Ghosts
There's a rational explanation for supernatural sightings and spooky apparitions, according to new research. Here's the whole ghost story in links
1. It was a unseasonably cold May night and somewhere, over the sound of creaking floorboards, a dog let out a blood curdling howl for its long departed master. And from the darkness came this message: ghosts do not exist.
2. Or so it would have been for readers of the British Journal of Psychology sat on the set of a late 1940s horror movie, as they devoured the latest issue of the periodical.
3. It published a paper by Dr Richard Wiseman, from Hertfordshire University psychology department, believed to be the first, large-scale scientific analysis of its kind to appear in an academic publication.
4. An investigation into Hampton Court palace, London - where Catherine Howard, a wife of Henry VIII is said to wander - and the South Bridge Vaults in Edinburgh, reportedly home to a cheeky boy ghost known as Mr Boots, determined that two of Britain's most famous haunted spots were not exactly supernatural.
5. In studies at both sites - involving 462 volunteers at Hampton Court and nearly 200 in Edinburgh - some 45% of participants reported at least one "unusual experience" such as an eerie presence, dizziness, headaches, nausea or shortness of breath.
6. "Results revealed significantly more reports of unusual experiences in areas that had a reputation for being haunted," said the study. But, in a blow to ghost hunters, it also detected chills, poor or variable lighting and differences in electromagnetic fields in these spots. These, it said, were the likely cause of the ghostly sensations.
7. Whatever will the ghosts think? Whether they think at all, or are just mindless paranormal imprints on our world, is academic if you do not believe they exist. But if you do, why not drop by one of Britain's many haunted houses and ask.
8. Some claim the British Isles are the most haunted spot on Earth - there's a phantom dog in Kent, a bear in Chelsea, world war two airmen in Lincolnshire and a limping butler at the BBC. Meanwhile, the Devil himself is said to drive a coach and horses up Lawnmarket in Edinburgh (though he's technically more of a fallen angel).
9. The ghost stories will no doubt continue. Try here for some recent "true" ones or instead read a classic of the genre: Henry James's The Turn of the Screw.
10. You could read it while warm and cosy with all the lights on, but try it on an unseasonably cold May night when, somewhere, over the sound of creaking floorboards, a dog lets out a blood curdling howl for its long departed master. Or just click on a ghostcam and wait.
2. Or so it would have been for readers of the British Journal of Psychology sat on the set of a late 1940s horror movie, as they devoured the latest issue of the periodical.
3. It published a paper by Dr Richard Wiseman, from Hertfordshire University psychology department, believed to be the first, large-scale scientific analysis of its kind to appear in an academic publication.
4. An investigation into Hampton Court palace, London - where Catherine Howard, a wife of Henry VIII is said to wander - and the South Bridge Vaults in Edinburgh, reportedly home to a cheeky boy ghost known as Mr Boots, determined that two of Britain's most famous haunted spots were not exactly supernatural.
5. In studies at both sites - involving 462 volunteers at Hampton Court and nearly 200 in Edinburgh - some 45% of participants reported at least one "unusual experience" such as an eerie presence, dizziness, headaches, nausea or shortness of breath.
6. "Results revealed significantly more reports of unusual experiences in areas that had a reputation for being haunted," said the study. But, in a blow to ghost hunters, it also detected chills, poor or variable lighting and differences in electromagnetic fields in these spots. These, it said, were the likely cause of the ghostly sensations.
7. Whatever will the ghosts think? Whether they think at all, or are just mindless paranormal imprints on our world, is academic if you do not believe they exist. But if you do, why not drop by one of Britain's many haunted houses and ask.
8. Some claim the British Isles are the most haunted spot on Earth - there's a phantom dog in Kent, a bear in Chelsea, world war two airmen in Lincolnshire and a limping butler at the BBC. Meanwhile, the Devil himself is said to drive a coach and horses up Lawnmarket in Edinburgh (though he's technically more of a fallen angel).
9. The ghost stories will no doubt continue. Try here for some recent "true" ones or instead read a classic of the genre: Henry James's The Turn of the Screw.
10. You could read it while warm and cosy with all the lights on, but try it on an unseasonably cold May night when, somewhere, over the sound of creaking floorboards, a dog lets out a blood curdling howl for its long departed master. Or just click on a ghostcam and wait.
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