Infrasound and Ghosts
Do Low Frequency Waves Explain Hauntings?
A group of researchers in the United Kingdom suspect that a natural phenomena called infrasound might cause the creepy sensations associated with haunted places.
What is Infrasound?
- Sound is measured by frequency (pitch) and amplitude (loudness). Frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz). Infrasound is an extremely low frequency sound between .1 -20Hz.
- Infrasound is usually inaudible, but it does affect the human body. It can cause nausea, anxiety and chills. Some researchers think infrasound might affect vision by causing vibrations of the eyeball.
- Researchers have theorized that a portion of the population is hypersensitive to infrasound.
- Infrasound can be generated naturally by avalanches, earthquakes and severe weather. It can also result from man-made sources such as diesel engines and sonic booms.
Infrasound and the Haunted Laboratory
In April 1998, the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research published a paper called The Ghost in the Machine by Coventry University lecturer Vic Tandy. It described Tandy’s experiences working in a medical lab.
Coworkers complained of chills and a "spooky" feeling in the lab. A cleaning lady abruptly resigned after "seeing something." Working alone in the lab one night, Tandy suddenly had the feeling he was being watched. A shadowy figure appeared at the edge of his vision. When Tandy turned to face it, the figure vanished.
The next day Tandy brought a fencing foil to the lab for repair. When he clamped one end of the blade in a vise, it began vibrating wildly. Frightened but curious, Tandy began moving the blade around the room. It vibrated strongly in the center of the lab, but completely stopped at the far walls.
What humans experience as sound is actually a pressure wave traveling through the atmosphere. Tandy had discovered a 19Hz standing wave in the laboratory. The walls of the lab had caused the wave to double back on itself, producing an area of maximum energy in the center of the room- enough energy to vibrate a sword.
The source of the wave was a newly installed fan at one end of the lab. When it was switched off, the infrasonic wave — and all phenomena associated with it — disappeared.
The Ghost in the Cellar
The Tourist Information Centre next to Coventry Cathedral stands over a 14th century cellar. The cellar was discovered during construction of the Centre and the builders connected the two with an underground corridor.
The Centre offered guided tours of the cellar and some visitors reported feeling a "presence" in the room. A journalist claimed he saw a ghostly face peering over his shoulder.
Tandy and his colleagues placed sound measuring equipment in the cellar area and discovered that the corridor was supporting a 19Hz standing wave like that found in the lab. Tandy reported the group’s findings in a paper titledSomething in the Cellar, published in 2000.
Combining Music and Infrasound
Infrasound had now been detected in two places thought to be haunted. But did infrasound cause the haunting?
In May 2003 Dr. Richard Lord, an acoustic scientist at the National Physical Laboratory in England, and Professor Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire, conducted an experiment.
Dr. Lord and his colleagues staged a concert for 750 people. Four pieces of music were performed. Without telling the audience, Dr. Lord used a seven-meter pipe to produce infrasound during two of the pieces. Afterward, audience members were asked to describe their response to the music. Although unaware of the infrasound, 22% reported feeling chills, revulsion and fear when it was added to the music.
The next time the hair stands up on the back of your neck, it might not be your imagination. It could be something in the air.
References
The Ghost in the Machine-Vic Tandy
Something in the Cellar-Vic Tandy
Dr. Lord's Experiment with Music and Infrasound
Ghost Buster - Chris Arnot/Guardian Unlimited, 6/11/03
Sounds Like Terror in the Air - Reuters, 11/9/03
Infrasound - Skepdic.com
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