Fri 20 May 2005
Can damp theory pour cold water on city's spooks? 
JOHN VON RADOWITZ

SCIENTISTS believe they have finally discovered the truth behind the
stories of ghostly visitations to the streets below Edinburgh's Royal
Mile - dampness.
A ghost hunt in Mary King's Close has yielded reports of apparitions,
phantom footsteps, unexplained cold spots and unseen hands. Although
study leader Professor Richard Wiseman was surprised by the number of
events that could not immediately be explained, he believes there is a
more mundane reason than hauntings.

"Something quite odd was going on," he admitted. However, the academic
is convinced none of the experiences of 200 members of the public were
paranormal, believing instead they were caused by environmental factors
and tricks of the mind.

The researchers' most striking finding was the particularly low level of
humidity at the spots where by far the most "paranormal" experiences
were reported.

The investigation focused on Mary King's Close - a warren of streets
that were sealed off from the outside world more than 200 years ago.
Today, the site is a maze of narrow alleys and remains of houses. Mary
King's Close became entombed when Edinburgh's Royal Exchange - now the
City Chambers - was built in 1753. The top floors of the houses were
demolished and the lower floors incorporated into its foundations. The
rooms of many houses still exist and, according to some reports, so do a
number of their former residents.

Professor Wisemen sent groups of volunteers to four locations, without
telling them that only two sites had a strong reputation for being
haunted. The aim was to compare reports from the sites.

About 70 per cent of those visiting the haunted locations reported
unusual phenomena. In contrast, only 48 per cent of people exploring the
locations not reputed to be haunted had spooky experiences.

At the most haunted site, where a sinister figure in black has
repeatedly been seen, more than 80 per cent of the volunteers claimed
something strange had happened to them.
"There was a massive difference between the locations," said Professor
Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire.

"Sometimes people just felt very cold, but there were some quite extreme
experiences - feelings of being watched, being touched and having
clothing pulled, apparitions of people and animals, and the sound of
footsteps. I was surprised at the extent of the experiences."
Probably the strangest report was from a volunteer who complained about
being stared at by a member of Professor Wiseman's team from the end of
a corridor, only to find no-one was there.

Experiments by the researchers showed that the two "haunted" locations
were significantly less humid than the other sites. This can generate a
feeling of coldness, said Professor Wiseman.

There was also evidence of "infrasound" - low frequency sound waves
which are too deep for the human ear to pick up, but are known to
produce feelings of unease. In the most haunted site, there was a
continuous infrasound rumble, which may have been due to traffic
overhead.

A psychological test also found that people rated photos of the haunted
locations as significantly more "ghostly" and sinister than the other
sites, without knowing their reputation. This suggested that subtle
features, such as shape, lighting, or the presence of doorways, may
elicit a sense of fear.

Professor Wiseman said: "It could be that ghosts were down there, but I
think the explanation is primarily psychological."
He added that the findings from this and other ghost investigations may
shed light on "sick building" syndrome - unexplained feelings of
uneasiness or sickness associated with certain buildings.

The results of Professor Wiseman's research will be submitted to the
British Journal of
Psychology.