If you stop and think about the nature of the activity that takes place at a typical paranormal hot-spot, it’s a bit disconcerting how much some of the events seem to display effects of some form of energy. The described visual, auditory and sometimes even olfactory effects hint at a particular energy field having some effect on the victim’s brain. However, this hypothesis seems to fit only until you take other characteristics of hauntings into account. Let’s take a look.

Common Characteristics of Haunted Locations

When you review all of the paranormal investigations that take place across the country, there are common forms of evidence, common experiences and even common physical side effects that hint as to the source of these phenomena. Some of the most common characteristics of most haunted locations include at least one or more of the following.

• - Visual sightings of faint/shadowy or misty entities
• - Auditory knocking, footsteps and sometimes even disembodied voices
• - EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) where digital voices are imprinted into electrical recorders
• - Scratches and redness on the body of investigators visiting locations that are severely “poltergeist” in nature (very active)
• - Olfactory smells such as perfume, flowers, and one hotel even has a case where guests pick up a smell of cat litter, yet there are no felines on the property.
• - More commonly, “orbs” - a digital camera anomaly - are far more common at these locations than any other.
• - Often people experience feelings of unease, being watched, or other forms of dread or terror.

Taking these common effects into account, let’s take a look at some of the effects of electromagnetic radiation on the human body.

Sources of Electromagnetic Radiation

The following data come from the 2006 report by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks. When the scientific community examines Electromagnetic radation, that radiation is classified into several frequency ranges including:

• - RF - between 100kHz to 300Ghz
• - IF - between 300Hz to 100kHz
• - ELF - 0 to 300 Hz

The report first opens with a listing of the man-made sources for the various frequencies of EM radiation.

Significantly, I would like to point out that the following sources are probably the most significant when we’re examining locations with paranormal activity.

• - ELF waves are produced by powerlines and electric engines (such as those for electric trains)
• - IF waves are produced by many hands-free (wireless) devices.
• - RF waves are produced by broadcasting towers, mobile phones, radar, and CB radios.

The report makes an interesting note that “The committee has been made aware of the military use of certain radiofrequency devices. Further consideration of this is outside the scope of this opinion.” That statement is very odd and ominous.

Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation on the Human Body

Unproven symptoms associated with human exposure to RF fields includes headache, fatigue, dizziness and difficulty concentrating. Proven effects of RF fields show minor effects on EEG, sleep structure and cognitive processes. Significantly, several studies found that exposure “increased permeability of the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) in rats (Salford et al. 1994, Persson et al. 1997). According to the report, increased permeability can allow “unwanted substances to reach the central nervous system, with possible pathological consequences (inflammation, neurone death).

The point here is that while most studies remain inconclusive regarding EMF causing cancer, there is evidence that EMF fields can slightly change the “electrical activity or neurotransmitter biochemistry” of the brain. ELF waves can cause fatigue, headache, difficulty concentrating, naseau, heart palpitation and red, tingling skin. No studies have been able to confirm that these reported symptoms are definitely caused by the EMF.

Two interesting studies (Rodriguez et al. 2004 and Kumlin et al. 2005) showed that there were EMF effects on melatonin levels under specific conditions. The studies, however, are of “regular” EMF frequencies - but what are the effects of higher EMF levels? The U.S. military knows that there are biological effects, because they’re attempting to use them in the form of “non-lethal weapons,” such as this device (V-MADS) which directs a 95 Ghz EMF beam that induces a burning sensation on the skin of the target - in an effort to turn away an advancing army.

Other documented military weapons that use EMF as a direct weapon against the biological systems of the human body were detailed in Dr. Robert Becker’s 1985 book The Body Electric. Some of the weapons highlighted in that book that could have a relationship to the sort of experiences that are explored during paranormal events include the following.

• - EMR Generators that could simulate EMP (an electromagnetic pulse first recognized after a nuclear explosion) that could destroy all electrical systems throughout a country or continent (discussed in 1973 at the Naval Weapons Lab in Dahlgren, Virginia).
• - UHF beams induced muscular weakness and lethargy in animals (1958-1960).
• - UHF beams induced muscular weakness and lethargy in animals (1958-1960).
• - In the 1960’s, Allen Frey discovered deaf humans could “hear” microwaves of 300 to 3,000 megaherts - which caused the sounds of booming, hissing, clicking or buzzing (coming from just behind the head) depending on the frequency. Frey also discovered he could speed up, slow down or stop a frog’s heart with pulsed microwave beams.
• - In 1973, Dr. Joseph Sharp “heard and understood spoken words delivered to him in an echo-free isolation chamber via a pulsed-microwave audiogram.

Dr. Michael Persinger’s Important Discovery

In the 1980’s, Dr. Michael Persinger, a neuroscientist working at Laurentian University in Ontario, found that when weak magnetic fields were applied to the temporal lobes of humans, he could induce various sensations and experiences in his subjects. Of particular interest is the fact that Persinger was able to reproduce the sort of experiences that people report related to alien abduction experiences, as well as haunting and possession experiences.

I intent to cover Persinger’s work in more detail in upcoming posts, but the important question at the moment is this - if these experiences can be induced through the use of an electromagnetic field directed at the human brain, and if those experiences can be replicated in the lab, then the first important step of discovering the cause of hauntings has been accomplished by Dr. Persinger.

Now we know how to reproduce the effect. In my field of work, that’s one of the most critical steps in troubleshooting control system failures. Once you can cause the end effect - the next step is to work your way backwards in a reverse-engineering effort to trace each part of the system until you uncover the source.

What’s your opinion? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.