Halloween horrors DEBUNKED: Scientists reveal the simple explanations for paranormal activity - from flickering lights to green goo

There's nary request to telephone nan Ghostbusters if you perceive thing going bump successful nan night. 

In fact, you mightiness beryllium amended disconnected calling an electrician. 

With Halloween conscionable astir nan corner, each small unexplained sound mightiness consciousness for illustration a judge motion of paranormal activity, but nan existent logic for your haunted location mightiness beryllium a batch scarier.  

Many of nan communal signs associated pinch paranormal activity tin beryllium a motion of vulnerable faults that request urgent attention.

Whether you've sewage greenish goo oozing from your plug sockets aliases are being tormented by nan smell of sulphur, experts opportunity location are elemental explanations to beryllium found. 

Green Goo 

While slime seeping from nan walls mightiness look for illustration a bad typical effect from an 80s scary flick, experts opportunity this tin beryllium a motion of perchance vulnerable electrical faults.

Richard Harvey, electrical installation information technologist astatine Electrical Safety First, says that group successful older houses should support an oculus retired for goo astir their electrical appliances.

Rather than being a motion of a poltergeist, nan goo is really caused by deteriorating copper wiring reacting chemically pinch nan plastic.  

'People successful older lodging should beryllium connected nan look retired for a greenish goo-like constituent oozing from their plug sockets, ray switches aliases moreover nan lighting fittings,' Mr Harvey told MailOnline.

'It's commonly associated pinch older wiring which arose during nan 1960s to 1970s. If you spot it, make judge you telephone a registered electrician arsenic immoderate of nan information components wrong nan sockets, switches aliases ray fittings whitethorn beryllium compromised by nan greenish goo.'

Flickering Lights 

Anyone who's ever watched a scary movie knows that flickering lights mean only 1 thing: thing spooky is afoot.

For an example, look nary further than nan acquainted trope of nan poltergeist.

In nan 1982 classical nan young Carol Anne is stalked by a malevolent tone which, among its galore powers, is capable to impact electronics specified arsenic lights.

However, Mr Harvey - who spends much clip fixing wiring than watching scary movies - says that there's thing supernatural to beryllium acrophobic of. 

Mr Harvey says: 'There's been plentifulness of emergency call-outs complete nan years to flickering lights which ever lead to loose connections. 

'It's easy to beryllium distracted by nan thought your location is lodging a shade astatine this clip of year, but nan reality of what's happening successful your location could beryllium acold much frightening.'

Flickering lights tin beryllium a motion that nan surrounding insulation mightiness person been damaged aliases deteriorated. 

Mr Harvey says that exposed wires tin go basking and perchance commencement fires, truthful beryllium judge to telephone a trained electrician earlier you scope for nan beatified h2o and crucifix.  

Unexplained Smells

Countless tales of demonic possession and hauntings specifically mention a pungent odour arsenic a motion of malicious spirits.

Demons for illustration Pazuzu from The Exorcist are expected to beryllium followed everyplace by nan insidious smell of sulphur. 

However, if you do smell thing unpleasant and akin to food past this is astir apt a motion that nan integrative successful your plug socket is being burned. 

Mr Harvey says if you do place this smell, don't disregard it. Instead, study it to your landlord arsenic soon arsenic possible.

'If different issues aren't resolved, faults tin expose you to electrical shocks astir nan house,' Mr Harvey said.

'Private landlords are obligated successful England nether laws to get their spot inspected erstwhile each 5 years, those that neglect to comply pinch nan rule could look earnestly scary fines of up to £30,000.'

Ghostly Visions 

Most scientists do not judge successful nan beingness of ghosts, but that hasn't stopped them from trying to explicate why group person ghostly experiences.

According to Dr Christopher French, caput of nan Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit astatine Goldsmiths University, galore people's shade visions person a communal cause.

Sleep paralysis, Dr French told MailOnline, 'is a very very communal acquisition successful its basal form, which is wherever you're half awake, half dormant and you realise that you can't move.'

'Most group conscionable motion it off, but it tin beryllium associated pinch symptoms that make it beautiful terrifying,' he added. 

Dr French says this could beryllium a very beardown consciousness that location is simply a beingness of personification aliases thing successful nan room pinch you aliases moreover ocular hallucinations. 

'I get tons of first-hand reports of slumber paralysis episodes and they do nonstop a shiver up your spine because, hallucinatory aliases not, that personification is having that experience,' he said. 

'They tin see proceeding voices aliases footsteps. Seeing monsters aliases demons coming towards them and trying to throttle them.'

However, location is thing supernatural astatine play. Instead, nan visions and paralysis are caused by nan mind moving betwixt nan authorities of slumber and wakefulness. 

Why do we acquisition nan paranormal? 

All these explanations, however, only spell halfway towards solving nan problem of why we acquisition paranormal events. 

Some scientists, successful their effort to understand nan paranormal, person suggested that location whitethorn beryllium earthy features successful nan world which origin our brains to conjure feelings and experiences we cannot explain.

The 2 astir often cited explanations are different electromagnetic fields (EMF) and infra-sound, a wave of vibration beneath nan scope of quality hearing. 

In nan 1970s, a scientist called Michael Persinger came up pinch nan mentation that beardown EMF fields could impact our brain's temporal lobes successful specified a measurement arsenic to bring astir paranormal experiences.

Persinger moreover created a instrumentality he called nan 'God helmet' which supposedly induced belief experiences done nan usage of EMF fields. 

Likewise, a British intelligence named Vic Tandy hypothesised that paranormal experiences mightiness beryllium explained by vibrations beneath nan scope of our hearing.

Tandy claimed that infrasound could make group consciousness uneasy, and moreover hallucinate by vibrating parts of our eyes. 

Dr French decided to put some of these theories to nan trial by building an 'artificially haunted room' which would blast trial subjects pinch either infra-sound aliases EMF fields. 

Surprisingly, erstwhile Dr French asked participants to walk 50 minutes successful nan room, group really did study unusual experiences.

People reported emotion a consciousness of beingness aliases dizziness, pinch astir 8 per cent reporting panic and 1 aliases 2 moreover experiencing intersexual arousal.

However, erstwhile nan information was analysed it was recovered that whether group knowledgeable thing had thing to do pinch whether EMF aliases infrasound was present. 

What they did find was a beardown relationship betwixt suggestibility and paranormal experience.

'The astir reasonable mentation of our results is that if you opportunity to group "if you spell successful this room you mightiness person immoderate weird experiences" nan much suggestible ones will; purely connected nan powerfulness of suggestion.'

However, scientists besides judge that immoderate buildings are simply much apt to nutrient supernatural experiences. 

Dr Neil Dagnall, cognitive and parapsychological interrogator astatine Manchester Metropolitan University, explained that definite features specified arsenic gangly ceilings, acheronian lighting, and acold are often associated pinch these experiences. 

These psychological prompts are truthful beardown that they tin moreover beryllium felt without immoderate context.

In 1 experiment, researchers looked astatine nan haunted Edinburgh vaults.

'What they recovered was that location were definite characteristics and definite parts of nan vaults that were peculiarly associated pinch haunt-like activity,' Dr Dagnall explained.

What was striking is that nan participants virtually exploring a 3D exemplary of nan vaults recorded feelings of unease successful conscionable nan aforesaid places that were traditionally believed to beryllium haunted. 

'When you person these biology prompts together pinch nan thought aliases contented that nan spot is haunted, that would create a emblematic haunt scenario,' Dr Dagnell added.

However, nary of these biology factors person immoderate effect unless location is nan correct benignant of personification to acquisition them.

Dr Kenneth Drinkwater, besides from Manchester Metropolitan University, told MailOnline that it is yet nan personification who is astatine nan centre of a haunting, not nan building. 

Some group person a earthy disposition towards belief successful nan paranormal which intends that a bid of events that can't beryllium explained tin move into a paranormal arena successful their mind. 

Experience of slumber paralysis, flickering lights, and a acold acheronian room tin each travel together to create an acquisition that is very existent and very terrifying to that person.

Dr Dagnal and Dr Drinkwater telephone this nan attributional model, meaning unexplained events successful nan situation are attributed by definite group to paranormal events. 

'It depends connected really we are, really we're made, and really we construe nan environment,' Dr Drinkwater explained.

'Sometimes it's thing different and we person to tie a statement nether that, but different group are not happy pinch that.

'They don't for illustration uncertainty truthful they whitethorn cling to nan truth that they deliberation it was a ghost.'