experiments and observations by multiple researchers operating independently of one another. Only by fulfilling these expectations can it be determined how reliable the experimental results are for potential use by others.

Isaac Newton's Newtonian law of gravitation is a famous example of an established law that was later found not to be universal—it does not hold in experiments involving motion at speeds close to the speed of light or in close proximity of strong gravitational fields. Outside these conditions, Newton's Laws remain an excellent model of motion and gravity. Since general relativity accounts for all the same phenomena that Newton's Laws do and more, general relativity is now regarded as a more comprehensive theory.

( Therefore, ALL ( MOST ) PARANORMAL INVESTIGATORS are SCIENTIFIC due to practicing of experimentation, producing theories etc; )

Edited by Pluto-x
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And on a further note... LOL

Paranormal is an umbrella term used to describe a wide variety of reported anomalous phenomena. According to the Journal of Parapsychology, the term paranormal describes "any phenomenon that in one or more respects exceeds the limits of what is deemed physically possible according to current scientific assumptions." For this reason, the scientific community often avoids research on the paranormal, believing that it may not conform to the standards required by the scientific method.

Paranormal describes subjects studied under parapsychology, which deals with psychic phenomena like telepathy, extra-sensory perception, psychokinesis, and post-mortem survival studies like reincarnation, ghosts, and hauntings. However, as a broader category, the paranormal sometimes describes subjects outside the scope of parapsychology, including anomalous aspects of UFOs, some creatures that fall under the scope of cryptozoology, purported phenomena surrounding the Bermuda Triangle, and many other non-psychical subjects.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is something called energy imprinting which goes along the lines of what you said - it's like a person's electricity or energy is imprinted in time and repeats itself over and over. The problem I have with this is then why aren't there ghosts everywhere? Why aren't there dinosaur ghosts - or do imprints die out after a time? Do animals leave imprints? (If this happens, I would definitely say yes since we are animals and all animals contain a certain amount of electricity and energy.) I love thinking about these things. I am also a scientist and believe there are many things science has not been able to define yet, and there are a lot of unexplained things out there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's been some research done into infrasound, which is a possible explanation for some of the ghost type phenomena experienced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone here know about any true scientific studies that have been done on ghosts and other paranormal activity?

The Scole Experiments are very interesting. But they were expansive, and unfortunately there were some holes. Still interesting and IMO headed in the right direction and definately worthy of further (and more proper) study.

The Afterlife Experiments was a book written about experiments performed on psychics who attempted to contact friends and relatives of several subjects. There is some skepticism but the book has been surprisingly well recieved. There's plenty to read about the experiments online if you don't want to buy the book. There's also at least one show about it, but the word is that it downplayed the science involved in the experiments.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where is the science behind all the superstition and spooky rumors? Has anyone even tried to explain it?

How would you explain the science of the supernatural?

You've got to be there to know it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WELL here....from the experiments...

Professor Fontana was holding the Panasonic tape recorder containing his carefully marked blank tape. Professor Ellison had duly checked to ensure that there was no microphone in it. We knew the aim was to try to record something paranormal on this tape, but without reproducing any of our own or the spirit voices.

We were told it was to be music; then (in tones of delight) that the composer himself was to transmit it. After a few minutes, clearly heard through much white noise, as though coming from an infinite distance, were sounds which I soon recognised as one of the first pieces of classical music I knew and loved as a boy. It had always had a uniquely strong association with an emotionally stressful period of my youth. The taped record of what was heard at that sitting (as distinct from the tape which David was holding) is eloquent testimony to my startled reaction and profound emotion.

How could ‘they’ possibly have known? Marvellous enough to produce what is popularly if erroneously called Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) on tape; but to have produced a substantial chunk of Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto, orchestra and all, from the discarnate mind (whence else?) clearly meant that ‘they’ must somehow have divined my buried memories. END

OK--ME

They are on the right track...but i have passed them all.....And yes I am a musical

scientist, as I would call it, and a Composer....some day all will see and know of this..

It all exists..zeb........Maybe someday these experimenters will realize,

its not just one freaking waveform..of sound...its a combitation,,,of many

frequencies that open the minds doors.....once again for all Who havent read my lifes

work....

http://www.beyondbeyondmusic.com/

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum...howtopic=101380

Edited by ZEB
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Time and time again I read through these forums and I see a lot of people who are knowledgeable of the paranormal and are quick to warn about the dangers of stirring them up, but I don't hear a lot of scientific explanation on these types of phenomena. Paranormal investigators are often not true scientists and are simply investigating to find proof of paranormal behavior or to fuel their own curiosity.

Does anyone here know about any true scientific studies that have been done on ghosts and other paranormal activity? As an example, what happens to a persons physiology when they claim to be possessed?

What really makes a Ouija board move?

Channeling energy collectively as a group via the consciousness

How do ghosts manifest? Is it some sort of electromagnetic field? If so, what causes it to happen

It depends on a couple factors, the conditions have to right ( whatever they are) it depends if you're talking about a residual ( of other time ) or present (live) manifestation to the naked eye or third eye.

Has anyone ever tried to make ghosts appear using technology?

not that I know of...

Why do batteries die out in a couple minutes at a haunted location? Paranormal investigators will say it is because ghosts feed off the battery energy, but where are the tests that prove that to be the case? If it is true how do they accomplish it?

What tests do you need to prove that? you have a battery operated object that 'normally' runs within it's charged time, stick into a 'volatile energy' situation and watch it drain pathetically....?

Has anyone every tried to capture a ghost or remove one from a house using means other than holy water and silly voodoo chants about Jesus?

Yes...moving a spirit or manipulating energy, moving it 'on' can be done by other means other than a bible/holy water/voodoo....

I am a very scientific person and would love some explanation beyond "ghosts of dead relatives walk the earth" or "Ouija boards allow you to contact demons and other dimensions". Where is the science behind all the superstition and spooky rumors? Has anyone even tried to explain it?

Rather than look outwards for scientific result, look inwards....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As far as I can surmize, the reason it is called the paranormal is because it is neither normal or abnormal, but something in between. There is little scientific data regarding these phenomenon, because they defy the laws of physics, as we know them. And science has already shown that objects do not have to be visible to have matter and gravitational qualities. I do believe someone has been conducting experiments with "ectoplasm" but I am not sure if there has been any conclusive results.

I watch that "Ghost Hunters" show, and laugh and shake my head quite often. I disagree with most of their theories, and most of their tactics. I do think they do a service by keeping the issue at a media level, and has helped with gaining the attention of the public. But they also hurt this area of study with their bumbling and often blatant attempts to fool eachother into believing something astounding has occurred.

When I see their batteries being drained, they always explain that it is a spirit sucking the energy suddenly, in an attempt to manifest itself. Yet I never see it manifest. And if that is the case, why don't they wheel in pallets of batteries to assist the struggling entity? Or a generator? This theory has been around for many years though. I remember an old horror movie, and one of my favorites (a classic) called "The Legend of Hell House". The doctor effectively constructed a machine that rid the house of all energy, with magnetic impulses. They all had to wait outside while the machine did its' dirty work, leaving the spirits nothing to hold onto and forcing them out. So this is an old premise.

In answer to your question, several universities have a parapsychology department, and conduct experiments of this nature. So real scientific study does take place. Although funded predominantly by the US government, I would not be holding my breath for any fantastic findings, if they did occur. ~Jackal

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a good question but, as Tillytolly noted, studies of the paranormal have been and are still being made. Many people come up with what they consider to be definitive "explanations" but the fact is that their "explanations" do not provide conclusive proof. They are really only proposed hypotheses. The reason for the lack of scientific backing for such "explanations" is that, as yet, these phenomena remain a mystery.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.