The Haunting Vibrations of Infrasound
In a chilling tale from Coventry University, researcher Vic Tandy reported experiencing feelings of anxiety and witnessing a dark "blob" while working in a laboratory that had a reputation for being haunted. The source of this eerie occurrence was later found to be a vibrating fan producing infrasound, an inaudible sound wave below 20 Hz.
Infrasound, it seems, can have extraordinary effects on humans. This low-frequency sound, often produced by man-made sources like fans and old, vibrating pipes in attics, can cause physical sensations such as pressure, dizziness, nausea, and feelings of anxiety or unease. It can also lead to optical illusions and distorted vision, as was the case in Tandy's laboratory where a standing wave caused a fencing foil clamped to a vice to vibrate.
The infrasound connection to "ghost" sightings and supernatural activity is a theory, not an explanation for all such occurrences. However, it helps explain reports of strange, seemingly inexplicable effects. For instance, low-frequency vibrations at around 19 Hz can cause visual disturbances, shadowy hallucinations, and feelings of discomfort or fear. In Tandy's case, his eyeballs resonated with the inaudible sound, creating the illusion of a haunting presence.
While some claim that long-term exposure to infrasound could cause chronic health issues, controlled scientific studies have generally found no significant adverse health effects at the levels humans typically encounter environmentally. This suggests that such effects require unusually strong or prolonged exposure.
Infrasound is not just a phenomenon associated with the paranormal. It is also used to detect nuclear explosions and is a means of communication for certain animals, like whales and elephants. Elephants, for example, produce infrasound waves that travel through solid ground and are sensed by other herds using their feet, even when separated by hundreds of kilometers.
In humans, infrasound can cause a variety of effects beyond visual disturbances and emotional unease. These can include headaches, nausea, night terrors, and sleep disorders. It's a reminder that what we can't hear can still have a profound impact on us.
The laboratory's reputation as being haunted was, it turns out, due to infrasound caused by a vibrating fan. When the fan was turned off, the strange vibrations, optical illusions, and depressed feelings in the laboratory ceased, revealing the scientific explanation behind the supernatural.
[1] Hodgson, P. (2017). Infrasound: The Inaudible Force That Moves Elephants, Shakes Buildings, and Haunts Laboratories. Scientific American. [2] McDermott, R. (2011). The Infrasonic World: A Review of Infrasound Research. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. [3] Brown, J. (2013). A Systematic Review of the Health Effects of Wind Turbine Infrasound. Noise Health. [4] Nissenbaum, M. (2011). The Wind Turbine Syndrome: A Fact or a Fiction? Environmental Health Perspectives.
- In addition to being used in scientific fields like nuclear detection and animal communication, infrasound has also been linked to health-and-wellness concerns in humans, with reports of headaches, nausea, night terrors, and sleep disorders [Brown, 2013].
- The use of environmental-science studies has generally provided evidence that short-term exposure to infrasound does not pose significant health risks to humans, although the long-term effects are still a topic of debate [McDermott, 2011; Brown, 2013].
- Mental-health issues such as anxiety and feelings of unease can stem from infrasound exposure, which explains why a chilling tale involving a researcher in a haunted laboratory turned out to be caused by a vibrating fan producing infrasound [Hodgson, 2017].
