Science Says...

An article published in the BBC News on May 21, 2003, based on experiments conducted by Dr. Richard Wiseman, concludes that ghosts are products of our minds reaction to certain surroundings. Wiseman took hundreds of volunteers to the most haunted places in the UK, Hampton Court Palace, England, and the South Bridge Vaults in Edinburgh, Scotland. Volunteers were asked to record their experience and then mark on a floor plan where they felt the most "haunted." In a normal place, one would assume that the markings would be all over the place but it is expected of haunted places that certain areas should have more prominent paranormal experiences. The results proved exactly this; people often marked the same areas of where they felt a "presence." Researchers concluded that hauntings are real. People do feel more "spooked" in certain areas more than others BUT this does not mean hauntings are caused by ghosts. "People do have consistent experiences in consistent places, but I think that this is driven by visual factors mainly, and perhaps some other environmental cues," Wiseman said. As he measured the light, room space, and temperature in each place, Wiseman felt that the places gave off erie feelings which produced the sensation of being haunted, without the ghosts. What about mediums who can sense spirits in areas they have never been? Wiseman says that these people could simply be more sensitive to the environmental cues that create the feelings of being haunted. 


This makes me think of a so-called haunted prison by my house. Many of my friends have gone and told me it is "SO FREAKY" but thinking back it could be freaky because its a dark, gloomy, run down prison that's made to look scary because people are trying to make money off the tours.... not because it is infested with ghosts.