Can you hear ‘dead people’? People who delve deeply into mental tasks and activities are more likely to claim they can communicate with the deceased, research finds
- Researchers from Durham University conducted a survey of 65 media outlets
- More than 44 percent reported hearing voices from the dead on a daily basis
- Mediums were more likely to immerse themselves in mental activities
- They were also more likely to report hearing voices at a young age
People prone to high levels of absorption in mental tasks and activities are more likely to claim that they can “ hear the dead, ” a new study has revealed.
Scientists have discovered the most important quality in ‘clairvoyant spiritualist mediums’ who claim to hear the voices of dead people.
Their results suggest that people prone to immersive mental activities, as well as those exposed to an ‘unusual auditory experience’ in early life, are more likely to claim to be able to communicate with the deceased.
The team hopes the findings will help understand more about troubling or unverifiable experiences with hearing voices.
Scientists have discovered key properties in ‘clairvoyant spiritistic mediums’ who claim to be able to hear the dead (stock image)
In the study, researchers from Durham University conducted a survey of 65 mediums from the Spiritualists’ National Union.
More than 44 percent of the participants reported hearing voices from the dead on a daily basis, while 33.8 percent said they heard a voice in the last day.
While ghosts were mainly heard in the head, 31.7 percent said they experienced the voices both inside and outside the head.
To understand the key properties of these media, the researchers surveyed 143 members of the general public for comparison.
The results showed that the mediums were more likely to immerse themselves in mental or imaginative activities, or to experience altered states of consciousness.
Mediums were also more likely to report hearing voices at a young age.
Speaking to MailOnline, Dr. Adam Powell from the Hearing the Voice project and Durham University’s Department of Theology and Religion and lead author of the study explained:
“Others remember having conversations with unseen others as early as they can remember.”
Spiritists reported hearing the dead for the first time at an average age of 21.7 years. But 18 percent of spiritualists said they heard voices “for as long as they could remember.”
Dr. Powell said, “Our findings say a lot about“ learning and desire ”.
The study found that mediums who ‘could hear the dead’ were more likely to hear voices at a young age (stock image)
To our participants, the principles of spiritualism seem to have meaning both for extraordinary childhood experiences and for the frequent auditory phenomena they experience as practicing mediums.
“But all those experiences may be the result of having certain tendencies or early abilities rather than simply believing in the ability to contact the dead if one tries hard enough.”
While members of the public with a high absorption rate previously believed in the paranormal, the team found no significant link between belief and susceptibility to hallucinations.
In 1848, two New York State sisters, Maggie and Kate Fox, reported hearing “rappings” and “knocking” they interpreted as communication coming from a ghost in their home. These events and these sisters would eventually be regarded as the founders of spiritism
Overall, the findings indicate that some people have a unique predisposition to absorption, and are more likely to hear the dead.
Dr. Peter Moseley, co-author of the study at Northumbria University, said: “Spiritualists often report unusual auditory experiences that are positive, start early in life, and can then often be controlled.
“Understanding how these develop is important because it can help us also understand more about troubling or uncontrollable experiences of hearing voices.”