Hyperesthesia
Hyperesthesia, or why drinking coffee or energy drinks
during a paranormal investigation could lead to a paranormal attributed sensation
that is explainable through medical science.
Most paranormal
investigators like to ply their trade at night, there are a number of very good
reasons for this. The darkness adds a spooky factor, some locations are closed
to the public at night, giving the investigator free range of the location
without interference or interruption. Others like the quietness, and the fact
that the cooler air temperature allows sounds to travel further, some work
during the day, and the night is the only time they have to ghost hunt –
whatever the reason, almost all will use a stimulant, like coffee or energy
drinks to help them stay awake during their investigation.
Excessive consumption of caffeine can induce
Hyperesthesia[i]
in humans (this is not the only cause, but the one I am focusing on for this
blog). The caffeine creates stimulation of the spinal cord, the cortex and the
medulla in the central nervous system, thus bringing about a temporary state of
hypersensitivity where an investigator may have an elevated height of senses.
Why is this bad you ask, wouldn’t heightened
sense be preferred on an investigation to better hear/feel/see something paranormal?
No, as you’re leaving yourself open to
experience sounds, touch or smells that are minute and normally indistinguishable,
experienced at a much higher level (or in a more concentrated way) than normal,
thus giving a “personal experience” that is not quantifiable.
A person may have a twitch in their body, on a daily
basis this twitch happens irregularly and is often not noticed by a person, but
introduce hyperesthesia and a paranormal investigation, and suddenly that
twitch, which is now felt at a heightened level, along with the psychological
priming of expected paranormal phenomena via being on a ghost hunt, and you
have a person sensing they are being touched by a ghost when in actual fact, it
is the same muscle twitch they’ve always had, but just didn’t notice without
the heightened senses.
Another example could be a person walking through an
old haunted hotel, a place they are familiar with. As they walk through in the
hypersensitive state, they begin notice begin to notice the smell of tobacco, a
smell that is there normally, but unnoticed when not in the heightened state,
that heightened state of sensitivity and the smell of the tobacco then invokes
the idea that a spirit may be present, and therefore the person has a ghostly
experience – but it isn’t real, as the smell is always present, but not usually
noticed in the person's natural state.
Hyperesthesia works in other ways too, such is in
psychic “readings”. In this case, the psychic maybe someone who can manipulate
their own mind (or through other means) to gain a level of hyperesthesia.
While in this state, they can perceive useful
information, via their now heightened sense, such as subtle facial expression,
body movement, or voice tones, that in a normal state one would not notice.
They can then answer questions, or change the course of a “reading” via their interpretation
of their hyperaesthetic state.
I know a number of questions are going to arise from
this blog, so I am going to try and answer the ones that have popped into my
head already – and if you have more questions, please pop them on the thread
for this post on the Facebook page.
1. If
two people smell the same “tobacco smoke” smell, does that rule out one person’s
hyperesthesia?
No. simply because the power of suggestion is incredibly strong. For example, in
1899, Slosson presented a study on the spatial-temporal spreading of ambiguous perceptions
among a group of observers. In a classroom demonstration, he poured unscented distilled
water over a small white cotton ball and led his students to believe that a
chemical odour, one never smelt before, was being emitted. Within 15 seconds,
the students in the front row claimed they could smell the odour, then came the
students at the rear, within a few minutes three-quarters of the class could
smell the odour. Are the students suffering from olfactory hallucinations or
bowing to peer pressure, not wanting to be “left out by”, or “be different” to
their peers? Whatever the reason, Slosson’s study concludes that hallucinations
of smell are easily induced by suggestion.
2. So,
if we cannot rely on our senses, how do we quantify paranormal phenomena during
investigations?
Quite simply, you can’t. The truth is no ghost has ever been confirmed, caught and examined,
studied or measured by anyone. If it had, the scientific community would be all
over it, and all us amateur ghost sleuths would be pushed out of every supposed
haunted location so scientific research teams, with endless Government and
private sector funding, could recreate the capture, then study the ghosts. Whether
you like that explanation or not, it is the truth, there is absolutely no hard
evidence for ghosts existing.
That should not stop you from going out and investigating and trying to find a
ghost. Just make sure if you do so, that your evidence, and the way you
collected it, stands up to scientific scrutiny…otherwise, ghost hunt for the
thrill and fun, and for personal experience, not everyone gets to go into big
spooky places after dark!
I am sure there will be many questions other than the
two I’ve answered here. If you do have a question, please post it on the Haunts
of Adelaide Facebook page, and I will try my best to answer it.
Allen Tiller
researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2017
Bibliography and Footnotes.
Gertrude Schmeidler (schmeidler, 1952, Schmeidler
& McConnell, 1958) demonstrated that attitudes effect psi performance. If
you believe, you are more likely to encounter a paranormal experience.
Glicksohn
J & Alon A & Perlmutter A & Purisman R, 2001, Symbolic and Syncretic
Cognition Among Schizophrenics and Visual Artists, Creativity Research Journal, Vol 13, Iss 2, viewed 13 Mar 2017, http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hcrj20/current
Molto
K, 2008, More True Tales of the Paranormal: Ghosts, Poltergeists, Near-Death
Experiences and Other Mysterious Events, Dundurn, Canada.
Peyron, R., Laurent,
B., & GarcÃa-Larrea, L. ,2000, Functional
imaging of brain responses to pain. A review and meta-analysis. Neurophysiologie
Clinique, 30(5), 263–288. Review. PubMed PMID
Robinson, M.
D., & Shannon, S. 2002. Rehabilitation
of peripheral nerve injuries. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics
of North America, 13(1), 109–135. Review. PubMed PMID: 11878078.
Slosson, E. E., 1899, Shorter
communications and discussions: A lecture experiment in hallucinations. Psychological
Review, Vol 6(4), Jul 1899, 407-408. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0071184
Schmeidler GR, & McConnell RA 1958, ESP and
personality patterns, New Haven, CT:Yale University Press,
Schmeidler, G R, 1952, Personal values and ESP scores,
Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 47, 757-761
Schmeidler, G R, 1966, Quantitative investigation of a
“haunted house” Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 60,
137-149
Thalbourne MA & Dunbar KA & Delin PS 1995, an
investigation into correlates of belief in the paranormal, Journal of the
American Society for Psychical Research, 89, 215-231
Thalbourne MA 2000, Transliminality, a review,
International Journal of Parapsychology, 11, 1-34
Thalbourne MA, 1996, An attempt to predict precognition
scores using transliminality-relevant variables, Journal of the Society for Psychical
Research, 61, 129-140
Thalbourne, MA, 1998, Transliminality: further
correlates and a short measure, Journal of the American Society for Psychical
Research, 92, 402-419
[i] Hyperesthesia
is an increased sensitivity to stimuli. It could be elevated sensation of
touch, hearing, smell or vision, sometimes referred to as “Hyper-sensitivity”
