Seeking Out Fear!

The Paranormal as an Invention of Humankind

A hosted article by Ilavenil T

 

"My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened."

- Michel de Montaigne

 

Ilavenil T

 

This article is not about ghosts, nor is it ghost-written, but guest-written! Neither the guest nor the host is phasmophobic!

Ilavenil is an educator by profession, and holds an M Phil in Theoretical Physics and an M A in Education.  She is an avid observer of the wonders of the night sky, and also the proud owner of a telescope, seen in the picture above, not trying to seek out anything in particular with the instrument. Among other attainments, she has played a role in 57 provisional asteroid discoveries as a Regional Trainer in the International Astronomical Search Collaboration.  I have known her professionally, and as a writer of considerable skill, meriting greater exposure.  The paranormal and supernatural have always fascinated her, as stories. But as a third-generation sceptic, she has always found reasons behind them that are normal, natural and rational.

When she was reluctant to host her own blog, I suggested that she could be my guest, at least temporarily.  This marks her foray as a guest blogger under my banner, hopefully until it is time for her own.

Stephen King, the most popular author in the horror genre, says that he does not like to sleep with one leg sticking out of the sheets.

His reasoning:

"Because if a cool hand ever reached out from under the bed and grasped my ankle, I might scream."   

He also explains:

"I know that the thing waiting to grab my ankle isn't real. I know that, and I also know that if I'm careful to keep my foot under the covers, it will never be able to grab my ankle."

Why does every culture have a collection of ghosts, devils and demons along with their gods? Why do we consume horror movies and books?

This article is my attempt to look at the paranormal as a human invention. Starting with the need for fear and the human tendency to weave stories, to how human anxieties create demons and change them as the fears change, to the fact that no one has ever produced evidence of the paranormal.

Ghost sightings

Why are there so many people who have claimed to have seen ghosts or other paranormal phenomena?

A survey conducted by the Pew research centre in 2009 showed that 18% of Americans claimed to have seen some form of supernatural activity [1]. I could find no such survey conducted in India, but there are many websites that list haunted locations and list personal experiences. Can all these be untrue?

I have had friends share their experiences of ghost sightings with me. There is always one thing in common – whoever told me that they have seen a ghost had their own explanations of why the ghost was there, or why it left them unharmed.

I could hear another set of footsteps behind me at 2 AM. I knew that it was someone from my family, keeping me safe.

We heard giggles and anklets jingling. We knew we should not have bought a house ‘there’, but the land was cheap. We could do nothing – we were too scared to go near the door! But after a few days, it stopped.

It was never a list of facts; it was always a story.

My opinion is that each “true” ghost story has a modicum of truth in it – the person definitely saw something. But the circumstances and the interpretation of their own minds resulted in a narrative that could effectively convey the fear that they felt at that moment. Let’s see what can lead to people seeing things.

Phenomena that can lead to ghost sightings

Negative after-image: When we look at something bright and look away, the cells in the retina are stimulated. When they stay stimulated even after the stimulus, it results in a negative after-image – an image of the same shape, but with opposing colours. To test it out, stare at the image below for 20 seconds, then look at a piece of paper.

You will see an image like a photograph. This phenomenon can make people see shadows and bright objects where there are none.

Pareidolia

Pareidolia is the phenomenon where we see a familiar image in random patterns. This comes from the natural tendency to make order out of disorder. Pareidolia often makes people see human faces where there are none.

An example is the “Overseer of Ebihens” – this seems like a distinctly human face, but is just part of a cliff.

Sleep Paralysis

This is a state during waking or falling asleep where a person is conscious but paralysed. There can be hallucinations during this period, and it is very common. A person in sleep paralysis can see or hear things, and experience fear. But why do we experience fear when there is no danger?

Fear as a survival mechanism

Humans are an incredibly fragile species. We do not have the strength, speed or the defences (nails and teeth) of the animals that can prey on us. We can thrive only in a limited range of temperatures, and see only a narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Over 3 million years, the fragile homo genus has survived and adapted to the world mainly through one evolutionary advantage – our large brains. We, Homo Sapiens have brains that are very different from other animals and even the other homo species.

The main difference between the brains of humans and other animal species is the cerebral cortex. This part of the brain is mainly responsible for cognition and consciousness, as well as awareness, attention, perception, thought, memory and language.

Even within the genus homo, the human brain stands out. These are comparisons of the brains of Homo Neanderthalis, a species who evolved in Europe while Homo Sapiens evolved in Africa. According to some estimates, they might have survived for 400,000 years before going extinct. This could have been a result of climate change, as well as modern humans migrating from Africa and competing for their resources. However, the Neanderthals were also an intelligent species – according to some studies they might have been smarter than us.  They used weapons, hunted large prey, produced art, used symbols and cared for their sick and injured [2].

What then, set human beings apart from Neanderthals? One is the complexity of human language.

Reconstructed brains of Neanderthals based on fossil skulls compared with those of early Homo sapiens. ©Keio University

In the above image, even though the brains seem to be of comparable size, they vary in morphology. The main difference in this case is that the cerebellum of homo sapiens is more developed than that of Neanderthals, another Homo species. The cerebellum is responsible for motor control and balance, and also plays a part in attention, language control and emotional control.

These findings, albeit oversimplified, point to a few reasons for the survival of our species:

Memory – A large memory helps in not repeating mistakes.

Language – the ability to communicate dangers, presence of food or predators and new discoveries and inventions.

Critical thinking and problem solving – Taming fire, agriculture, tool use, metallurgy… all the way up to the internet and smartphones. This is what makes us human [3].

But all this depended on ancient humans sensing danger. It was not enough to perceive the danger directly; it was also necessary to detect danger indirectly and predict it in advance.

All animals can sense the presence of a predator indirectly through fear, but our ancestors made sense of the fear, assigned it a cause and worked out solutions. This involved gathering data and finding patterns, and the better a tribe communicated among themselves, the better their survival. This is where a skill that is unique to us comes into play – storytelling.

Storytelling: The essence of being human

Humans have a tendency to create stories and a narrative about everything they see. Storytelling is an efficient method of communication. Not only do we remember better when facts are woven into stories, but we can also communicate emotion – happiness, misery, fear.

Storytelling as the driver of abstract thought

According to Enrico Coen in Heredity [4], how the human tendency to tell stories is the reason for our increase in intelligence and our ability to discuss abstract ideas.

 “The origins of human intelligence and the scientific mind are to be found in the two-headed nature of stories, their ability to both inform and deceive.” In this paper, he says that science is a result of the need for humans to test whether a story is true or not, and that we don’t tell stories only to others, but to ourselves.”

The requirement to look at a story critically and separate truth from fiction was the reason for our intellectual development. This also lies at the heart of the scientific method, where we check if a hypothesis can be falsified.

The way stories are used to inform and entertain is clear when we look at Astronomy, arguably the oldest science. John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist, in his blog notes that practically all ancient cultures have monuments that align with the stars and the solstices. Our ancestors used the night sky first as a navigational aid, but every culture built a narrative on the patterns they saw in the sky.  They could track the migration patterns of animals as well as the changing seasons. This led to the development of calendars and agriculture, starting off civilization. However, in the process, they also developed a rich tapestry of stories – of animals, people, gods and demigods. And astronomers know where the fiction ends and science begins. [5]

On the other hands, the sky has been used to tell stories that deceive and mislead too. The same observations used to draw up the lunar and solar calendars have been appropriated by astrology, a pseudoscience. The ‘best’ astrologers with the most accurate predictions are just excellent storytellers – a mixture of listening and spinning narratives to let their clients hear exactly what they want to.

There are some common stories in all cultures. The following are examples – this is not an exhaustive list.

Where did we come from?

Origin myths vary from culture to culture, with the Earth as a flat plate supported by tortoises, elephants, whales or any other large animal that lived in that part of the world. The sky became a bowl or a tent [6].

Flood myths

Flooding and being driven out of their homes, while losing most of the population is something every civilization has gone through. Flood myths tell the story of a saviour being warned of the flood by a supernatural power and rescuing a select few individuals, who then repopulate the world [7].

Animal stories

The other common theme in all cultures is of animal stories, starting from the creation myths. Predators took up evil forms to be feared, and harmless animals became the “good” protagonists [8].

All these stories have aspects that entertain, engage in fantasies, but they also carry a common theme – a fear of the unknown. A supernatural power which created the world can destroy it. An animal might attack you. Some people are devious and harmful.

Monsters and supernatural creatures in history

While creation myths were fantasies about the unknown past, and animal stories a clear warning on the danger than was present, humans also needed a way to tell stories about the fears that they do not understand. Ghost stories fill this gap. They also show a way of coping with the human anxiety about death – its finality. Let’s take a closer look at some common monsters.

Ghosts

A ghost is the spirit of a person who is deceased. Across the world, they take the form of white, misty shapes. Though it might be tempting to call this evidence – why would people who have never encountered each other have the same type of monster? The answer is simple: Breath takes a misty shape in cold weather, and the belief that it is what animates a person is an easy step.

I did try to find sources on how ghosts look in a hot, tropical climate like Chennai, but was not able to. Anecdotally, none of my “sources” have reported a misty white being – no matter where they live.

Vampires

A reanimated corpse that leaves its grave and walks, and drinks the blood of other organisms for sustenance. The reasons for a person turning into a vampire varies – an attack from another vampire, indulging in black magic or being born with Mars in the wrong box of their horoscope.

The belief comes from people observing corpses with ‘signs of life’. When flesh shrinks after death, nails and hair appear longer, and the cold weather in some climates led to corpses being preserved naturally. This was seen as a sign of the person being alive in the absence of a pulse. In Europe, vampire stories reached a peak along with a fear of tuberculosis – the wasting away of patients was seen to be the work of a vampire.

Werewolves

Unexplained attacks by animals led to the view that humans can take animal form, and shape-shifting myths are there in many cultures. The werewolf myth originated from a fear of rabies, where a person seems to lose their humanity and change into an animal.[9]

Fear and storytelling in the 21^st century

The 21^st century no longer requires us to fear predators and the darkness, but our struggle to survive has left us with fear. Even though our modern world has its own share of dangers and fears – climate change, for example, these fears are not urgent enough to bring about a physical reaction.

The chill down the spine, the sense that something is moving in the shadows, the soft sounds that should not exist, the dry mouth, the petrified limbs. There is a need for us to feel the fear, and the relief of being safe. When there is nothing to fear, what else can we do but create our own?

Adventure sports, where people experience a thrill of being in danger without any actual risk of life are extremely popular now. In the same vein, we have the horror movie and novel industry, thriving in all languages. In these cases, even though the situation is imaginary, the fear is real.

Paranormal ‘Research’

We have our own monsters in the 21^st century. In my opinion, misinformation is the biggest monster that we are fighting right now. The ease with which information can be communicated and videos can be made (and edited) has led to a massive number of ‘real ghost videos’ and ‘evidences for paranormal activity.’

As someone who has indulged in writing horror stories myself, let me start with my personal reasons on why I believe that supernatural monsters are fictional.

Brain damage and loss of memory

When there is damage to the brain, people lose their memory. When certain parts are damaged, there are certain functions lost. When blood flow to the brain is interrupted for five minutes, there is loss of cognitive function. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease have plaques in their brains, clearly seen in a CT.

When it is clear that memories and language are just a product of electrical function in the brain, how can they possibly persist after death?

Debunking the supernatural

Again, let me start with my own experience of debunking a ‘ghost.’ This does not fit the normal ghost story narrative, as the person who saw it is herself a sceptic. She told me what she saw, not her own interpretation of what it might be – or who it might have been.

This was the experience: “At 3 AM yesterday night, I closed the door, turned and saw a black shadow, like a human, my height, in the middle of the room.”

That night, I set about retracing her steps. Closing the door (light coloured) also shut off the bright light from inside, which meant that my eyes had been set up to see a negative self-image, which would be dark. I turned, and there it was, a negative image floating in the middle of the room. It was also vaguely human – pareidolia in action.

I was surprised to see that my brain, while I was still cognizant of what was happening, could take a negative self-image, make it human shaped and play it back to me.

This is how ghost sightings work.

The lack of evidence

There is no evidence of any paranormal phenomena. There have been many attempts to rigorously study the paranormal using the scientific method, starting from the 1800s.

The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) was founded in 1882 in the UK to investigate paranormal phenomena scientifically. The purpose was to investigate the sudden proliferation of apparitions and clairvoyant dreams, and especially to investigate the new ‘mediums’ who said they could communicate with the dead [10].

Harry Houdini, arguably one of the best illusionists of all time, spent the later part of his life actively exposing mediums and other frauds. He could demonstrate that all their ‘supernatural’ phenomena were barely illusions. He sat through many seances and came up with practical, mundane explanations for ‘ectoplasm’ and visions. He even testified before Congress for the criminalization of fortune-telling for hire and “any person pretending to … unite the separated.” [11]

CSICOP - the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) was founded in the United States in 1976. Their magazine, the Skeptical Inquirer has articles in which claims of the paranormal are put to rigorous scientific testing. Not one has been unexplained so far [12].

The Indian Rationalist Association was founded in 1949, to promote scientific scepticism and critique supernatural claims. They have conducted numerous campaigns over the decades to disprove claims of miracles, superstitions and pseudoscience [13].

In addition to these, there are a number of prizes and rewards [14] for those who can prove the existence of the paranormal, adding up to a total of 14,08,424 USD.

If ghosts and monsters exist, why hasn’t anyone claimed these prizes?

My first foray into writing horror was, like many other firsts in my life, a speech for Toastmasters. The audience response was excellent – people actually asked if it really happened. However, a few days later, I opened my eyes on an overnight bus journey and saw the “vampire” as I visualized her sitting in the seat beside me.

Of course she was not there. But that is how powerful the brain can be in creating visuals.

It is important to approach any claim of the paranormal, or anything that is unexplained with not just scientific scepticism, but also a healthy respect for our evolutionary history and the power of our minds.

References*

1. Pew Research Center. "18% of Americans Say They've Seen a Ghost." Pew Research Center, 30 Oct. 2015, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/10/30/18-of-americans-say-theyve-seen-a-ghost/.
2. Natural History Museum. "Who Were the Neanderthals?" Natural History Museum, www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/who-were-the-neanderthals.html.
3. Keio University. "A." Keio Research Highlights, Aug. 2018, research-highlights.keio.ac.jp/2018/08/a.html.
4. National Center for Biotechnology Information. "PMC6781149." PubMed Central, www.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6781149/#Sec9.
5. Hawks, John. "When Did Our Ancestors Start Looking Up to the Stars?" John Hawks Weblog, johnhawks.net/weblog/when-did-our-ancestors-start-looking-up-to-the-stars/.
6. Gier, Nathaniel. "Introduction to Greco-Roman Religion." University of Idaho, webpages.uidaho.edu/ngier/gre13.htm.
7. "A Flood of Myths and Stories." PBS Independent Lens, www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/a-flood-of-myths-and-stories/.
8. "Animal Stories Through the Ages." Birds, Blooms, and Bumbles, birdsbloomsandbumbles.com/animal-stories-through-the-ages/
9. "Antrocom." Antrocom, vol. 5, no. 2, 2009, pp. 53, antrocom.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Antrocom-5-2-2009.pdf#page=53
10. Society for Psychical Research. Society for Psychical Research, www.spr.ac.uk.
11. Nichols, Chris. "For Harry Houdini, Séances and Spiritualism Were Just an Illusion." Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Institution, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/for-harry-houdini-seances-and-spiritualism-were-just-an-illusion-180978944/.
12. Skeptical Inquirer. Skeptical Inquirer, skepticalinquirer.org.
13. Harris, John. "Fear Itself." The New York Times, 20 May 2001, www.nytimes.com/2001/05/20/weekinreview/may-13-19-fear-itself.html.
14. Wikipedia contributors. "List of Prizes for Evidence of the Paranormal." Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prizes_for_evidence_of_the_paranormal.

*Also see here for details of a landmark Indian publication, “Science, Nonscience and the Paranormal.”