Many people claim to have seen ghosts at least once in their life, and there is research trying to explain this strange phenomenon. Faced with this situation, science shares several theories that seek to shed some light on the mystery.
Millions of people around the world have admitted to believing in the existence of ghosts, fueling a popular belief that transcends borders and generations. Through movies, stories, legends, and tales of the inexplicable, these entities have maintained a presence in modern culture.
But what is the reason behind this phenomenon? Why, despite scientific and technological advances, are we still captivated by the idea of the paranormal? Fortunately, science has an explanation, and shares several theories that seek to shed light on this mystery.
hallucinations and sleep paralysis
Between the stages of sleep, a perplexing phenomenon known as sleep paralysis arises. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night, unable to move or speak, while your senses are heightened to alert.
At this intersection of states, visual and auditory hallucinations can trigger the sensation of an unexplained presence in the room. The mind, in its waking transition, can create illusions so realistic that they defy comprehension, and that in the end they are not ghosts, but hallucinations.
pareidolia
Our brains, designed to find familiar patterns in our surroundings, sometimes fool us by drawing faces in the shadows and figures in the ambiguous. This phenomenon, known as pareidolia, explains why we see faces in clouds or identify shapes in everyday objects..
In moments of low lighting and high voltage, inside a dark room with furniture and chairs, our minds could interpret shapes as something more defined, generating an optical illusion of a ghostly figure, but which does not really exist as such.
Mold
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Mold is not just an unwanted visitor in the home, it could also be linked to ghost stories. Research has pointed to a possible correlation between places that are considered haunted and the presence of this microfungus..
Also, your emotions and suggestion can influence how you interpret what you see. If someone tells you that there are ghosts at that point, it is more likely that you will perceive something unusual due to the suggestion and your own emotions, as well as the adrenaline rush that you are feeling at that moment.
beliefs
This way, if you believe in ghosts or are in a place with a history of paranormal activity, you are more likely to interpret the experiences as ghost encounters. In situations with little visual information, your mind could fill in the empty spaces with what you expect to see, creating a distortion between the real and the imaginary.
Our beliefs and the context in which we find ourselves can powerfully influence how we perceive situations.
Mental diseases
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Illnesses, such as schizophrenia, can lead to visual hallucinations, but also auditory ones. Some people may experience sights or sounds that are not there due to problems with perception.
In such situations, the line between reality and imagination becomes blurred. In addition, the use of psychoactive substances can generate hallucinatory experiences that explain some encounters with ghosts or topics related to the paranormal.