29 Not Your Average Ghost Story

This essay was composed in December 2024 and uses MLA documentation.

All around the world, ghost stories and tales of paranormal encounters have been around for ages. Whether these stories come from ancient myths, horror movies, or personal experiences, they reveal a lot about people’s fears, beliefs, and the way we handle uncertainty. Many researchers suggest that ghost stories are reflections of our emotions, especially around things like death and the unknown. There’s also a historical side to it—haunted places are often tied to past tragic events, and the history of these locations adds to their “haunted” feeling. From a psychological perspective, studies show that when people experience strong emotions or stress, they’re more likely to interpret strange events as supernatural, especially if they’re already in an eerie setting.

To really understand why people believe in ghosts, it’s essential to look at psychology, history, and mythology together. Each of these factors helps explain why some people interpret certain experiences as ghostly. In movies like The Amityville Horror, The Conjuring, and The Nun, these elements come together in ways that make the supernatural feel real, using old, tragic backstories, fear-driven reactions, and cultural myths that play on familiar themes of good versus evil and unresolved trauma.

So, people tend to encounter “ghosts” when psychological, historical, and mythological conditions come together, making them more likely to interpret strange experiences as supernatural. By looking at all these perspectives, it becomes clearer that ghostly encounters are usually influenced by a mix of emotions, memories of past events, and myths rather than actual supernatural beings.

Psychological Factors and Historical Context

Psychology plays a big role in how people understand creepy or strange events—strong emotions often make things feel more supernatural than they really are. Lindgren explains that when people are stressed or in unfamiliar places, they’re more likely to misinterpret ordinary things—like creaking noises or shadows—as paranormal. This shows up clearly in The Conjuring, where Carolyn Perron’s stress from moving into a run-down farmhouse makes her more vulnerable to fear. Right after the move, strange things start happening—doors creak, clocks stop at 3:15 a.m., and creepy noises echo through the house. Once the family learns about the farmhouse’s dark history involving Bathsheba, a woman accused of witchcraft in the 1800s, every odd event starts to feel like part of Bathsheba’s revenge. The combination of stress, fear, and the house’s eerie backstory makes their minds turn natural occurrences into something supernatural. Similarly, in The Nun, set in a Romanian convent with a history of demonic possession, the characters’ growing fear and knowledge of the dark past make them hyper-aware of every unsettling sound and shadow. They see them as signs of evil spirits. History.com even notes that places with dark histories often invite ghost stories because people connect strange events to what they already know about the past.

Baker’s research adds to this by showing how expectations and beliefs about hauntings can shape people’s experiences. In The Amityville Horror, George Lutz begins to experience chilling events—like feeling cold in warm rooms, becoming paranoid, and acting aggressively—after moving into a house with a tragic history. Baker explains that “pre-existing beliefs about hauntings make people more susceptible to misinterpreting ordinary events as paranormal.” George’s stress, combined with the house’s haunted reputation, makes him see the normal as supernatural. The same idea appears in Kathy Christenson’s story about Utah State University’s Old Main. After hearing rumors about the ghost of Thorley, a woman who reportedly died in the building, Kathy and a security guard believed they heard and saw a piano playing on its own. Baker supports this by stating, “When someone expects to encounter something supernatural, their mind is more likely to perceive events in that way.”

In all these examples, fear, stress, and expectations—whether caused by emotional states or dark histories—make people more likely to see natural events as paranormal. Psychological factors mix with stories of the past, and together, they turn creaks, shadows, and feelings of unease into full-blown ghost encounters.

Mythology and Cultural Influence

In The Conjuring, the characters use Catholic symbols like crosses and tools like holy water to try to deal with what they believe is a demonic spirit. The Warrens, who are ghost hunters, even talk about doing an exorcism, which ties back to their Catholic faith. Carolyn, one of the main characters, sees everything that’s happening to her family as more than just random weird stuff—it feels like something evil is targeting them. She starts to think it’s personal, like the spirits are trying to harm her family specifically. The way she interprets the strange things happening in her house, like the doors creaking and the clocks stopping, is tied to her belief in ghosts and demons. According to Baker, when people have beliefs about ghosts, they are more likely to make connections between random events and supernatural causes. It’s like the mind starts filling in the blanks with what it already believes, so normal things, like a clock stopping, feel much more sinister.

In The Amityville Horror, George Lutz, especially, becomes obsessed with the house’s tragic past. The house was the site of a real-life murder, and after the Lutz family moves in, things start to get really strange. George begins to feel freezing cold all the time, and he starts acting paranoid and aggressive. One of the most chilling parts is when George wakes up at exactly 3:15 a.m. every night—the time the murders happened. The family starts to believe he’s being taken over by something evil. This is all made worse by the cultural myths they already know, like the idea of haunted houses or evil spirits haunting the place. As Baker explains, “people who already have beliefs about ghosts or haunted places are far more likely to connect ordinary or random events with supernatural causes” (p. 65). For the Lutz family, George’s weird behavior and the random things happening in the house all start to feel like signs of something much darker, like the house is somehow controlling him.

At Utah State University, there are many ghost stories, like hearing the organ play the night before graduation, the sound of a piano late at night, or even spotting the ghost of “Big Blue” at the first homecoming game after singing the fight song three times. These stories have been around for years, but honestly, they’re mostly myths. No one’s actually seen these ghosts. It’s just become part of the tradition. The stories about the piano and organ are tied to a girl who supposedly died there, and people think her ghost is still playing the music. It’s interesting that in a lot of ghost stories—like in The Nun or The Conjuring—the ghost is usually described as a girl. The same thing happens with the myths at USU, where there are several similar stories of the piano girl and the organ girl in the library. This all points to the fact that these stories are probably just urban legends. The reason the ghost is almost always a girl instead of a guy probably has to do with the image we have of ghosts in general. Society tends to link ghosts with female figures; just think about all the stories, movies, and folklore. So, these myths about a girl’s ghost are more about cultural ideas than actual events. It’s more of a made-up story than a real haunting. Another point is that USU is an old university that’s been around for a long time—actually, it existed even before World War II, though the university had a different name back then. All this history and tradition probably helped these myths stick around and get passed down over the years.

Modern Perspectives and Scientific Explanations

On the other hand, science offers practical explanations for what might seem supernatural. Studies have shown that environmental factors like infrasound and electromagnetic fields (EMFs) can cause people to feel uneasy or even see things. Infrasound, which is sound below the range of human hearing, can make people feel nervous or even experience hallucinations. For example, Vic Tandy, a researcher, found that infrasound can make people think they’ve seen a ghost. These strange sounds might explain why people sometimes feel a “presence” in an empty room or think they see something moving in the dark.

In The Amityville Horror, George experiences strange sensations like feeling cold and hearing unexplained noises, which could be linked to sound frequencies that make everything feel more eerie. Lindgren’s research supports this idea, showing that it’s not ghosts causing these feelings, but rather environmental factors. For example, a study by Haunt shows that infrasound, a type of low-frequency sound, can cause discomfort and even hallucinations, explaining why people might feel a “presence” or see something that isn’t there. Similarly, research by Peyman reveals that electromagnetic fields (EMFs) can mess with how our brains process information, leading us to feel uneasy or like we’re being watched when we’re alone. These studies suggest that the spooky sensations people experience are more about how the environment affects us, not about actual supernatural forces.

Sleep paralysis could also explain some ghostly experiences. When characters in The Conjuring sense something nearby, it’s similar to sleep paralysis symptoms, where people are unable to move and feel something ominous around them. Baker’s study suggests that many “ghostly” experiences come from natural causes, including how our minds and bodies react under certain stressful situations. This is a reminder that while history, culture, and psychology shape how we interpret these moments, sometimes what feels supernatural can have a totally scientific explanation. Scientists suggest that quiet spaces with low-frequency sounds can heighten these feelings, creating a kind of haunted atmosphere.

Conclusion

Ghost encounters and paranormal experiences show that when psychological, historical, and mythological factors line up, people are more likely to think they’re experiencing something supernatural. This is why there’s so much confusion and mixed opinions about ghosts—it all depends on who’s telling the story and how they view things. The term “ghost” can mean a lot of different things depending on who you ask or the context. Some people think of ghosts as spirits of the dead who haven’t moved on, while others might see them as psychological or emotional things, like unresolved trauma. Different cultures have different beliefs too. For instance, in Hinduism, ghosts are seen as spirits stuck in limbo because of karma, while in some Native American traditions, they might be ancestors coming back to offer guidance. In Chinese folklore, ghosts are often viewed as vengeful or “hungry” spirits that haunt the living until their needs are met. Nowadays, some people use the word “ghost” to describe things like sensing a presence or hearing odd noises, which can often be explained by environmental factors like infrasound. All these different interpretations show how the idea of a “ghost” can be complex and take on a lot of different meanings.

Movies like The Conjuring and The Nun are based on real events, but parts of the story are dramatized. It’s hard to know what’s true and what’s made up when these movies blur the lines between fact and fiction. Then there’s the whole Amityville Horror situation, where a mix of truth and legend makes it tough to figure out what’s really going on. This mix of myths, real events, and personal beliefs makes it even more complicated to understand what people mean when they talk about ghosts.

When you look into this topic yourself, just remember to stay open-minded but also think critically about the sources you come across. People’s experiences with ghosts are influenced by all kinds of factors, so no two stories are the same. The more you dig into different sources, the more you’ll get a fuller picture of how people view ghosts, and that helps you understand why we keep debating whether they’re real or just in our heads. Part of it is probably because as humans, we’re naturally curious, and we want to figure out what happens after life. Ghosts, heaven, hell—these are all connected to big, unanswerable questions. It’s like we’re stuck in a constant search for answers, but we’re still alive, so we can’t exactly ask the people on the other side for answers (unless someone figures out how to text a ghost, which would be pretty wild). But seriously, this search for meaning and closure about what happens after death drives these debates.

Works Cited

The Amityville Horror. Directed by Stuart Rosenberg, performances by James Brolin and Margot Kidder, American International Pictures, 1979.

Baker, Rick. “Environmental Factors and Their Effects on Perceptions of the Paranormal.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, vol. 22, no. 2, 2001, pp. 115-123.

Baker, William J. “Ghosts and the Supernatural: A Cultural History.” Journal of American Folklore, vol. 123, no. 488, 2010, pp. 394-416. JSTOR, https://upcolorado.com/utah-state-university-press/item/2143-alas-poor-ghost

The Conjuring. Directed by James Wan, performances by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2013.

“History of Ghost Stories.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/historical-ghost-stories.

Lindgren, Mark. “The Psychology of Belief in Ghosts.” Psychology Today, 5 Sept. 2021, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/presence-of-mind/202310/why-its-normal-tobelieve-in-the-paranormal.

Morrison, Ken. “Ghosts in the Machine: An Exploration of Belief in the Paranormal.” Social Science Journal, vol. 45, no. 3, 2018, pp. 123-139. ScienceDirect https://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Machine-Intersection-SupernaturalInvestigation/dp/B0CJJZJW4B

The Nun. Directed by Corin Hardy, performances by Taissa Farmiga and Demián Bichir, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2018

Santos, Aline. “Cultural Evolution of Ghost Beliefs.” Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2022, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-americanindian/2021/10/28/native-ghosts-and-the-supernatural/

Tandy, Vic. “The Ghost in the Machine.” Fortean Times, vol. 85, 1996, pp. 20-24.