Just in time for the spooky season, Mental Floss has compiled a list of six logical explanations for that ghostly presence you’re feeling in your house. Here they are:
- Electromagnetic fields. Certain patterns of weak magnetic fields over someone’s head for 15 to 30 minutes can create the perception that there’s an invisible presence in the room.
- Infrasound. Low frequency vibrations can cause distinct physiological discomfort.
- Mold. Preliminary research indicates that some molds can cause symptoms that sound pretty ghostly--like irrational fear and dementia.
- Carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause aural and visual hallucinations.
- Someone else said it was real. If someone else confidently asserts that they saw the ghost, it might influence a fellow eyewitness to believe they saw it, too.
- We want to believe. We all want to believe in life after death; the idea of our mortality is one we are not generally comfortable with.