S2 Ep 3. Spooktacular Science: Most Haunted
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Ready for our most Spooktacular episode ever? When you’re talking about the paranormal and the science behind ghosts ‘who ya gonna call?’ Well it turns out that would be Chris French - our ghostbusting expert this week is the Professor behind the ‘Haunt’ project; an attempt to build a haunted room.
We discuss the science behind magic pendulums, ghostly rituals and haunted houses. Listen out for our proposal for the Brisdion-Collins ghost particle - surely a new breakthrough in physics?
Tune in to discover what we found when we visited Shepton Mallet Prison, the UK’s oldest and most haunted prison, in search of ghosts…
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Meet our guest
Chris French
Professor Chris French is Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. His main current area of research is the psychology of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences. He frequently appears on radio and television casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims. Here is his website detailing his recent work.
Who best to talk to about all things paranormal…
T: @chriscfrench (Photograph courtesy of Stuart Gennery)
A visit to Shepton Mallet
Built in 1610 following an Act introduced by King James I, which stated that all counties had to have their own ‘House of Correction’; Shepton Mallet was the oldest working prison in the United Kingdom up until its closure at the end of March 2013. The prison is regularly booked by ghost hunters and investigators searching for paranormal activity.
Of course we had to pay a visit…
Most Haunted Blogs
Episode Photo Gallery
Take a look at the photos from our visit to Shepton Mallet prison…
Episode References (if you fancy some extra reading)
APS (2020) Haunted House Researchers Investigate the Mystery of Playing With Fear. Available from: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/2020-oct-playing-with-fear.html
BBC (2014) Psychology: The truth about the paranormal. Available from: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20141030-the-truth-about-the-paranormal
Cantergi, D., Awasthi, B., & Friedman, J. (2019). Moving by thoughts alone? Amount of finger movement and pendulum length determine success in the Chevreul Pendulum Illusion. bioRxiv, 841445.
Caputo, G. B. (2010) Strange-face-in-the-mirror illusion. Perception, 39(7), p.1007.
Dagnall, N., Drinkwater, K. G., O’Keeffe, C., Ventola, A., Laythe, B., Jawer, M. A., ... & Houran, J. (2020). Things That Go Bump in the Literature: An Environmental Appraisal of “Haunted Houses”. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, p.1328.
Denisab, D., Parsonsd, M. J., Gregorya, A. M., & Gregory, A. A twin and molecular genetics study of sleep paralysis and associated factors A genetic study of sleep paralysis.
Drinkwater, K., Denovan, A., Dagnall, N. and Parker, A. (2018) The Australian sheep-goat scale: an evaluation of factor structure and convergent validity. Frontiers in psychology, 9, p.1594.
French, C., Haque, U., Bunton-Stasyshyn, R. and Davis, R. (2009) The “Haunt” project: An attempt to build a “haunted” room by manipulating complex electromagnetic fields and infrasound. Cortex, 45(5), pp.619-629.
Heaven, D. (2013) The Halloween trick that conjures ghosts of the mind. New Scientist. Available from: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24466-the-halloween-trick-that-conjures-ghosts-of-the-mind/?ignored=irrelevant#.VFElDhD2fWY
Hulick, K. (2019) The science of ghosts. Science news for Students. Available from: https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/science-ghosts
ITV News (2019) Man discovers house proud mouse is keeping shed squeaky clean. YouTube. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmqPABUnV9U
NHS (2019) Sleep paralysis. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Sleep-paralysis/
Perry, P. (2017) Large hadron collider disproves the existence of ghosts, British professor claims. Big Think. Available from: https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/large-hadron-collider-disproves-the-existence-of-ghosts-british-professor-claims
YouGov (2014) ‘Ghosts exist’, say 1 in 3 Brits. Available from: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2014/10/31/ghosts-exist-say-1-3-brits
YouGov (2016) British people more likely to believe in ghosts than a Creator. Available from: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2016/03/26/o-we-of-little-faith
YouGov (2018) Who are the people that communicate with spirits? Available from: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2018/08/28/who-are-people-communicate-spirits
YouGov (2019) 45% of Americans believe that ghosts and demons exist. Available from: https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2019/10/21/paranormal-beliefs-ghosts-demons-poll