Are Ghosts Real? (Unexplained: What's the Evidence?)

Product Information

Bursting with information about the science and psychology of believers in the paranormal, the page is great to read out with children to support learning on a ghosts topic. It could be to do with a misunderstanding or lack of awareness of perfectly natural phenomena and so ostensibly paranormal phenomena is regarded by people as unexplained because they do not have an explanation for it. But challenges are exciting and good things come from taking risks and I feel like we have created a show that is absolutely from the same DNA as the podcast but excitingly visual and, yes, scary!

I was that child who obsessively pored over those old books like the Usborne World of the Unknown in the school library.I guess the major difference between us and pretty much any other paranormal show out there is that our audience is divided equally between believers and sceptics. We are both paranormal psychologists but where Ciarán considers himself a hardcore sceptic I am more open minded. For instance, mishearing song lyrics requires our brains to fill in a meaning that's not there, and even after we learn the right words, we're likely to continue to hear the wrong ones. Virtually all ghost hunters claim to be scientific, and most give that appearance because they use high-tech scientific equipment such as Geiger counters, Electromagnetic Field (EMF) detectors, ion detectors, infrared cameras and sensitive microphones. Until the emergence and spread of atheism in the 18th century, belief in the soul and an afterlife was almost universal.

It can create bonds and a sense of collectiveness – you are hearing these ‘scary’ experiences in a safe and controlled environment and it can be a controlled way of playing on our brain’s natural reactions. Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town, South Africa - South Africa's oldest building had its first supposed ghost sighting in 1915 when a spectre of a tall gentleman was spotted jumping off the castle walls! My job is essentially to answer the question of 'If this is paranormal then what type of paranormal phenomena is it and how does it relate to our current understanding of the supernatural?

Belief in ghosts is also common in the US; the results of one 2005 poll found that around 32% of Americans believe in ghosts. People may think they’re experiencing ghosts when they hear strange voices, see moving objects, witness balls or wisps of light or even translucent people. It navigates epic themes like good versus evil whilst remaining grounded in a world that children will relate to.

The idea of the dead remaining on Earth in spirit is a popular trope in literature, and has featured in texts as renowned as the Bible and Macbeth. Attempts to communicate with spirits (known as séances ) date back years, and it was not uncommon for upper-class ladies in Victorian England to hold séances with their friends. Coincidentally, the majority of people will say that their paranormal experience had occurred in the dead of night.We shouldn't be too critical of people who hold paranormal or supernatural beliefs, as they may even have practical benefits! So if there’s no evidence of ghosts or spirits, then why is it so common for people to wonder, “are ghosts real? Our brain is constantly bombarded with information - colour, sounds, pressure - which it must make sense of in a process known as bottom-up processing . If ghosts are the spirits of those whose deaths were unavenged, why are there unsolved murders, since ghosts are said to communicate with psychic mediums, and should be able to identify their killers for the police?