How does ghosts look like

Ghost clubs dedicated to searching for ghostly evidence formed at prestigious universities, including Cambridge and Oxford, and in the most prominent organization, the Society for Psychical Research, was established.

A woman named Eleanor Sidgwick was an investigator and later president of that group, and could be considered the original female ghostbuster. In America during the late s, many psychic mediums claimed to speak to the dead — but were later exposed as frauds by skeptical investigators such as Harry Houdini.

Related: 10 Ghost stories that will haunt you for life. It wasn't until recently that ghost hunting became a widespread interest around the world. Much of this is due to the hit Syfy cable TV series "Ghost Hunters," which aired episodes and found no good evidence for ghosts.

The show spawned dozens of spinoffs and imitators, and it's not hard to see why the show is so popular: the premise is that anyone can look for ghosts. The two original stars were ordinary guys plumbers, in fact who decided to look for evidence of spirits. Their message: You don't need to be an egghead scientist, or even have any training in science or investigation.

All you need is some free time, a dark place, and maybe a few gadgets from an electronics store. If you look long enough any unexplained light or noise might be evidence of ghosts. That vague criteria for ghostly happenings is part of the reason why myths about the afterlife are more alive than ever.

One difficulty in scientifically evaluating ghosts is that a surprisingly wide variety of phenomena are attributed to ghosts, from a door closing on its own, to missing keys, to a cold area in a hallway, to a vision of a dead relative. When sociologists Dennis and Michele Waskul interviewed ghost experiencers for their book " Ghostly Encounters: The Hauntings of Everyday Life " Temple University Press they found that "many participants were not sure that they had encountered a ghost and remained uncertain that such phenomena were even possible, simply because they did not see something that approximated the conventional image of a 'ghost.

Thus, many people who go on record as claiming to have had a ghostly experience didn't necessarily see anything that most people would recognize as a classic "ghost," and in fact they may have had completely different experiences whose only common factor is that it could not be readily explained. Personal experience is one thing, but scientific evidence is another matter.

Part of the difficulty in investigating ghosts is that there is not one universally agreed-upon definition of what a ghost is. There are people who make a living trying to answer this question. They investigate when people claim to have had a ghostly experience. They use technology like night-vision or thermal imaging cameras that can "see" in the dark or target cold spots. Audio recording equipment is also often used by these ghost hunters. But they have not found any definitive proof that ghosts exist.

It's hard to prove that ghosts are real because the reports of spiritual encounters are so varied. In a study published in , A study found that believers in ghosts were more likely than nonbelievers to report unusual phenomena while touring a site in Britain with a reputation for being haunted. Visitors who were told that there was a recent increase in unusual phenomena occurring at the site also reported a higher number of unusual experiences on the tour.

Another study demonstrated that hearing or reading about paranormal narratives, especially when the story came from a credible source, was enough to increase paranormal beliefs among participants. With the abundance of ghost-hunting shows in the U. People assume that if they cannot explain something in natural terms, then it must be something paranormal.

According to French, hallucinations are more common among the general population than most people realize, and are sometimes wrongly interpreted as ghosts. He points to sleep paralysis—a phenomenon that occurs when someone wakes up while still in the dream-inducing REM stage of sleep, in which your body is paralyzed—as one example. Studies have shown that around 30 to 40 percent of people have experienced sleep paralysis at least once in their lives, with about five percent of participants reporting visual and audio hallucinations, including the presence of monstrous figures, and difficulty breathing.

The experience has been interpreted as paranormal in several cultures. Most often spotted in homes or old historical buildings, the funnel ghost or vortex is frequently associated with a cold spot. They usually take on the shape of a swirling funnel and most paranormal experts believe they are a loved one returning for a visit or even a former resident of the home.

Appearing as a wisp of light or a swirling spiral of light, they are often caught in photographs or on video. The Interactive Personality The most common of all ghosts spotted is usually of a deceased person, someone you know, a family member or perhaps even a historical figure. Orbs Orbs are probably the most photographed type of anomaly. Funnel Ghosts Most often spotted in homes or old historical buildings, the funnel ghost or vortex is frequently associated with a cold spot. Click here to sign up for Scary Good Offers.

Traveling in the next 7 days?