Why some people see and hear ghosts
Are ghosts for real?
This year, Diwali fell on October 31st. The day of lights. It’s also the day when scarily dressed characters trick or treat people on Halloween. Happy Diwaleen everyone!
Every week, on the Lighter Side, I write about big things happening around the world, but this time, I thought I’d share something cool from science. Do you know why people sometimes think they see ghosts?
As a child, I was captivated by ghost stories—the thrill, the mystery, the shivers down my spine. But what I didn't reveal to others was that I was also deeply frightened by them. After hearing these tales, I’d insist on keeping the lights on, even at night. Growing older, I found a way to manage my fear: I simply avoided ghost stories altogether! To this day, I’m still uneasy in the dark, but I tell myself I’m past the age of believing in ghosts. If you stopped me on the street and asked, “Sangeetha, do you think ghosts are real?” I’d probably put on a serious face and say, “Boo! Don’t be silly!”
In the United States, a research company called Pew Research conducts annual surveys, gathering data on topics like how much people spend on food, and occasionally exploring more unusual questions. One question they asked was, “Do you agree with this statement: Places can be haunted by spirits?” Surprisingly, more than half of the people surveyed responded, “Yes! We think ghosts can haunt places like homes, graveyards, or abandoned buildings.”
This response got me thinking—why do so many people believe that ghosts can exist and haunt real places? Is there a science behind this common belief?
Origin of Halloween
More than 800 years ago, people in parts of Europe (especially Ireland). celebrated a festival called Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”). This festival was all about welcoming the harvest and preparing for the “dark half of the year” because winter days were super dark and lasted forever! People would light huge bonfires, have big feasts, and sing songs to celebrate. But here’s the spooky part—people believed that during Samhain, dark spirits and even some mean fairies might visit. To keep themselves safe, they’d dress up like monsters to scare away the spirits and fairies.
As time went on, this tradition transformed into what we now know as Halloween! Today, we celebrate with fun activities like trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, wearing costumes, and, of course, eating tons of treats!
Science explains people’s encounters with ghosts through these two reasons
(a) Sleep paralysis
Han Dork was eight years old. He could hear, see and feel creatures moving around him BUT he simply could not lift even a finger to attack any of them. Sometimes, Han saw creatures sitting ON him. Yet, he could not move away from them. Han was fast asleep. So, what was going on with Han? I tried digging a little deeper into Han’s story. A 12-year old joined me on this quest to find out more and here is what we both chatted.
Me: What do you think happens to our mind and body when we close our eyes and fall asleep?
12-yr old: Dreams duh! We kick off into our dreamland as soon as I close my eyes. Right?
Me: Not exactly. Usually, you start dreaming a bit later, after you’re fully asleep. The most realistic dreams happen during this stage called REM—rapid eye movement—sleep. That’s when your eyes move around like crazy under your eyelids.
12-yr old: Like, my eyes are darting around? Why though? And what about the rest of my body?
Me: It’s one of nature’s great mysteries. And while the eyes are busy doing a dance under the lids, the rest of the body is... frozen solid.
12-yr old: Frozen? Really?
Me: Yup! The brain has a clever little trick: it paralyzes most of your muscles to keep you from acting out your dreams. Imagine trying to dunk in your dream basketball game—next thing you know, you've punched the wall and fallen out of bed!
12-yr old: Ha! I’d be a menace in my sleep without that trick. Dream me is way more athletic than real me!
Me: You and everyone else! Think of it as the brain’s way of preventing midnight mayhem.
12-yr old: I guess the brain has its own safety settings, huh?
Me: Precisely! And before we are ready to wake up, the brain turns our paralysis off and we stop dreaming.
12-yr old: So, what happened to Han? Why did he think monsters were in his room?
Me: Ah, that's where things get interesting. See, sometimes people wake up, but their body is still in that sleep-paralysis mode. They’re still kind of stuck between sleeping and being awake.
12-yr old: Wait, so they’re awake but can’t move? That sounds like a nightmare.
Me: Exactly. Take Han’s case: he was dreaming about monsters, right? And then he sort of half-wakes up, but his body stays paralyzed. So his eyes open, but he can’t move yet.
12-yr old: Whoa, so he’s lying there, seeing monsters from his dream, and can’t do anything? That would freak me out.
Me: Totally understandable! His brain is still in “dream mode” and hasn’t caught up to the fact that he’s kind of awake. So when he opens his eyes and sees those dream monsters, it feels real. It’s like the dream is overlapping with reality.
12-yr old: And he couldn’t move? Like, at all?
Me: Right. The brain keeps the body in that paralyzed state to prevent us from acting out dreams. So even though he wanted to move, his body wouldn’t cooperate.
12-yr old: So to him, it’s like there’s this terrifying monster in his room, and he’s just stuck there, staring at it? I’d totally think it was real!
Me: Exactly. His eyes were open, his body was frozen, and it all felt very real. That’s why sleep paralysis can be so intense—it’s like getting trapped in a living nightmare.
12-yr old: Yikes. That sounds like some next-level horror game in real life. Wow! So Han DREAMT of monsters but because he opened his eyes midway through his sleep, the monsters (aka ghost) felt REAL? wow! intense!
(b) Brain fills gaps - the SECOND reason
12-yr old: Hey, I know people who believe they have seen ghosts while walking down a road or in a lonely alley. They aren’t asleep. How is that possible?
Me: Good question! Let’s think about what the brain does on a regular day. It has a big job—your eyes take in colors, your ears catch sounds, your skin senses touch, and the brain has to put it all together to make sense of everything. That’s called “bottom-up processing.”
12-Year-Old: So, the brain is like a big mixer, putting together everything I see, hear, and feel?
Me: Exactly! And it’s really good at it. Sometimes, it’s so good that it even finds meaning in things that aren’t actually meaningful. This is called pareidolia (pear-eye-DOH-lee-ah).
12-Year-Old: Pareidolia? What’s that?
You: Ever looked at clouds and seen bunnies or faces or shapes like that of an elephant? Or looked at the moon and thought it had a face? It’s when your brain sees familiar things in random shapes.
12-Year-Old: Oh yeah! I always see faces in weird places. That’s pareidolia?
You: Yep, that’s your brain finding meaning where there might not be any. Now, here’s something else it does, called “top-down processing.” That’s when your brain actually adds information to make sense of the world.
12-Year-Old: Adds information? Like what?
You: Well, imagine you’re alone, it’s dark, and you’re feeling scared. Your brain isn’t getting a lot of detail in the dark, so it starts creating more of what it thinks is out there.
12-Year-Old: So, if I see leaves moving, my brain might just fill in something creepy?
You: Exactly! If you’re nervous and on high alert, your brain might imagine someone or something is behind the leaves. And because that image is coming from inside your own brain, it feels very real.
12-Year-Old: So, that’s why I’d totally think it was a ghost?
You: Right! Your brain filled in the gaps, and since it made that picture itself, it feels like you really saw it. That's why spooky things can feel so believable!
12-Year-Old: Wow, so it’s all my brain’s doing? Seriously cool!
So if someone tells you a ghost story this Halloween, enjoy it. But remain skeptical. Think about other possible explanations for what was described. Remember that your mind may fool you into experiencing spooky things.
Wait, what’s that behind you? (Boo!)
Would you like to join me in our book review next month?
November 2024 - I will be reading and reviewing ‘The girl who drank the moon’ by Kelly Barnhill. This book, authored by a teacher, won the 2017 Newbery Medal. The story is that of a young girl who uses her magical powers to save good from evil (the usual stuff). But, what makes this book a great read is that it allows the reader to understand a character from multiple perspectives. Excited to read this fantasy novel? You can buy the book using the link below.
To be a part of the book review and join other children who will be reading this book alongside me, click here.
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