Could low-frequency infrasound explain some ghostly experiences, or is there more to hauntings than science can explain? ANDREW HOMER investigates
Recent research from MacEwan University in Alberta, Canada, has been widely reported as a scientific explanation for ghosts and hauntings.
The theory that low-frequency infrasound may be responsible for certain paranormal experiences is by no means as new as some reports suggest.
In May 2009, an innovative and subsequently award-winning paranormal investigation took place in the tunnels hidden beneath the Grade II listed Smethwick Swimming Baths in the West Midlands.
This extensive tunnel system and associated machinery lent itself to the possibility of infrasound being present. That is, low-frequency sound below the threshold of human hearing, which is normally 20 Hz.
Although inaudible to the human ear, infrasound has been associated with causing feelings of unease, even fear, and, combined with reported visual disturbances, such experiences could appear paranormal, especially in locations with a ‘spooky’ reputation.
Local West Midlands research group, Parasearch, had become involved in groundbreaking research by the late Vic Tandy of Coventry University.
He became interested in infrasound and its possible effects after experiencing a seemingly paranormal event in his allegedly haunted laboratory at Warwick.
He suddenly felt anxious, as though someone was watching him, and saw a grey blob out of the corner of his eye. When he tried to look at it directly, it had disappeared.
The following day, he happened to be working on one of his fencing foils and had the handle held in a vice. The blade started vibrating for no apparent reason. Vic reasoned that the only possible source of the vibration was an extraction fan.
He had equipment to measure the frequency of vibration from the fan, and it was 18.98 Hz. This is virtually the frequency at which the human eye resonates. He further concluded that this could have been the cause of him seeing the dark figure. The fan had created a standing wave of infrasound which was causing the fencing foil to vibrate.
Parasearch members, including the author, were invited to meet with Vic and were given a detailed explanation of his theories. We were also able to visit the allegedly haunted cellar where Vic had conducted his initial experiments, which resulted in a groundbreaking paper, The Ghost in the Machine, published in April 1998.
Working on a new design produced by Vic Tandy, electronics expert Frank Smith was able to construct a viable infrasound meter for use on our investigations.
Smethwick Swimming Centre
Smethwick Swimming Centre near Birmingham proved to be the perfect location for testing the infrasound theory.
It was a superb Art Deco building dating to 1933, with mysterious dark tunnels beneath the swimming pool, underground rooms, a haunted reputation, and a reliable source of measurable infrasound. From an experimental point of view, Smethwick Swimming Centre had it all.
During the Second World War, the extensive network of service tunnels and rooms beneath the baths housed an air raid shelter and a temporary morgue for victims of the bombing.
American servicemen stationed nearby also allegedly used the tunnels and rooms for holding and interrogating downed German airmen.
Ghosts Beneath the Baths
Smethwick Swimming Centre has long been associated with a series of hauntings, including three children, two boys and a little girl, seen and heard all around the building.
Staff interviewed at the time of our investigations talked of regularly hearing the children laughing, particularly when locking the building at night. This would often be accompanied by a chill which disappeared once the children were acknowledged.
In the area of the underground plant room, with its continuously operating pumps and environmental machinery, the sighting of a man in green overalls would often precede an imminent breakdown, and staff assumed him to have been a former maintenance engineer.
Some of the activity reported in the tunnels is clearly connected to wartime use. A sharply dressed character described as a ‘spiv’ (someone who traded in illegal black-market goods) has been seen, as well as a uniformed American serviceman and a German airman in full flying gear.
Quite a varied collection, and not just associated with the tunnels, as the children have been experienced all around the centre, and the apparition of a lady in an old-style bathrobe has been seen in the area of the upstairs sauna.
The Investigation
Our first investigation of this fascinating site took place on 13 February 2009. As usual, the team split into small groups to investigate the different areas on a rotational basis.
The investigation passed off quietly enough except that, at 12.15am, one of our team saw what appeared to be the maintenance man move silently across the entrance to the old air raid shelter. Needless to say, on investigation there was nobody there.
Given the network of tunnels and rooms, coupled with the constant operation of pumps and fans, it was decided to subsequently test for infrasound using the new meter designed by Vic Tandy.
It was found that the pool equipment did indeed reliably generate high levels of infrasound, particularly in the tunnels, with other areas being relatively shielded.
Testing the Theory
A small team, including the author, were able to devise an experiment whereby groups of researchers moved between six designated areas within the tunnels. Three of these had high levels of measured infrasound, and three were effectively shielded. Participants had no idea which was which.
Every five minutes, each team member noted down on a perception sheet any experiences involving the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste, together with any emotional responses or feelings.
Detailed analysis of the results showed no significant difference between experiences in any of the six experimental locations. In other words, the presence of high levels of infrasound appeared to make no difference to the perceptions of the participants.
From our experience, at least, although infrasound may have been found experimentally to produce ‘spooky’ feelings in some people, it is very far from a unified scientific explanation of ghosts and hauntings.
Nevertheless, the research won the Michael Bentine Memorial Shield presented by the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena (ASSAP).
As a postscript, although we had kept prior knowledge of the alleged hauntings to an absolute minimum, analysis of the perception sheets did reveal that the presence of a child, or children, was recorded more than once by members of different teams!
