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Skeptical analysis
Critics of "eyewitness ghost sightings" suggest that
limitations of human perception and ordinary physical
explanations can account for such sightings; for
example, air pressure changes in a home causing doors to
slam, or lights from a passing car reflected through a
window at night.
Horror Cover for
Italian Comic LancioStory
Pareidolia, an innate tendency to
recognize patterns in random perceptions, can cause
people to believe they have seen ghosts.
Reports of
ghosts "seen out of the corner of the eye" may be
accounted for by the sensitivity of human peripheral
vision. According to skeptical investigator Joe Nickell:
...peripheral vision is very sensitive and can easily
mislead, especially late at night, when the brain is
tired and more likely to misinterpret sights and
sounds.
Ghost - Richard Lord and Richard Wiseman
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