An Experiment Proves Ghost Just an Illusion

VIVA – An experiment that shows up a ghostly illusion in the laboratory has proved once and for all that, it's only our mind playing tricks. The invisible, creepy presence reported by so many people over the centuries is just a set of mixed-up signals in the brain.

The sensation was re-created by researchers using a robot to interfere with the sensory signals in the brains of blindfolded volunteers.

Two volunteers were so unnerved by the feeling of being surrounded by ghosts, they asked for the experiment to stop. They counted up to four phantoms positioned where no one was standing - and touching their backs with invisible fingers.

A poll of 2,000 adults and children was conducted by Ripley's Believe It or Not! Each participant was asked to rate how strongly they believe in five supernatural or religious beings including aliens, ghosts, UFOs, angels, and God.

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Ghosts topped the list for adults at 55 percent, followed by aliens at 51 percent and UFOs at 42 percent. God was at the bottom of their list of beliefs with 25 percent, behind angels at 27 percent.

Children believe in aliens and ghosts (64 percent), while UFOs scored 50 percent followed by God with 33 percent. Angels were at the bottom of the group's list with 27 percent.

The interference in the brain was enough to make the volunteers believe that the signals were no longer from their bodies but from others.

The findings seem to explain the common experience of people sensing an unseen presence, even guardian angels, demons, or apparitions stalking their movements.

These are often reported by people in extreme physical or emotional situations, such as mountain climbers and explorers, or those grieving the loss of a loved one.

They are also linked to medical conditions that affect the brain, including epilepsy, migraines, schizophrenia, and cancer.

Olaf Blanke, who led the team at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, said that the research has erased 'ghosts' in the eyes of science.

"Our experiments induced the sensation of an alien presence in the laboratory for the first time. It shows that it can appear under normal conditions, only through conflicting sensory-motor signals," Blanke said. 

He explains that the robotic system mimics the sensations of some patients with mental disorders or healthy people under extreme circumstances. 

The study confirms that it is caused by the altered perception of their bodies in the brain.

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These are often reported by people in extreme physical or emotional situations, such as mountain climbers and explorers, or those grieving the loss of a loved one.