Big picture - the acoustic research infrasound array
Ciarán O’Keeffe (right) and Steve Parsons with the Acoustic Research Infrasound Array (ARIA).
25 November 2011
With Halloween looming, perhaps you feel more susceptible to spooky sensations and ghostly goings-on. But before you blame the spirits, consider that you may be influenced by a sound below the normal threshold of human hearing.
Dr Ciarán O’Keeffe has been researching infrasound detection and generation for several years. ‘We’ve been running surveys and controlled experiments testing Vic Tandy’s original theory that a frequency of around 18Hz could be responsible for people’s haunting experiences. For example, we’ve had 600+ people walk around Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh in infrasound and non-infrasound conditions, with ARIA positioned out of sight in an area not accessed during the public tours. We conclude that infrasound (at that frequency) is a contributing factor in haunting experiences – the experience has to happen anyway, either due to some psychological or other environmental factors, but the infrasound increases the intensity and frequency of those experiences.’