Page 58 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - Febrary/March 2020 Edition

58 Why Some People See Ghosts

Why Some People See

Ghosts and Other

Apparitions

There are potential explanations
(even if some people won't

believe them).

Frank T. McAndrew Ph.D.

In the 2013 science-fiction thriller Gravity,
Sandra Bullock plays an astronaut who gets
stranded in a capsule in space following a
catastrophe in which she is the apparent lone
survivor. Cold, frightened, and alone, she
resigns herself to her fate and shuts down the
cabin's oxygen supply to commit suicide. As she
begins to lose consciousness, she is visited (or is
she?) by her fellow astronaut, played by George spend most of our time attending to and Columbus’s ship the Pinta. He claimed that the
Clooney, whom she believed to be dead. He processing external, ambient stimuli from the pilot steered his boat through heavy weather as
gives her a pep talk and a survival plan—and physical world surrounding us. However, Slocum lay ill with food poisoning.
then he leaves. She eventually realizes that persistent exposure to stimuli that we are Many other startling, vivid examples of
Clooney’s visit did not really happen, but the evolutionarily unprepared to process, or a lack such apparitions reported by sailors, mountain
experience still gives her the strength to of change in our surroundings, may cause us to climbers, and polar explorers are described in a
continue on. By following "his" plan, she is able focus more within ourselves, which most of us 1987 article by Suedfeld and Mocellin. These
to survive what seemed to be a hopeless are much less experienced at doing. include recurring reports by polar explorers that
situation. they felt as if someone was following them on
The movie was science fiction, but the We Have "Agency-Detection" their treks; Mt. Everest climbers stranded in
encounter that Bullock’s character has with a Mechanisms snow holes hallucinating rescuers; and survivors
"being" who appears in a moment of of sinking ships counting extra persons in their
desperation is a human experience far more Seeing ghosts may also be triggered by the lifeboats.
common than you might think. Psychologists Although sensed presences are most
“agency-detection mechanisms" proposed by
refer to it as the “sensed presence.” frequently reported by people in weird or
evolutionary psychologists. These mechanisms
dangerous places, it is not unreasonable to
evolved to protect us from harm at the hands of
The "Sensed Presence" predators and enemies. assume that such experiences can happen in
more mundane surroundings.
If you are walking down a dark city
The sensed presence usually happens to street and hear the sound of something moving For example, grieving individuals who
individuals who have become isolated in an in a dark alley, you will respond with a have lost a loved one on whom they depended
extreme or unusual environment, often when heightened level of arousal and sharply focused greatly may shut themselves off from social
high levels of stress are involved. These attention and behave as if there is a willful contact with others and rarely leave their homes.
individuals report a perception or feeling that “agent” present who is about to do you harm. If The loneliness and isolation, coupled with high
another person is there to help them cope with a it turns out to be just a gust of wind or a stray levels of stress and unchanging sensory
hazardous situation. The vividness of the cat, you lose little by overreacting, but if you stimulation, might very well produce the same
presence can range from a vague feeling of fail to activate the alarm response and a true biological conditions that could trigger a “visit”
being watched to a clearly perceived, seemingly threat is present, the cost of your miscalculation from the recently departed. Studies indicate that
flesh-and-blood entity such as Clooney’s could be high. Thus, we evolved to err on the almost half of widowed elderly Americans
character in Gravity. This entity might be a god, side of detecting threats in such ambiguous experience a hallucination of the departed
a spirit, an ancestor, or someone personally situations. spouse. Such after-death communications
known to the observer. Sensed presences A study by Kirsten Barnes and Nicholas actually appear to be a healthy coping
usually appear in environments with little Gibson explored the differences between mechanism and a normal part of the
variation in physical and social stimulation; low individuals who have never had a paranormal bereavement process.
temperature is also a common ingredient. experience and those who have. They confirmed The phenomenon of the sensed presence
Possible explanations for a sensed that experiences of supernatural phenomena are may account for some religious experiences as
presence include the motion of boats, most likely to occur in threatening or well. Such episodes often occur following
atmospheric or geomagnetic activity, and ambiguous environments, and they also found extended periods of meditation and internal
altered sensations and states of consciousness that those who had paranormal experiences reflection and may be facilitated by unusual and
induced by changes in brain chemistry triggered scored higher on scales measuring empathy and intense physical stimulation. Early religious
by stress, lack of oxygen, monotonous a tendency to become deeply absorbed in one’s figures such as Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed
stimulation, or a buildup of hormones. There is own subjective experience. all reportedly met supernatural beings while
in fact exciting new evidence from a research wandering in the desert; indeed, fasting,
group led by Olaf Blanke demonstrating that it When Do Sensed Presences Occur? prolonged meditation, and stimulation of the
is the precise stimulation of specific brain body through pain and fatigue are part and
regions that tricks people into feeling the parcel of most religions.
Some of the most compelling descriptions of
"presence" of a ghostly apparition.
sensed presences come from lone sailors who
Environmental psychologist Peter (Continued on Page 59)
have experienced hallucinations and out-of-
Suedfeld also thinks that what we do
body experiences. In one famous incident, Fact*oid: The day after Thanksgiving
cognitively changes under these circumstances
Joshua Slocum, the first person to
and may play a role. is so busy for plumbers that they call it
circumnavigate the globe single-handedly,
Suedfeld proposed that we normally “Brown Friday.”
swore that he saw and spoke with the pilot of