Can Electromagnetic Fields Create Ghosts?

BENJAMIN RADFORD

Benjamin Radford is a research fellow at the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and author or coauthor of ten books, including Bad Clowns.

Q: I recently read your book Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries about the mistakes that ghost hunters make using EMF detectors during investigations and how they are not productive. However, I always understood that EMF meters/readers were used to measure EMF levels because high levels of EMF could cause hallucinations that result in paranormal-like experiences. Any thoughts on this?

—M. Chapman

A: Many ghost hunters, including the T.A.P.S. team on the television show Ghost Hunters, use EMF detectors to search for electromagnetic fields because they believe that intense magnetic fields can create hallucinations, which in turn might create the illusion of ghosts. The basis for this theory comes primarily from research done by a Canadian cognitive neuroscientist, Michael Persinger. He found that hallucinations (such as out-ofbody experiences) could be triggered by stimulating specific areas of the brain with fixed wavelength patterns of high-level electromagnetic fields.