Ghosts & Hauntings

Study sees 'ghost' encounters induced in a psychomanteum

By T.K. Randall
November 11, 2026

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) The study, which was conducted by researchers from the University of West Georgia and Northwest Missouri State University, took place inside a chamber known as a psychomanteum.

This unusual room is essentially an enclosed space with black velvet covering the walls and ceiling, dim lighting and a reclining chair facing a mirror in which participants can see themselves.

The experiment saw volunteers spend 45 minutes in the room and then describe whether or not they had experienced anything strange during their time there.

Half of the participants had synesthesia (a neurological condition in which stimulation of one sense can trigger an involuntary experience in another) while the other half had a history of paranormal experiences.

Each was asked to remember someone who had died before entering the chamber.Intriguingly, several people reported sensations ranging from feeling something touch their hair to the feeling of a presence and even visual sightings of an entity in the room.

The researchers had expected to find that such experiences would be reported more commonly in the group with synesthesia, but unexpectedly there was little difference between the two groups.

By contrast, those who scored more highly on a questionnaire about creative fantasy had a much greater tendency to have more vidid experiences.

"Oftentimes, these experiences were highly emotional but in a positive manner," lead author Christine Simmonds-Moore told Science Alert.

"One participant experienced her hair being stroked by her loved one, which was meaningful and strongly impactful."

Source: Science Alert

Tags: Ghost, Haunting