New Psychological Research Says Paranormal Experiences Are The Norm, Not The Exception.

Paranormal experiences could make more sense when viewed through the lens of Haunted People … [+]getty
A new study published in Spirituality in Clinical Practice explains that an individual experiencing hauntings and ghostly experiences may have ‘Haunted People Syndrome.’
“Haunting phenomena are complex intertwined phenomena involving personality, ideology, culture, and previous experience towards making sense of an event or series of events deemed haunting,” explains psychologist Brian Laythe.
Collaborators Jim Houran and Brian Laythe, along with other colleagues, recently finished a five-year research program which culminated in twenty peer-reviewed research papers and their recent book, “Ghosted.”
Their primary goal was to use research to build a better understanding of hauntings and related paranormal phenomena.
Haunted People Syndrome was one of the primary theories built out of this research.
Laythe and Houran propose four core features of Haunted People Syndrome, namely:
- The meaning-making or narrative created around haunting experiences is influenced by personal backgrounds, beliefs, and personality characteristics
- Anxiety and distress regarding hauntings are a function of the nature, closeness, and spontaneity of anomalous experiences
- Distress and unease make anomalous experiences more likely to occur
- Anomalous experiences tend to be contagious, i.e, anomalous experiences can spread to others
According to the researchers, many of the reports of hauntings and the people involved in them can be understood by treating the events as “symptoms.”
“Just like symptoms of the flu, the severity of the diagnosis is a function of the degree and rarity of symptoms and their length,” explains Laythe.
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How Science Explains Paranormal Phenomena
Although for many people they are a matter of faith, events such as alleged ghostly apparitions, voices from beyond the grave or near-death experiences have scientific interpretations.
From fraud to suggestion: a scientific vision of the afterlife.
Natural explanations for the supernatural
About 85% of the world’s people identify with one religion or another. Therefore, the vast majority of human beings, billions of people, believe in the existence of the supernatural, a reality that does not correspond to the laws of nature. And once the door to the spirit world is opened, many things become possible: souls that travel to the afterlife, that return to the earthly realm or are trapped in it, and that can meddle in our physical world through apparitions, voices or other manifestations.
Science cannot prove the non-existence of all this; although it is often debated whether or not the scientific method can prove a negative claim, in any case the very definition of the supernatural excludes this possibility. However, there is one thing science can do and has done: provide natural explanations for alleged supernatural phenomena.
The 1960s and 1970s were a golden age for paranormal phenomena, a time when this field was trying to find a scientific home. Prestigious universities housed parapsychology labs, and even Nature gave space to an investigation into the alleged mental powers of magician Uri Geller, who became popular in the 70s for his alleged psychic spoon-bending ability, along with an editorial justifying its publication. But while it is debatable whether popular interest in the paranormal has truly waned, in the absence of convincing results much of the scientific engagement in the field has faded. At the same time, science has been finding possible normal explanations for the paranormal.

Fraud and mind games
Of course, a good deal of alleged paranormal phenomena can fall into two very normal categories: fraud or suggestion. Regarding the former, so-called debunkers, from the magician Houdini to his fellow sceptic James Randi, have been responsible for uncovering the deceptions of numerous con artists. But the human mind also plays a role: studies have shown that, for example, visitors to a mysterious place are more likely to report strange occurrences if they have previously been told that the house is haunted, or that believers in the paranormal are more inclined to claim that a table has moved during a fictitious séance if the fake medium has told them so.
Psychiatric traits and spiritual sensitivity
Hallucinations are often the explanation for apparitions or voices. According to one figure, 3% of people experience at least one psychotic episode during their lives, which can include false visual or auditory perceptions, but also tactile ones. For example, in 2021, a University of Leicester study with a group of psychotic patients found that, in addition to voices and visions, these people often experience sensations of touch, heat, tension or pain—the hand of a ghost?

The Rise and Fall of Parapsychology
In the 19th century, séances were a trending topic among the wealthy classes. Spiritualism seduced the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Arthur Conan Doyle, Pierre Curie, Thomas Edison, Alfred Russel Wallace and many others.
And although at that time some scientists were timidly beginning to delve into the study of these phenomena, it was in the 20th century that the science of the paranormal flourished. In 1930, Duke University psychologist William McDougall invited botanist J.B. Rhine and his wife Louisa to found the Parapsychology Laboratory, the first major centre of its kind. Duke was not the only prestigious university to have its own paranormal laboratory. At the University of California at Los Angeles, psychologist Thelma Moss ran a similar lab from 1968 to 1978, and Stanford also had its own.
However, all that began to wane when the experiments did not yield the expected results. Today the Duke lab lives on as the Rhine Research Center, no longer affiliated with the university. It has been said that this was the inspiration for the opening scene in the 1984 film Ghostbusters in which Dr. Venkman’s (Bill Murray) lab is forced to close, reflecting the way parapsychology is seen in popular culture. However, in real life, unlike in fiction, ghosts did not end up proving the researchers right.
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Parapsychology

Table of Contents
Can Paranormal Events Be Explained By Quantum Physics?

In this article, we will explore the fascinating question of whether paranormal events can be explained through the lens of quantum physics. We will delve into the theories and research that connect these two seemingly unrelated fields, discussing concepts such as entanglement, superposition, and non-locality. By the end of the article, you will gain a deeper understanding of the potential connections between paranormal phenomena and the mysterious world of quantum physics. So, let’s embark on this intriguing journey together!
- Understanding Paranormal Events
- Introducing Quantum Physics
- Connections Between Paranormal Events and Quantum Physics
- Theories and Explanations
- Scientific Studies and Research
- Critiques and Skepticism
- Implications and Potential Applications
- Controversy and Debates
- Future Directions and Possibilities
- Conclusion
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