Haunted Houses is probably not right down to ghosts, say consultants
Scientists say the spine-tingling unease people feel in basements could be caused by infrasound, not poltergeists and low-frequency vibrations are too deep to hear but your body can still pick them up
Creepy feelings in “haunted” houses might simply be down to dodgy old pipes (Image: Getty Images)
Creepy feelings in “haunted” houses might simply be down to dodgy old pipes and not ghosts after all, boffins say.
Scientists say the spine-tingling unease people feel in basements could be caused by infrasound, not poltergeists. The low-frequency vibrations, below 20Hz, are too deep to hear but your body can still pick them up.
Eggheads reckon ageing plumbing and ventilation systems can pump out the eerie hum without you even realising. The silent thrum could be behind “mood shifts” and setting nerves on edge.
Rodney Schmaltz, a psychology professor at MacEwan University in Canada, said: “Consider visiting a supposedly haunted building.
“Your mood shifts, you feel agitated, but you can’t see or hear anything unusual. In an old building, there is a good chance that infrasound is present, particularly in basements where ageing pipes and ventilation systems produce low-frequency vibrations.
“If you were told the building was haunted, you might attribute that agitation to something supernatural.
“In reality, you may simply have been exposed to infrasound.”
Tests on 36 people found the vibrations boosted stress levels and made them feel more irritated. Even calming music couldn’t counter the effect when the low-frequency hum was present.
