Do you ever think you've seen a ghost and get scared? Wasn't it the rustling of curtains in the wind? We know it's totally irrational, but there's little we can do to stop the fear. Where does the feeling come from?
The night is cold and damp. You can hear the wind howling around the building; hear thick and heavy raindrops pummeling the window panes. Inside it is warm. The flickering candles emit a soft and comfortable light. Colorful images flash across the television screen as the newsreader presents the headlines in a low murmur. You sip your wine, your eyes fixed on the screen. Suddenly you whip around. You have seen something moving out of the corner of your eye. But there's no one there. And how can there be? After all, you are alone.
It's a phenomenon that has happened to all of us at least once. But why does it happen? Is there somebody there? Or is our mind playing mean tricks? Parapsychology, the scientific study of the paranormal, examines these questions and tries to answer them on a psychological and neuroscientific basis.
Studying the paranormal
"Parapsychologists are typically involved in three different research areas," explains Dr. Ciaran O'Keeffe, Head of Psychology at Buckinghamshire New University in England, who specializes in parapsychology, forensic and investigative psychology.
"The first is called extra sensory perception, short for ESP, which is an umbrella term and covers abilities like telepathy, precognition and clairvoyance. Second, is the action of the mind on an object - bending a spoon without touching it, for example. That's psychokinesis. And the third is after-death communication, sometimes termed 'survival'. Here, parapsychologists study haunting experiences, poltergeists, and mediumship, the communication between dead and living spirits."
Ghosts come first and foremost from imaginationImage: Colourbox
Parapsychology also has an answer to the inexplicable movement of the presence that you have seen in your peripheral vision. Although there might be several explanations, the neuroscientific one is probably the least creepy: our peripheral vision is produced by so-called retinal rod cells, which have a much lower resolution than the cone cells in our central area of vision.
A flash of movement
"If we think we've seen a movement out of the corner of our eye it is typically poor quality, non-detailed shapes and black or white. That is a result of our rods not ‘seeing' color," O'Keeffe explains. "If there is any interpretation of it, then our brain is ‘filling in the gaps', something called visual substitution. Effectively our brain is trying to come up with a rational explanation for something we've seen, or we think we've seen. That ‘rational' explanation can even be a ghost."
No matter the reason, the short moment in which you believed another person or being to be in the room, was enough to put your body on high-alert. You are breathing heavily, your heart is beating hard against your ribs and you can see the wine in your glass quivering in unison with your shaking hand. While some people hate this type of experience, others actually enjoy the feeling of being spooked.
Why some like to be spooked and others don't
This is down to the chemicals in our brain that play a major role in our fundamental ‘flight or fight' response. These same chemicals, including the neurotransmitter dopamine, also contribute to other emotional states, such as excitement and happiness. In addition, dopamine controls the reward and pleasure centers in our brain, which explains why some people get a ‘kick' out of being frightened out of their wits.
"The variation of dopamine release in one person's brain versus another's is fundamentally the reason why some people enjoy scary ventures and others feel completely terrorized," says O'Keeffe. "There is also quite a complex psychological factor involved that can come down to early negative experiences with haunted houses or horror movies."
A haunted place - ChernobylImage: DW/J. Thurau
Haunted houses give us the creeps
While we're on the subject of haunted houses, let's talk about them a little bit. Dark and derelict buildings and places have been the fuel of horror movies and crime novels for decades. On the one hand, they fascinate us, on the other, they give us the creeps.
Some psychologists say that this is an evolutionary trait which ensures that we avoid situations and places that could put us in danger or make us vulnerable. After all, somebody or something might be lurking in the shadows down the corridor; an almost inaudible creak of the floorboards and the flutter of a torn curtain could indicate movement. Our body responds with a heightened level of arousal and attention, readying us to fight or flee at the crucial moment.
O'Keeffe takes a different approach: "I like to think that this is to do with the unknown and letting our imagination run amok. In that dark, derelict place there may be lurking the most horrific and grotesque demon ready to jump out at us. Or at least our imagination would have us believe that will happen."
A sense of presence
Our imagination also plays a great role in having a ‘sense of presence'. Although there can be a number of reasons why somebody might feel a presence, psychological and environmental factors are thought to be the main causes.
"The power of suggestion would be sufficient for someone to feel a presence. So, simply by telling someone that a building is haunted is enough for them to misinterpret perfectly natural occurrences as having a supernatural explanation," O'Keeffe explains. "Suggestion together with imagination and a belief in ghosts or the paranormal is a powerful combination to give someone that sense of presence when there's actually nothing there."
The science of horror will make you think twice about Halloween
Humans are flat out hardwired for horror, research shows. And a good horror film can even have positive effects on the body. Or leave you terrified for life.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Horror movies are good for white blood cells
Scary movies, it turns out, can be good for us. In one experiment, a group of 32 healthy males and females (aged 20-26) either sat quietly in a room or were subjected to the film, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Afterwards, the moviegoers showed higher levels of activated leukocytes - white blood cells (pictured), which are used by the immune system to defend against bodily invaders.
Image: Picture-Alliance/Klett
Skip gym tonight?
Horror films are also said to burn calories - but bear in mind, the study was co-commissioned by Amazon.com's LOVEFiLM. It was conducted by the University of Westminster, London. Watching "The Shining" brought on a calorie burn of 184, "Jaws" 161 calories, "The Exorcist" 158, and "Alien" 152 - but "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" a mere 107.
Image: imago
A form of training
We are attracted to horror movies because they are a kind of practice run for disastrously, dangerous scenarios. "[We] develop behavioral cognitive emotions that allow us to swiftly detect and appropriately respond to dangers," says horror researcher Mathias Clasen. Watch "The Shining," for example, and you're better prepared for that trip to your remote hotel.
Image: Imago/Entertainment Pictures
You are primed to see this snake
Most of us come imprinted with good snake instincts, however. Virginia researchers asked preschoolers and adults to find a single target image in the midst of eight distracting images. Both children and adults detected snakes far more rapidly than flowers, frogs or caterpillars - it was the first time children had been tested for enhanced visual detection of evolutionarily relevant threat stimuli.
Image: imago
'Spiders at the Cocktail Party'
In another experiment, scientists wondered whether individuals mixing cocktails would be "peripherally blind" to a nearby spider. NOPE! A large percentage saw the creepy critter - all while taking comparatively little notice of things like houseflies, non-spider prototypes and syringes.
Image: Fotolia/fovito
The (REAL) horror!
Feelings of fear and revulsion are meant to protect us. Yet human evolution hasn't kept up with modern civilization. Our deepest fears - spiders, snakes, heights, enclosed spaces - have woefully little in common with what actually kills us today: trans fats, cigarettes, cars, alcohol. While you might find the latter four at a Halloween party, they would never be strung up as "scary" decor.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
The case of 'Patient SM'
Not everyone is affected by horror. Patient SM (not pictured) suffered amygdala lesions and showed no reaction to horror films, haunted houses or scary animals: "SM held the snake for over three minutes while displaying a wide range of exploratory behaviors: she rubbed its leathery scales, touched its flicking tongue, and closely watched its movements as it slithered through her hands."
Image: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images
Zombie monkeys
How about our primate relatives? Are they freaked out by zombies? Results from Princeton University suggest they are. Macaques were shown unrealistic monkey faces as well as realistic ones. They looked longer at the realistic images, leading the researchers to think Macaques experience an "uncanny valley," which keeps them (and us for that matter) averse to disease and genetic deformities.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
The smell of fear
Did you know you smell differently after a horror film? Moviegoers in Vienna were shown a "fear film" (Candyman) and a "neutral film" and later had their armpits dabbed. The "lucky" women who were asked to sniff the swabs were able to distinguish between "the scent of fear" and non-fear. The stress hormone cortisol, however, was not the cause, implying fear pheromones have other origins.
Image: picture-alliance / KPA Honorar & Belege
Don't go in the water!
Horror films can leave a permanent, negative impression. Seventy-five percent of students who were asked reported waking-life disturbances. Some examples: difficulty swimming after watching "Jaws," uneasiness around clowns, televisions and trees after watching "Poltergeist," a fear of camping and woods after watching "The Blair Witch Project," and anxiety when home alone due to the film "Scream."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Next frontier of fear: horror video games?
But the science is very much out on the effects of horror video games. The genre is too new. Some studies have shown, however, that the intensity of the gaming experience does disrupt sleep. Australian researchers found gamers slept for shorter periods and that their sleep was less efficient.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB
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Splendidly spooky spots around the world
Grab your jack-o'-lanterns in time for Halloween, and let us take you to places that are bound to give you goosebumps. What once was known as All Hallows' Eve has long become a worldwide event.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/O. Spata
Frankenstein Castle, Germany
In the 13th century, Baron von Frankenstein built this castle on the edge of the Odenwald mountain range. His namesake monster is, however, the invention of the English writer Mary Shelley. Her novel inspired numerous films, but the castle still calls itself the "real home of the monster." Here, Halloween is celebrated in style, with a ghoulish spectacle that includes a haunted dinner.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Becker
Kronborg Castle, Denmark
Shakespeare's Elsinore — the setting of his world-famous play "Hamlet" — was modeled after Kronborg Castle in Helsingor half a millennium ago. When a new restaurant opened on its premises in 2005, employees began to report bottles falling from shelves and candles lighting themselves. There was also talk of a stench of corpses. A spiritualist then banished the ghosts — but for how long?
Image: Imago/R. Balzerek
Haunted catacombs, France
In the 18th century, the cemeteries of Paris were at full capacity due to pestilence and starvation. That's why human remains had to be transferred to a section of the city's subterranean network, the catacombs, which became an ossuary. These tunnels once served old limestone quarries, but now they contain the bones of nearly seven million people. Guided tours are available — if you dare.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Mortemer Abbey, France
One of the more aristocratic ghosts, the so-called "White Lady" — or "dame blanche" — is a prominent type of apparition in Europe. Mortemer Abbey accounts for one instance of the elusive ghost showing herself. Henry I of England confined had his daughter Matilda, a disputed heir to the throne, to this Cistercian monastery near Rouen for five years. It is said that she still haunts its ruins.
Image: picture-alliance/H. Champollion/akg-images
The Cemetery of the Nameless, Austria
The current of the Danube River used to frequently wash corpses ashore at this spot in Vienna — 478 in total. Beginning in 1840, this is where they were buried. To this day, neither their names nor the causes of their deaths are known. Each year, on the first Saturday after All Saints' Day, fishermen launch a raft onto the river bearing the inscription, "To the victims of the Danube."
Image: picture alliance/IMAGNO/U. Schweitzer
Bran Castle, Romania
This castle has become the stuff of legends. It is considered to have served as the inspiration for the castle of Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel. The castle has 57 bedrooms but no running water. Then again, vampires, whether in Transylvania or elsewhere, don't really need that kind of fluid.
Image: Ddaniel Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images
Island of the Dolls, Mexico
Legend has it that when a little girl drowned off the coast of his island, Don Julian Santana Barrera began to collect old dolls, hanging them from the trees to appease her troubled ghost. Now, there are hundreds of mutilated dolls embellishing Isla de las Munecas near Mexico City. The doll collector himself is said to have died in 2001 — on the same spot where the little girl drowned...
Image: cc-by-sa/Troels Myrup
Horror Nights in Europa Park Rust, Germany
October 31 is a special date for witches, vampires and ghosts in Germany, too. The Europa Park Rust welcomes its most fearless visitors to its annual "Horror Night." The event has been honored on several occasions as the Best Scare Event worldwide. Once darkness falls over Europa Park on Halloween it's bound to be a spine-tingling night.
