Study finds infrasound the likely horror in hauntings
A study by Canadian researchers published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience suggests that infrasound, sound below 20 Hz, may explain feelings of unease in reportedly haunted locations. The study found that exposure to infrasound increased irritability, negative mood, and elevated cortisol levels in participants, even though they could not consciously hear it. These findings provide a physiological basis for some experiences attributed to hauntings, linking them to environmental factors like machinery and ventilation systems.
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Study finds infrasound the likely horror in hauntings Rob Beschizza 3:04 pm Tue Apr 28, 2026 Harold Ramis holding a Twinkie in 1984's Ghostbusters Noise below the range of human hearing from old pipes, machinery and ventilation systems can induce stressful sensations, according to a study published by Canadian researchers in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. The findings offer a compelling scientific explanation for why I feel ill-at-ease in the basement of the abandoned 19th-century sanitarium, built over an old cemetery, that I've been squatting in rural West Pennsylvania. It's not the faslely-accused murderer they executed without trial in 1844 here or the spirits of all those kids who died in that fire the one time; it's that 48" steel ventilation fan whirring away at 17Hz.
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