On April 26, 2026, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience published the results of a small-scale study that has big implications for my friends who research the paranormal.
For years reputable paranormal investigators would listen for sounds attributed to hauntings and attempt to find mundane reasons for them. Examples frequently are bad plumbing, generic old house noises, etc. This study explored invisible noises referred to as infrasounds that are below the typical range of hearing. These sounds can be in your own home emitting from air conditioning, plumbing, and old pipes.
To test the way these sounds can affect people, they recruited 36 participants to sit alone in a room for 5 minutes listening to either relaxing, meditation style music or creepy, unsettling music. What the participants didn’t know was that half of them were also exposed to infrasound playing at 18 Hertz, outside the normal range of hearing.
Overall, participants exposed to infrasound reported that the music seemed sadder and higher levels of irritability. Saliva testing confirmed that those who heard the infrasound had higher levels of stress related hormones following the experiment. Of note, the participants did not detect the infrasound. Even if they thought they heard it, that belief did not affect their stress hormone response.
If you’re a nerd like me, this may remind you of the 12th episode of season 10 Mythbusters, which featured “Haunted Hum.” They attempted a similar test; however, they used 19-20 Hertz. Also, the situation wasn’t quite as controlled as the scientist led study. The Mythbusters had inconclusive results, but as always, it was great television.
Although the scale is small, it seems this study has a lot to offer in explaining unsettling feelings people may experience.
I highly recommend checking out the study. You can read it here.
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