Science and Ghost Hunting

When scientists debunk ghosts their first statement is usually, “there is no scientific proof of the existence of ghosts.” This is wrong. There is scientific proof. Science even has theories that explain something must be happening beyond what we know and what we can see.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955), Time Magazine's Man of the Century and one of the greatest minds the world has known, taught us that energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only be changed from one form of energy into another form of energy. This means that no matter what is done energy cannot be destroyed.

Human beings have both electrical and chemical energy in our bodies. We are organically designed to carry our electrically charged brain and nervous systems. When we die our chemical bodies begin to break down and decompose. The organic side returns to wear it came from - energy changing into a different form of energy as Einstein's law says. So what happens to the electrical energy that flows through our brain? It can't simply disappear or fade away out of existence. That would break the laws of science. That energy has to still be somewhere only now it has changed into a different form of energy. What happens to the energy is really determined by personal faith. No one knows exactly what waits beyond this life. What we do know, thanks to science, is that the electrical pulse energy in each human being will always exist because as a rule it “cannot be destroyed.”

Another great scientist who believed in life after death was Thomas Edison, (1847-1931). Edison was a genius ahead of his time. He invented the light bulb, phonograph, typewriter, electric motor, stock ticker, and 1093 other patented inventions. One of the inventions that he worked on at the end of his career was a secret project, a machine that would let the living see and communicate with the souls of the dead.

Edison believed that that the soul was made up of what he referred to as “life units.” These microscopic particles or life units could rearrange into any form. They retained full memory, personality and were indestructible. Edison's machine would detect these life units in the environment and allow living individual to communicate with the dead. He put many years of hard work into his new creation, but sadly, he died before it was finished. Some called Edison crazy. Others thought that he was onto something bigger than the idea of the light bulb. They believed that if he would have had a little more time, we might all today be living in a very different world.

It's been found that in almost every ghost haunting and poltergeist that there are certain electrical elements at work. Using EMF detectors ghost hunters can monitor these electrical forces. These devices can examine and record even the smallest fluctuation in the surrounding electromagnetic field. Everything gives off some kind of electromagnetic field, even our own bodies. Electrical appliances, like television sets and computers give off higher distortions than a lamp or a toaster would. When ghosts are present there are higher levels of electromagnetic distortions. Many times the distortions are so high that they interfere with the working abilities of computers systems and audio/video equipment. High levels of static electricity are also detectable.

Recording temperature changes is another scientific way of detecting the presence of ghosts. Fluctuations of more than 10 degrees have been recorded in small areas of rooms with constant temperatures. It's a scientific fact that there has to be some form of energy present to alter the temperature. Temperature does not change unless "something" is affecting it one way or the other. In many ghost sightings witnesses report feeling a cold spot. This could be caused by the fact that light does not seem to reflect correctly off of most ghosts, which also gives them a dark form. The light seems to be absorbed into the ghost. The theory is that ghosts absorb both light and heat energy causing the general area around that ghost to be several degrees cooler. There are also hot spots recorded, which could be just the reverse affect occurring. Instead of soaking up the light and heat the ghost is reflecting it back, causing the area to be warmer.

These unexplainable electromagnetic fluctuations and temperature changes are scientific evidence that something is happening. Ghosts are real.

Conducting a Ghost Hunt

Cemeteries and Haunted Houses

Arrive early with your necessary ghost hunting equipment and give yourself plenty of time to set everything up. Some of the equipment that you might want to use is a video camera, EMF detectors, 35 mm cameras loaded with brand new film and thermometers. Always remember to bring along plenty of flashlights. Don't forget to bring along some patience. Conducting a ghost hunt is a lot like fishing. You have to use patience!

Start by selecting a private room or a general area for a main base of operations. This base is where all monitoring should be done and it should not be an area where ghost activity is high. After the base has been selected, do a complete walkthrough of the general area. Check out every room and in graveyards walk around the tombstones in a 50-yard radius. Videotape the walkthrough if you are using video cameras. Make sure that you know the layout before you begin the ghost hunt. Get use to the area. The ghost hunt will go much better if everyone feels comfortable with the surroundings.

Use the EMF detectors to searching for anything out of the ordinary. If you do pick up EMF distortions or if you feel that there is an unearthly presence nearby take more photos. Just be aware that in cemeteries smooth glossy tombstone faces will reflect light from the flashlights or the cameras own flashes that could create strange light patterns in the pictures. Glass objects and mirrors will reflect light inside houses.

During the initial walkthrough or at any other time during the ghost hunt try not to unnecessarily touch or move objects. You should leave the natural environment alone. As you are doing the walkthrough in haunted houses hang up ghost catchers in doorways, between rooms or on staircases. If a ghost passes near the ghost catcher they will chime alerting anyone nearby.

If there are objects or pieces of furniture that have been reported to move put a chalk line or sticker on the floor next to these objects. If the objects happen to move you'll have a marker to judge and measure the exact distance.

Everyone participating in a ghost hunt should always know where the others are that way there isn't any confusion or misinterpretations. Sometimes handheld or headset radio communicators are good devices to stay in contact with the other ghost hunting members.

Always log every event that seems out of the ordinary, doors that lock, electrical problems, chandeliers swaying, strange lights, etc. Videotape everything for proof.

You can attach glow-in-the-dark or reflective tape to objects to help you with the layout or to mark special areas. They will be easier to see in the dark with the tape on them.

You don't need to turn off the lights inside of the haunted house to have ghosts appear unless it is vital to that particular ghost's appearance, and even then, leave some lights on for personal safety. Always have a couple mini spotlights ready for outside ghost hunts in case something happens and you need light fast.

Don't be afraid to experiment on ghost hunts. Ask the ghosts to appear. Put the video cameras on different settings. Try the EVP audio taping methods. Use anything that you think might have an effect on the ghosts. If nothing seems to be happening you might try to shake things up by playing religious music or by reciting prayers.

On any ghost hunt make sure to have packed plenty of snacks, drinks and maybe a board game. Ghost hunts can be long and tedious. You may have to spend several weeks inside at a haunted location before you experience anything strange. Patience is key!

Soundwaves that make up an  EVP (Elctronic Voice Phenemana)
By: DaShane Watkins

Sound is a series of compression waves that moves through air or other materials. These sound waves are created by the vibration of some object, like a radio loudspeaker. The waves are detected when they cause a detector to vibrate. Your eardrum vibrates from sound waves to allow you to sense them. Sound has the standard characteristics of any waveform.

Sound is waveform in matter

Sound is a waveform that travels through matter. Although it is commonly associated in air, sound will readily travel through many materials such as water and steel. Some insulating materials absorb much of the sound waves, preventing the waves from penetrating the material.

Does not travel in vacuum

Because sound is the vibration of matter, it does not travel through a vacuum or in outer space. When you see movies or TV shows about battles in outer space, you should only be able to see an explosion but not hear it. The sounds are added for dramatic effect.

Some atoms in space

Note that in outer space, there are actually some widely-spaced atoms and molecules floating around. But since they are so far apart, regular wave motion would not be great enough to detect.

Sound waves different than light waves

Also note that light and radio waves are electromagnetic waves. They are completely different than sound, which is vibration of matter. Electromagnetic waves are related to electrical and magnetic fields and readily travel through space.

Sound is a compression wave

The back-and-forth vibration of an object creates the compression waves of sound. The motions of a loudspeaker cone, drumhead and guitar string are good examples of vibration that cause compression waves. This is different than the up and down or transverse motion of a water wave.

Transverse Wave (water wave)

Compression Wave (sound)
The illustration above shows a comparison of a transverse wave such as a water wave and the compression wave sound wave.

Characteristics of sound

A sound wave has characteristics just like any other type of wave, including amplitude, velocity, wavelength and frequency.

Amplitude

The amplitude of a sound wave is the same thing as its loudness. Since sound is a compression wave, its loudness or amplitude would correspond to how much the wave is compressed. It is sometimes called pressure amplitude.

Decibel

A common measurement of loudness is the decibel (dB). It is really 1/10 of a bel, which was named after the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell. It is a complex unit that varies as the ratio of the logarithms of loudness.

Decrease in loudness

A sound wave will spread out after it leaves its source, decreasing its amplitude or loudness. The amplitude decreases as the square of the distance from the source. Also, if there is some absorption in the material, the loudness of the sound will decrease as it moves through the substance.

Speed or velocity of sound

The speed or velocity of sound in air is approximately 344 meters/second, 1130 feet/sec. or 770 miles per hour at room temperature of 20^oC (70^oF). The speed varies with the temperature of air, such that sound travels slower at higher altitudes or on cold days.
Note: The difference between speed and velocity is that velocity usually includes direction the of travel. We'll interchange them here, but in some cases the distinction is important.
A jet plane traveling at the speed of sound would be moving at about 680 mph at sea level. At very high altitudes, the speed required would be much lower.

Wavelength

Wavelength is the distance from one crest to another of a wave. Since sound is a compression wave, the wavelength is the distance between maximum compressions.

Frequency

The frequency of sound is the rate at which the waves pass a given point. It is also the rate at which a guitar string or a loud speaker vibrates. Frequency is also called the pitch of a sound. It is called the note in musical sounds.

Relationship

The relationship between velocity, wavelength and frequency is:

 velocity = wavelength x frequency
Since the velocity of sound is approximately the same for all wavelengths, frequency is often used to better describe the effects of the different wavelengths.

Pitch

The pitch or note of a sound that we experience is determined by its wavelength or its frequency. The shorter the wavelength, the higher the frequency becomes, and the higher the pitch that we hear.

Creating and detecting sounds

Creating and detecting sounds are similar effects, but opposite. They demonstrate the duality of nature.

Creating sound

Whenever an object in air vibrates, it causes compression waves in the air. These waves move away from the object as sound. There are many forms of the vibration, some not so obvious.
The back and forth movement of a loudspeaker cone, guitar string or drum head result in compression waves of sound. When you speak, your vocal cords also vibrate, creating sound.
Blowing across a bottle top can also create sound. In this case, the air inside the bottle goes in a circular motion, resulting in sound waves being formed. Wind blowing through trees can also create sound this indirect way.
Sound can also be created by vibrating an object in a liquid such as water or in a solid such as iron. A train rolling on a steel railroad track will create a sound wave that travels through the tracks. They will then vibrate, creating sound in air that you can hear, while the train may be a great distance away.

Detecting sound

When a sound wave strikes an object, it can cause the object to vibrate. This leads to the method to detect sound, which requires changing that vibration into some other type of signal--usually electrical.
The main way you detect or sense sounds is through your ears. The sound waves vibrate your ear drum, which goes to the inner ear and is changed to nerve signals you can sense.
You can also feel sounds. Stand in front of a stereo or hi-fi loudspeaker on at full volume, and you can feel some of the vibrations from the music.
There are mechanical devices that detect sounds, such as the microphone. The sound vibrates a membrane, which creates an electric signal that is amplified and recorded.

Summary

Sound is a compression waveform created by the vibration of some object. Sound moves through air or other materials. The characteristics of sound are that it has amplitude, wavelength, frequency and velocity. Sound must cause another object to vibrate to be detected.

Electronic voice phenomena (EVP) are sections of static noise on the radio or electronic recording that some listeners believe sound like voices speaking words; paranormal investigators sometimes interpret these noises as the voices of ghosts or spirits.  Recording EVP has become a technique of those who attempt to contact the souls of dead loved ones or during ghost hunting activities. According to parapsychologist Konstantin Raudive, who popularized the idea,  EVP are typically brief, usually the length of a word or short phrase.
 
History
As the Spiritualism religious movement became prominent in the 1840s–1920s with a distinguishing belief that the spirits of the dead can be contacted by mediums, new technologies of the era including photography were employed by spiritualists in an effort to demonstrate contact with a spirit world. So popular were such ideas that Thomas Edison was asked in an interview with Scientific American to comment on the possibility of using his inventions to communicate with spirits. He replied that if the spirits were only capable of subtle influences, a sensitive recording device would provide a better chance of spirit communication than the table tipping and ouija boards mediums employed at the time. However, there is no indication that Edison ever designed or constructed a device for such a purpose.  As sound recording became widespread, mediums explored using this technology to demonstrate communication with the dead as well. Spiritualism declined in the latter part of the 20th century, but attempts to use portable recording devices and modern digital technologies to communicate with spirits continued. Classes of  Digital Recording Phenomena (D.R.P.)

Not all EVP audio recordings are clear enough to understand what is being said.  EVP researchers use the following "classes" to determine how clear a particular EVP is.

Class A -  Voices or sounds can be heard and understood or identified over a speaker by all people.  Just because a voice is loud does not mean it is a Class A recording.

Class B -  Voices or sounds can be heard over a speaker but not everyone will agree about what was said or the source of the sound.   Most EVP recordings fall into Class B. 

Class C - Voices or sounds that can only be heard with headphones and people agree on what the sound or phrase is replayed.

Class D - Voices or sounds that can only be heard with headphones and are usually difficult to understand.

 (Class A- EVP) Recorded by: Spiritual H.O.P.E. Society
 ("Do you believe me?")
 (Class A-EVP) Recorded by: Spiritual H.O.P.E. Society
("Help me")
 (Class A-B-EVP) Recorded by: Spiritual H.O.P.E. Society
There are actually 2 EVPs in this recording. (The first one ? Second one "look at the monitor")
 (Class C-EVP) Recorded by Spiritual H.O.P.E. Society
("Go Away") Evil Entity from the Ruppert House
 (Class C-EVP) Recorded by Spiritual H.O.P.E. Society
("I'm doing it")
 (Class C-EVP) Recorded by Spiritual H.O.P.E. Society
("DaShane")
 (Class B-EVP) Recorded by: Spiritual H.O.P.E. Society
("Stew")
 (Class B-EVP) Recorded by: Spiritual H.O.P.E. Society
("Say it")
 (Class A- EVP) Recorded by: Spiritual H.O.P.E. Society
(It's an old type writer that we are hearing in the back ground.)

What is Spirit Photography?
Simply stated, spirit photography is the capturing of unexplained natural or supernatural images using a camera and film. What takes place between photographer and subject is a form of electronic spirit communication. The link between electro-magnetic energies and machines is becoming clearer to those who look to communicate with energies identified as spirits.
 History of Spirit Photography
Spirit photography began in 1861.  A  Boston-based photographer William H. Mumler took a picture of himself and "discovered" a ghost had appeared in the photo with him. Mumler began charging his customers for a séance/photography session and was making quite a bit of money in doing so. He was later exposed in the courts in 1872 as being a fake. Early cameras required the subject to sit motionless for periods of 60 seconds or more while the camera shutter remained open. During this time, the photographer's assistant, dressed in a flowing robe or cloak, could sneak into the scene behind the subject for ten or 20 seconds and then leave. When the picture was developed, a semi-transparent apparition would appear.

Shadow people (also known as shadow men, shadow folk, or shadow beings) are supernatural shadow-like creatures of both modern folklore and traditional native American beliefs. According to folklore, they appear as dark forms in the peripheries of people's vision and disintegrate, or move between walls, when noticed.

Reports of shadow people occupy a similar position in the popular consciousness to ghost sightings, but differ in that shadow people are not reported as having human features, wearing modern/period clothing, or attempting to communicate. Witnesses also do not report the same feelings of being in the presence of something that 'was once human'. Some individuals have described being menaced, chased, or in some rare instances, attacked by shadow people. There have also been reports of shadow people appearing in front of witnesses, of which they stay there or lingering for several seconds before disappearing. Witnesses report that encounters are typically accompanied by a feeling of dread.

Appearance

Accounts of shadow people typically describe them as being black humanoid silhouettes with no discernible mouths, noses, or facial expressions, though accounts also exist of them being child-sized humanoids or shapeless masses that sometimes change to a more human like form. The eyes are usually not described as being discernible but in some reports glowing eyes are mentioned. The color of the eyes, if any, is typically given as red. Their specific form is described variously as two-dimensional shadow to a vaporous or distorted three-dimensional body (as though made out of smoke or steam). Movement is often described as being very quick and disjointed. Some witnesses describe this movement as though the shadow entities they have seen "danced" from one wall to the next, or as moving around the room "as if they were on a specific track". Rarely, they are seen "standing" in the middle of doorways or off the wall. Often they are described as being seen staring at the floor. Some accounts describe what appears to be the outline of a cloak, and in some instances the outline of a 1930s style fedora hat. This last type is referred as the "hat-man".

likelihood of light reflection off normally sub-visible particles. Hence, the orb artifact is commonplace with small digital or film camera photographs.

The orb artifact can result from reflection of light off solid particles (e.g., dust, pollen), liquid particles (water droplets - especially rain) or other foreign material within the camera lens.

The image artifacts usually appear as either white or semi-transparent circles, though may also occur with whole or partial color spectrums, purple fringing or other chromatic aberration. With rain droplets, an image may capture light passing through the droplet creating a small rainbow effect.

Underwater photographers notice the effect also, which occurs for the same reason as above-water photographic artifacts. Sand, small sea life or other particles close to the lens, invisible to the diver, reflect light from the flash causing the orb artifact in the image. A strobe flash, which distances the flash from the lens, eliminates the artifacts.

So please be careful when calling an orb a spirit.

            
           

 

           

Infrasound

Infrasound refers to extreme bass waves or vibrations, those with a frequency below the audibility range of the human ear (20 Hz to 22 kHz). Even though these waves can't be heard by us, they can be felt and have been shown to produce a range of effects in some people including anxiety, extreme sorrow, and chills. "Loud infrasound in the range of 0.5 to 10 Hz is sufficient to activate the vestibular, or balance system, in the inner ear. Psychologist Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire thinks that the odd sensations that people attribute to ghosts may be caused by infrasonic vibrations.  He is not alone.

In 1998, Vic Tandy, experimental officer and part-time lecturer in the school of international studies and law at Coventry University, and Dr. Tony Lawrence of the psychology department wrote a paper called "Ghosts in the Machine" for the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. They cited infrasound as the cause of apparitions seen by staff at a so-called haunted laboratory in Warwick.

Several years earlier, Tandy was working late in the "haunted" Warwick laboratory when he saw a gray thing coming for him. "I felt the hairs rise on the back of my neck," he said. "It seemed to be between me and the door, so the only thing I could do was turn and face it." But the thing disappeared. However, it reappeared in a different form the next day when Tandy was doing some work on his fencing foil. "The handle was clamped in a vice on a workbench, yet the blade started vibrating like mad," he said. He wondered why the blade vibrated in one part of room but  not in another. The explanation, he discovered, was that infrasound was coming from an extractor fan. "When we finally switched it off, it was as if a huge weight was lifted," he said. "It makes me think that one of the applications of this ongoing research could be a link between infrasound and sick-building syndrome." When he measured the infrasound in the laboratory, the showing was 18.98 hertz--the exact frequency at which a human eyeball starts resonating. The sound waves made his eyeballs resonate and produced an optical illusion: He saw a figure that didn't exist.

Infrasonic waves can carry over long distances and are less susceptible to disturbance or interference than higher frequencies.

Infrasound may be produced by wind, by some types of earthquakes, by ocean waves, and by such things as avalanches, volcanoes, and meteors.  Elephants have the ability to emit infrasound that can be detected at a distance of 2 km. Even tigers emit infrasound.

Human reactions to infrasound

20 Hz is considered the normal low frequency limit of human hearing. When pure sine waves are reproduced under ideal conditions and at very high volume, a human listener will be able to identify tones as low as 12 Hz. Below 10 Hz it is possible to perceive the single cycles of the sound, along with a sensation of pressure at the eardrums.

The dynamic range of the auditory system decreases with decreasing frequency. This compression can be seen in the equal-loudness-level contours, and it implies that a slight increase in level can change the perceived loudness from barely audible to loud. Combined with the natural spread in thresholds within a population, it may have the effect that a very low frequency sound which is inaudible to some people may be loud to others.

Infrasound has been known to cause feelings of awe or fear in humans. Since it is not consciously perceived, it can make people feel vaguely that supernatural events are taking place.

Some film soundtracks make use of infrasound to produce unease or disorientation in the audience. Irréversible is one such movie.

The infrasound and low-frequency noise produced by some wind turbines is believed to cause certain breathing and digestive problems in humans and other animals in close proximity to the turbines.

Infrasonic 17 Hz tone experiment

On May 31, 2003, a team of UK researchers held a mass experiment where they exposed some 700 people to music laced with soft 17 Hz sine waves played at a level described as "near the edge of hearing", produced by an extra-long stroke sub-woofer mounted two-thirds of the way from the end of a seven-meter-long plastic sewer pipe. The experimental concert (entitled Infrasonic) took place in the Purcell Room over the course of two performances, each consisting of four musical pieces. Two of the pieces in each concert had 17 Hz tones played underneath. In the second concert, the pieces that were to carry a 17 Hz undertone were swapped so that test results would not focus on any specific musical piece. The participants were not told which pieces included the low-level 17 Hz near-infrasonic tone. The presence of the tone resulted in a significant number (22%) of respondents reporting anxiety, uneasiness, extreme sorrow, nervous feelings of revulsion or fear, chills down the spine and feelings of pressure on the chest. In presenting the evidence to British Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the scientists responsible said, "These results suggest that low frequency sound can cause people to have unusual experiences even though they cannot consciously detect infrasound. Some scientists have suggested that this level of sound may be present at some allegedly haunted sites and so cause people to have odd sensations that they attribute to a ghost—our findings support these ideas."

The Ghost in the Machine

Research by Vic Tandy, a lecturer at Coventry University, suggested that the frequency 19 Hz was responsible for many ghost sightings. He was working late one night alone in a supposedly haunted laboratory at Warwick, when he felt very anxious and could detect a grey blob out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to face it, there was nothing.

The following day, he was working on his fencing foil, with the handle held in a vice. Although there was nothing touching it, the blade started to vibrate wildly. Further investigation led him to discover that the extraction fan resonant frequency of the eye (given as 18 Hz in NASA Technical Report 19770013810). This was why he saw a ghostly figure — it was an optical illusion caused by his eyeballs resonating. The room was exactly half a wavelength in length, and the desk was in the centre, thus causing a standing wave which was detected by the foil and was emitting a frequency of 18.98 Hz, very close to the

Tandy investigated this phenomenon further and wrote a paper entitled The Ghost in the Machine. He carried out a number of investigations at various sites believed to be haunted, including the basement of the Tourist Information Bureau next to Coventry Cathedral and Edinburgh Castle.

The Sound of Music: Infrasound and Humans

Submitted by Kelly Soudachanh on Fri, 12/22/2006 - 4:05am

Have you ever watched that scene from [insert movie or discovery channel] where a bunch of elephants are standing together, going about their normal elephant activities, and then suddenly, they stop and run away together?  When I first saw this scene, I was puzzled as to why this happened.  It was quite strange to see these large but peaceful animals just instantaneously disperse for no good reason.  In actuality, however, the elephants did have a reason for running off.  They responded to a message sent to them by another elephant through infrasound. Elephants are able to detect and send infrasound.  Humans, on the other hand, cannot pick up or produce infrasound the same way elephants can.  For any noise that is between the ranges of 20 to 20,000 Hz, we have no problem audibly hearing these sounds.  Anything that is higher or lower than that range will not be heard by humans.  Infrasound has a frequency that is below 20 Hz and usually, humans cannot detect audible infrasound. However, although we cannot audibly hear infrasound, we are still able to feel the effects of this low frequency.  What are the impacts of infrasound on humans?  And how it is that if we are unable to hear it, it still has an impact on us?
 
Infrasound is found in two forms, it can be ‘man-made’ or created by ‘nature’.  Extreme examples human productions of infrasound include aircraft and fireworks.  The noise from factories and engines also attribute to making these low frequencies. Natural productions of infrasound basically occur all the time.  Weather disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions emit infrasound.  Phenomena like meteor impacts and aurora also create this low frequency.  On a less extreme and more relatable scale, anyone who has ever been in a thunderstorm or very strong winds is likely to have experienced infrasound.  Instruments can also create these low frequencies.  Organs pipes and bass instruments can produce infrasound as well.  As mentioned before, elephants are able to create and detect infrasound.  They are the not the only species who have this trait.  Pigeons, squid and rhinos are just a few among the many other animals who can participate in infrasonic communications.  And although many animals can use infrasound to speak, humans still cannot communicate through these low vibrations.

In September 2002, ‘Soundless Music’ was conducted.  The live experiment was designed to see the psychological effects caused by infrasound.  Under a guise of a concert which played electronic sounds and deep bass sounds, an infrasound generator was also incorporated into the mix.  In the questionnaire audiences filled out, many of the responses expressed a strange experience.  Most reactions included anxiety, coldness, and tingling sensations.  Many people felt uncomfortable and experienced a deeper sensation of emotions.  ‘Soundless Music’ proved to the researchers that infrasound does indeed have an effect on humans, an effect that usually produces negative consequences.

The effects of infrasound are sometimes confused as an experience with the supernatural.  Some people are proposing that organ pipes are the cause for sensations caused by a ‘spiritual’ force (God) in churches and cathedrals.  Organ pipes produce infrasound and listening to the organ during a religious ceremony may cause the shivering, increasing heart rates and tingling feelings people experience.  From personal recollection, I get goose bumps when I listen to the organ.  I used to believe that these goose bumps were a result of my amazement by the sound, but now I know that there may be another reason besides just amazement.

Human ears are not made to detect anything that is higher or lower than the range mentioned above.  However, we still detect vibrations from infrasound as seen by the low frequencies that are resonated within the body.  Infrasound raises the pressure in the middle ear, the area where balance is regulated.  Exactly why infrasound still impacts us this way was a scientific answer I was unable to find.  An answer that I would like to have is that humans simply evolved away from infrasound.  Perhaps we had the genetics to use infrasound communications but we just did not need it and this trait dissolved with each passing generation.  In contrast to infrasound, ultrasound is the frequency above 20,000 Hz that is also inaudible to humans.  The same middle ear that controls balance also limits the hearing of the high-pitched sounds of ultrasound.  The middle ear is a filter that screens out ultrasound.  If ultrasound were to be sent into the mind without going through the middle ear, it would be heard.  Sometimes even, younger children are able to hear high-pitched noises that older people cannot hear.  So if we are able to audibly hear ultrasounds, perhaps at one point in time, humans were able to audibly hear infrasound as well.

Another proposal for why we are able to detect infrasound is because of its affiliation with dangerous weather patterns.  As other animals, such as elephants and birds, are able to detect when a storm is coming, maybe we are given the same trait as well.  But, because we so heavily rely on electronics and mechanical contraptions to tell us what the weather will be like, we do not use our infrasound detection trait. 

I find infrasound to be a fascinating phenomenon.  On some level, it represents many of those things that we cannot see impacting our lives, but it does cause profound experiences.  Infrasound is present in our everyday lives and like many of the other things that affect us, we do not know much about it.  The question that has yet to be answered is still why infrasound affects our bodies and further research should be done to find out.  Hopefully, with more time and research, science will be able to discover a story about infrasound that will answer more questions.