Are ghosts real? Uncanny's Team Sceptic on the science of spookiness

NOTE: The Uncanny podcast can include scary content so it's always best to check with a parent before listening, or listen along with them.

Do you enjoy spooky tales? If so, settle down…

It’s all about a young man, aged about 19. He was busy, working in a warehouse during the day and in a nursing home at night. It was the nursing home where things got strange. He heard his name called out when there was nobody else there, he started seeing things that couldn’t be explained…

Surprisingly, it probably wasn’t a ghost. And all those experiences? They happened to the future Dr Ciarán O’Keeffe of Bucks New University, a man who became well-known for debunking tales of the supernatural with scientific reasoning.

He does it regularly on the BBC Sounds podcast Uncanny - and he puts that experience in the nursing home down to sleep deprivation, which can play all sort of tricks on your mind.

With Halloween on the horizon, BBC Bitesize Other Side of the Story caught up with Ciarán to find out what may really be happening if you think you’re seeing a ghost - and why some experts believe it could even be a form of bias.

When Ciarán hears someone talk about a haunting, he first thinks if it’s something to do with psychology, the place where it happened, or both.

He said: “Concept suggestion in psychology is where I suggest to you something, and that then has an influence on you. The best example is, if I suggest to you that a building is haunted, when you go into that building and you feel a breeze on the back of your neck, you’re thinking, ‘has a ghost just walked behind me?’ - because I’ve suggested to you that it’s haunted.

“The opposite to that of course, if you’re in an office building and you feel a breeze on the back of your neck, you’re looking for an open window or air conditioning. There’s no suggestion that it is haunted, so suggestion is very, very, very powerful and can explain a lot of experiences.”

Alongside Ciarán’s research, a lot of scientific studies into hauntings mention confirmation bias. This is where we look for information that back up what we like to believe. For example, if you support a certain football team, you are more likely to enjoy social posts and news stories that celebrate them.

If we apply that to haunted houses, anyone who believes ghosts exist would be more likely to think they had a spooky encounter if they heard a loud bang on the floor above at night, or felt the draught on the back of their neck that Ciarán mentioned. Just because we believe something, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s true. Apply critical thinking in these situations or you may end up sharing information that is false.

Anchoring bias is where he first piece of information we are given, the anchor, plays a big part in everything that happens afterwards. If you are told a house is haunted, any unusual sound you hear from that moment on is connected to that piece of information. This means you could interpret something ordinary as something far spookier.

It’s worth checking who gave you the information about the house having a ghost in the first place. Do they have a reason - an agenda - for wanting you to believe that? Could they, for example, be part of a local ghost-hunting group wanting to document people’s experiences?

Anchoring bias does not just apply to supernatural experiences. Imagine you've organised a day out with some friends and a new person is joining the group, someone you know absolutely nothing about. Just as you set off to meet everyone, someone messages you to say that this new person is horrible and to watch out. When you meet them, you may interpret things they say and do as proof they aren’t a pleasant person, based on that sole piece of information.

But what about the friend who messaged you? They may have a complex history with the new person, and want others to feel the same way they do.

To question and investigate anything we experience, it’s important to consider other viewpoints. Ciarán explained two scientific phenomena which could be mistaken for a ghost sighting.

• Infrasound is low frequency - less than 20hz - and below the level we usually hear. Research shows infrasound can impact us both physically and mentally: at around 19hz, the human eyeball can vibrate and experience optical illusions. That same sound can also make us have negative feelings.

• Ciarán said: “It can give the impression that there’s a kind of heaviness in the pit of your stomach or a slight headache, or your hairs go up at the back of your neck - which is a ghost and horror trope, to suddenly have that feeling.” It can be caused by machinery such as air conditioning, but also naturally in long tunnels or cave networks.

• Electromagnetic fields are produced by equipment such as a TV or laptop computer, although Ciarán explained they operate at levels that are “absolutely nothing to worry about.” They have a similar effect to infrasound.

• Ciarán added: “You can’t see electromagnetic fields so you start to feel a bit odd, especially if it’s in a haunted location - and because you can’t see what’s causing it, you automatically think it’s a ghost.”

If you see or hear anything that doesn’t quite feel right to you, whether it’s a ghost story or a piece of news you read online, always look for other sources of information. Building up the story from both sides can give you a bigger picture which helps you make up your own mind.

Take our fun personality quiz to find out how you really feel about ghosts, spirits and other kinds of spookiness.

If the thought of somebody telling you that you’re standing in a haunted house makes you feel anxious, try not to worry. Using the SQUID method can help you to question what is happening.

• First of all STOP what you are doing and try to think seriously about what is happening.
• You can QUESTION and INVESTIGATE what is happening at that moment. Who is saying the building is haunted? Why would they say it? Are they trying to spook you or do they have genuine evidence there are ghosts about?
• Look for your own evidence. Is there any proof that ghosts exist anywhere, not just in that house? Are there more experts like Ciarán offering scientific explanations for what hauntings could actually be?
• Once you’ve got your evidence, you can then DECIDE.

In this there’s no right or wrong decision. If you want to follow the scientific path and not believe in ghosts, that’s your call. But if you do think there’s some truth in tales of the supernatural, you’re allowed to do that too.

You’re welcome to join Ciarán on Team Sceptic - but there are plenty of people on Team Believer as well.

This article was published in October 2026

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