Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant, also known as a form of apophenia. Apophenia is the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns with random data.
Common examples include seeing images of
animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon or the Moon rabbit, and hearing
hidden messages on records when played in reverse. The word comes from the Greek words para (παρά
‘beside-alongside-instead’).
In simpler terms this translates to meaning something faulty, wrong, instead of, and the noun eidōlon (εἴδωλον ‘image-form-shape’) the diminutive of eidos. The word comes from the Greek words para (παρά ‘beside-alongside-instead’).
For the purpose of this article we will focus primarily on visual pareidolia with connections between common paranormal beliefs, also gain an understanding from paranormal investigators that take time and efforts to compare, to 'debunk' what is most likely not paranormal, but quite natural and in many cases simply logical.
It may simply just be a marking on a wall such as flaking paint, mold, or any kind of common markings that some people (including those conducting ghost hunting tours or investigations) automatically and often repeatably think as a 'ghost on a wall'.
We will also address some scientific views as a result of conducted experiments and tests over many years.We understand from our own past experiences such as during one of our own over night investigations, we have been ‘caught out’ by an effect of pareidolia.
Further in this article we show a photo of ours and explain as an example of our own investigators by being quick to think something paranormal and slow to rule out pareidolia. As in our case, our ghosts were simply only flaking paint and crumbing concrete on a wall.
We write this up due to certain groups or teams, old and new, not only Queensland but throughout Australia, that give little to no consideration towards pareidolia during their ghost hunts or their investigation. They choose to continue to publish deceptive photos with almost blissful ignorance, often to their impressionable unaware and vulnerable followers that the truth is, they have likely captured pareidolia and it's everywhere!
Here are a few well known and some less known world examples of pareidolia.
In simpler terms this translates to meaning something faulty, wrong, instead of, and the noun eidōlon (εἴδωλον ‘image-form-shape’) the diminutive of eidos. The word comes from the Greek words para (παρά ‘beside-alongside-instead’).
For the purpose of this article we will focus primarily on visual pareidolia with connections between common paranormal beliefs, also gain an understanding from paranormal investigators that take time and efforts to compare, to 'debunk' what is most likely not paranormal, but quite natural and in many cases simply logical.
It may simply just be a marking on a wall such as flaking paint, mold, or any kind of common markings that some people (including those conducting ghost hunting tours or investigations) automatically and often repeatably think as a 'ghost on a wall'.
We will also address some scientific views as a result of conducted experiments and tests over many years.We understand from our own past experiences such as during one of our own over night investigations, we have been ‘caught out’ by an effect of pareidolia.
Further in this article we show a photo of ours and explain as an example of our own investigators by being quick to think something paranormal and slow to rule out pareidolia. As in our case, our ghosts were simply only flaking paint and crumbing concrete on a wall.
We write this up due to certain groups or teams, old and new, not only Queensland but throughout Australia, that give little to no consideration towards pareidolia during their ghost hunts or their investigation. They choose to continue to publish deceptive photos with almost blissful ignorance, often to their impressionable unaware and vulnerable followers that the truth is, they have likely captured pareidolia and it's everywhere!
Here are a few well known and some less known world examples of pareidolia.
- Some visitors to St. Mary's in Rathkaele, Ireland, say a tree stump outside of the church bears a silhouette of the Virgin Mary.
- Damage to the Pedra da Gávea, an enormous rock outside Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, created an impression that many people interpret as a human face.
- Many people thought images taken in 1976 by the Viking 1 mission showed a face on Mars that could have been the remnants of an ancient civilization.
- In September 1969, conspiracy theorists claimed some Beatles records contained clues to Paul McCartney's supposed death. Many heard the words "Paul is dead," when the song "Strawberry Fields Forever" was played backwards, a process known as back-masking. This is a common urban legend often repeated to this day.
- In 1977, the appearance of Jesus Christ on a flour tortilla set the international standard for miracle sightings. It happened in the small town of Lake Arthur, New Mexico, 40 minutes south of Roswell.
- Diane Duyser of Miami sold a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich, which she said bore the image of Jesus, for $28,000 on eBay in 2004.
- In 2012, many people made a pilgrimage to a tree at 60th Street and Bergenline Avenue in West New York, N.J., to see a scar on the tree that some believed looked like the image of the Our Lady of Guadalupe depiction of the Virgin Mary.
Researchers from the University
of Helsinki in Finland studied how 47 adults saw faces in dozens of pictures of
lifeless objects and landscapes, such as a rock wall or tools arranged on a
table. Some pictures had distinct face like characteristics, with eyes and a
mouth at the minimum, while others had no clear face like features.
After the experiments, the
participants filled out a questionnaire to measure their religiosity as well as
their belief in the paranormal. For example, the subjects were asked whether
they believed in God, thought people could move objects with their mind or
believed individuals could use astrology to accurately predict the future.
The religious people
and those who believed in paranormal phenomena saw faces more often than the
non-religious and the skeptics, the researchers found. The believers also were
more prone to false alarms, picking out faces in an image that lacked clear
face like features. In one part of the test, the subjects had rated the
face-likeness and emotional expression of the faces they saw.
The set of supernatural believers was more likely than the skeptics to rate the illusory features as very face like and emotional. The same pattern was observed in the religious vs. non-religious groups, but the difference was not significant, the researchers said.
The set of supernatural believers was more likely than the skeptics to rate the illusory features as very face like and emotional. The same pattern was observed in the religious vs. non-religious groups, but the difference was not significant, the researchers said.
Applied Cognitive Psychology - Dept. of Psychology, Easton, USA
Auditory Pareidolia: Effects of Contextual Priming on Perceptions of Purportedly Paranormal & Ambiguous Auditory Stimuli. Link: Research Gate/Paranormal perceptions and pareidolia.
The
Rorschach inkblot test uses pareidolia in an attempt to gain insight into a
person's mental state. Link: Live Science/seeing faces in unusual places/ and inkblot test.
Paranormal Paratek and our own example of pareidolia
From one of our past overnight investigations we were caught by out pareidolia. We doubt there are many, if any experienced paranormal teams in Australia or elsewhere that have not themselves been effected similarly; by at first thinking they have caught something on camera, to soon or later find it was simply pareidolia.
We were on the look-out for two sibling spirit children in an old empty hotel, believed by several locals from the area, to be haunting that establishment. We knew details such as their names, ages, details of deaths etc.
In use was a modified full spectrum 16mpxl DSLR camera, one investigator was lurking around corridors and empty rooms taking photos, some with the use of flash and others without (preferably without as to lessen effects of lens flare/reflections).
During reviewing of photos the next day, an image was found to have quickly gained our interest. We thought we had captured an image of the two children both standing together in a room corner, it even appeared as though they were wearing similar dresses, a child with blond hair, while the other with brown hair. Just as we had researched!
A problem was we didn’t notice the image at the time many images were taken and chose to review later. Unfortunately there were no consecutive photos taken of this same spot as that may have helped. It is highly recommended to take several photos of any area to compare/or at least return to that same place day(s) later to try recreate the image.
The next day we found this image and almost right away phoned the owner of the former hotel with our excitement stating we think we’ve caught them in a photo!.
What should have been done before that phone call (as with anyone that chooses to post photos publicly without scrutinizing) we should have first compared portable camcorder and/or fixed video surveillance files for that exact same room corner for comparison.
On reviewing a full spectrum camcorder file we found this same corner, with a similar image in that corner. Therefore and very quickly we re-made a journey of 100km to that hotel for a closer look.
What we found in that section of the hotel was that the paint flaking from a white painted wall and gouges out of concrete wall, helped to make up a near perfect image to match our ‘expectations’.
Particularly when this was seen within a dark area with the use of a flash on a full spectrum camera (or on almost any camera). We soon contacted the owner and apologised via our own disappointment.
This was documented within an investigation report that was later presented to the owner.
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Pareidolia or Apophenia is real and is too common an easy mistake by often the premature presentation of digital photos that have not had the area or surroundings of where the photo was taken scrutinized or compared with by simply taking additional photos.
With the use of camera by less than high quality cameras used, and often by the use with incorrect settings in dark areas, how can the common photo be taken seriously? more-so by often blurry or distorted images put forward to the public. This can apply with infrared or full spectrum photos as well. If the public were to be truly aware of Pareidolia or Apophenia, then there is little chance to really impress many in the public, let alone any science leading personnel or specialists.
Extra care should be given when exploring the investigation site particulars, such as but not limited to wallpaper, markings, painted areas, glass windows with hand smudge marks etc. Compare before and after in daylight, and then darkness, and in an area being investigated to capture consecutive photos.
A ghost spirit isn’t likely to stay in one spot for long. Also, consider the correct use and settings of camera equipment as that may likely reduce the chance of capturing just another example of pareidolia.
The world is full of amazing outrageous examples of Pareidolia
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acp.3068/epdf
http://www.livescience.com/25448-pareidoloa.html
http://www.paranormalfieldinvestigators.com/pareidolia-apophenia.html
http://strangeoccurrencesparanormal.weebly.com/pareidolia-apophenia.html
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