Study finds infrasound the likely horror in hauntings
Boing Boing • • science
Key Points:
- A Canadian study published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience found that infrasound—sound waves below 20 Hz, inaudible to humans—can induce stress and negative mood changes even without conscious detection.
- Researchers exposed participants to ~18 Hz infrasound combined with either calming or horror-themed audio, finding increased irritability, sadness, and elevated cortisol levels, indicating physiological stress.
- The study addressed previous research inconsistencies by using verified infrasonic delivery and combining psychological self-reports with biological stress markers, ruling out expectancy effects.
- Infrasound is generated by natural phenomena and human-made machinery such as ventilation systems, which may explain feelings of unease in environments like old buildings with large fans or pipes.
- The findings challenge skepticism around infrasound’s effects and provide a scientific basis for unsettling sensations attributed to low-frequency noise in various contexts, including historical mysteries and modern infrastructure.
