Page 67 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - August/September 2017

10 Scientific Explanations for Ghosts 67

10 Scientific Explanations hell home was plagued with the sounds of 2. Ions
slamming doors, moving furniture and footsteps
for Famous Ghostly in empty rooms. One of the children felt Unfortunately, real ghost hunters don't carry

something sitting on him while the other was proton packs. However, they do use tools such
Phenomena attacked by a mysterious stranger. During the as the ion counter. The ion counter, well, counts
night, the woman of the house awoke to see a ions. An ion is an atom with an uneven amount
Continued from Page 66 man and a woman standing at the foot of her of protons and electrons. If an atom gains an
bed, only to watch them vanish moments later. electron, it becomes a negative ion, and if it
6. Drafts As the hauntings continued, the family grew loses an electron, it becomes positive.
tired and depressed, and then their plants started Ghost hunters go crazy over ions
to die. It was then they discovered the faulty because they supposedly show a paranormal
You're exploring a creepy, run-down mansion in
furnace. The furnace was supposed to send its presence. Some say a spirit's presence interferes
the middle of the night when suddenly the air
fumes up the chimney, but instead the gas was with the normal ion count in the atmosphere
grows cold. However, if you take a few steps to
pouring into the house. It turns out the family while others say ghosts draw upon ionic energy
the left or right, the temperature returns to
was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. when they want to appear and scare people to
normal. This is what parapsychologists call a
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, death. However, ion counters are really pretty
cold spot. According to ghost hunters, a cold
colorless gas, which makes it really hard to lousy when it comes to detecting ghosts. Ions
spot is a sign of paranormal activity. When a
detect. It's dangerous because our red blood are caused by all kinds of natural phenomena
ghost has nothing better to do than appear out of
cells absorb CO much easier than they do like weather, solar radiation, and radon gas. So it
thin air and scare people to death, it needs
oxygen, and this oxygen deprivation leads to basically comes down to how someone
energy. So the ghost draws heat from its
symptoms such as weakness, nausea, confusion, interprets the evidence. Scientists see ions and
surroundings (including people) in order to
and eventually death. But before you kick the think, "Natural." Ghost hunters see ions and
manifest.
bucket, you might experience hallucinations, think, "Paranormal!"
However, scientists have a much simpler
just like the "H" family. For example, in 2005, a Interestingly, both positive and negative
(and much more boring) explanation. When
woman called the authorities after seeing a spirit ions can affect our moods. Negative ions can
skeptics investigate "haunted" houses, they
in her bathroom. It turned out the paranormal make us feel calm and relaxed while positive
usually find cool air entering the house through
activity was due to her leaky water heater which ions can give us headaches and make us feel
a chimney or window. But even if the room is
was filling the house with CO. Bottom line: lousy. This might explain why people who live
sealed off, there's still a perfectly rational
Stay away from carbon monoxide, folks, in "haunted" houses describe feeling tired and
explanation. Every object has its own
because one way or another, it'll have you tense, as well as having headaches.
temperature, and some surfaces are hotter than
seeing ghosts.
others. In an attempt to equalize the room
1. Quantum Mechanics
temperature, the objects try to lose heat in a
process called convection. This is where hot air 3. Mass Hysteria
Quantum mechanics is the study of the smallest
rises, and cool air drops. Similarly, when dry air
In June 2013, over 3,000 workers went on strike types of matter, and it has led to some pretty
enters a humid room, the dry air sinks to the
at a garment factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh. awesome inventions. However, it can get pretty
floor and the humid air rises to the ceiling. This
They weren't protesting against long working weird when physicists start talking about souls
swirling air will feel cool against a person's
hours, and they weren't demanding better and ghosts. Take, for example, Dr. Stuart
skin, giving the impression of a cold spot. Next
wages. They wanted someone to do something Hameroff and his physicist friend Roger
time you feel a ghostly presence, turn on the
about the ghost in the restroom. An angry spirit Penrose. Hameroff and Penrose theorize that
heater.
had attacked a worker in the lady's room, human consciousness comes from microtubules
causing everyone to panic. A riot ensued, and inside our brain cells, and these tubules are
5. Camera Issues
the police had to restore order. A similar event responsible for quantum processing (our souls
took place at a school in Patong, Phuket when basically). Hameroff and Penrose believe when
Ghost hunters have a love-hate relationship with
22 students were hospitalized after seeing the people have a near-death experience, all that
orbs. These glowing balls of light are
ghost of an old woman. But while the quantum information leaves the brain, yet
supposedly the spirits of people who've passed
Bangladeshi factory owner ordered an continues to exist, which is why some people
away, but haven't quite passed on. Invisible to
exorcism, perhaps he should have called a report out-of-body experiences and lights at the
the eye, orbs can only be seen in photographs,
counselor instead. end of tunnels.
and that's where things get tricky. Skeptic Brian
Both the workers and the students As you might expect, a lot of scientists
Dunning says when a dust speck or bug is too
experienced a psychological phenomenon have problems with Hameroff and Penrose's
close to the camera, it will show up in the photo
known as mass hysteria. These collective theory. But Dr. Henry Stapp isn't one of them. As
as a blurry, out-of-focus circle. And thanks to
delusions occur when people are really stressed a respected quantum physicist who worked with
the camera flash, the orb will appear to be
out, usually thanks to their oppressive the famous Heisenberg, Stapp believes that a
glowing and is thus mistaken for a ghost.
environments (like a strict school or busy person's personality might be able to survive
Perfectly reasonable mistake, right?
workplace). This pent-up stress then turns into death and exist as a "mental entity." Stapp
Even most believers are pretty skeptical
physical symptoms like headaches, nausea, or theorizes if these entities could return to the
about orb photography. While she thinks some
violent spasms. Throw in religious and cultural physical world, then concepts like possession
real photos exist, parapsychologist Pamela
beliefs, a relatively isolated environment and and channeling could really be possible. Are
Heath points out several natural causes of orbs
the always-busy rumor mill, and you've got a men like Stapp, Hameroff, and Penrose just
such as fine hairs, dirty or wet lenses, lens
recipe for disaster. Other people will "catch" the wishful thinkers? Or are they modern day
reflection, or movement during exposure. Many
same strange symptoms, they'll spread like a Galileos? []
paranormal websites have stopped accepting
disease, and panic ensues.
these photos because they say there are just too
It's interesting to note that very few of From the Pages of “Did You Know?”
many false ones. So thanks to a basic
the 3,000 factory workers actually encountered
understanding of how technology works, orb by Rob McConnell:
the ghost. Even the woman who sparked the
photos seem to be giving up the ghost.
frenzy didn't actually see anything. She got sick
DYK...Longest word in Japanese: Chi-n-chi-
and just assumed it was the work of an evil
4. Carbon Monoxide Poisoning ku-ri-n. It means “very short person.”
spirit, but the suggestion was so powerful and
DYK...Only 30% of humans can flare their
the circumstances were so perfect that everyone
In 1921, ophthalmologist William Wilmer nostrils.
freaked out. Fortunately, it didn't end with
published a bizarre paper in the American DYK...Clams can live as long as 150 years
human sacrifices or dogs and cats living
Journal of Ophthalmology. It told the story of together.
the "H" family and their haunted house. Their Available at www.robmcconnell.ca