Pandemic held responsible for increases in ‘ghostly goings on’

Successive lockdowns and period of uncertainty led to more people consulting paranormal investigators

The spectre of the pandemic has cast a dark shadow over the lives of everyone. But for some, it is more than just a metaphor. Ghost sightings have soared in the past two years, with paranormal investigators besieged with reports of hauntings, unexplained knocks, text messages from beyond the grave and poltergeist activity.

“We would say that during the last two years we have experienced an increase in the number of inquiries received, probably in the order of two to three times,” said Andy Wilson of Paranormal Research Investigators UK. “We did see an increase in [people] reporting poltergeist-type activity from the full range of the social spectrum: the unemployed; retired nurses; lawyers; ex-special forces.”

Paranormal researcher Hayley Stevens, a regular contributor to the BBC Radio 4 podcast Uncanny also noticed a similar phenomena, with inquiries rising from once or twice a month to almost daily.

“In the week of the first lockdown I started to get a small trickle of contact, but as it went on I got more and more emails, which I thought was weird,” she said. “I was curious to see whether it was happening to others too, and when I talked to friends in the paranormal community they were reporting the same, being contacted by lots of people having strange experiences.”

Cases that have emerged in the past couple of years include the Shrubbery Hotel in Ilminster, Somerset, where staff have heard footsteps, disembodied voices and had their hair pulled.

The Wahlberg family in Oldham, Greater Manchester, claim to have seen shadowy figures, strange smells, and noticed objects going missing, while Naomi Hudson Reed, an interior designer, heard ghostly footsteps in her home at Clyst St Mary in Devon.

It is not the first time that cataclysmic world events have unleashed an avalanche of unexplained encounters. Ghost sightings also soared during the Second World War, while the Cold War coincided with a rise in reports of flying saucers – dubbed “UFO flaps” by experts.

Psychologists believe that “magical thinking” – which includes paranormal beliefs, superstitions and conspiracy theories – increases during periods of uncertainty, when people feel vulnerable and out of control.

It seems that the psychological impacts of Covid may have created a perfect spectral storm.

Prof Chris French, head of the anomalistic psychology research unit at Goldsmiths, University of London, said: “Not surprisingly mental stress has been very high throughout the pandemic.

“We’re understandably focusing on Covid but we’ve already had the effects of Brexit, and climate change, which is enormously worrying for lots of people, then along comes Covid as the cherry on the top of the cake.

“I’ve never known a period of such prolonged and ubiquitous stress.”

Parallels can be drawn between Covid and ghosts. Both are dangerous unseen enemies that can creep into the home, bringing fear and, potentially, death – little wonder that when confronted with such an existential threat, thoughts have turned to the spirits and the afterlife.

Experts say many people have been forced to face their own mortality, and the possible deaths of family and friends, for the first time. “I think in the West we have this privilege of being removed from the reality of death, so when they are confronted by it in something like a pandemic, it can be quite jarring,” added Ms Stevens. “You’re at home and you start thinking about the biggest questions, life and death.”

Prof Caroline Watt, the Koestler chairman of parapsychology at the University of Edinburgh, said she had noticed a “huge increase” in interest in her online parapsychology course during the pandemic.

“There is certainly academic research that shows that when people are living in uncertain or dangerous environments, their paranormal and superstitious beliefs tend to be higher compared to those living in safer environments,” she said.

“And the psychological reason for this is probably that these beliefs can give a person a reassuring – but false – sense of control. The same might be said about religious beliefs.”

The coronavirus pandemic also has unique features that some experts think might explain the “spooky goings-on”. Lockdowns, quarantine and self-isolation left people alone in their homes for extended periods, enabling creaky floorboards or knocks from pipes to take on a sinister significance. The proliferation of TV programmes on the paranormal could also have been a factor.

Investigators noticed the trend in paranormal activity was linked to domestic abuse, which also increased during the pandemic. Some “hauntings” were found to have been staged by abusive partners to instil fear – Mr Wilson and his partner Nick Howe have dubbed this “paranormal by proxy”.

Studies have also shown that the pandemic led to sleep disturbances, and caused nightmares, leaving people fatigued and more likely to attribute absent-mindedness to ghostly activity.

Accidentally placing the car keys in the fridge, or stacking cans precariously in a cupboard can quickly become a poltergeist incident in the troubled mind of the anxious, medicated or sleep-deprived, experts say.

The University of Arizona found that those who reported higher levels of Covid-related stress were more likely to have bad dreams about sickness, death, war, separation and the apocalypse. There was also an increase in sleep paralysis, which prevents individuals moving on waking, a state often associated with seeing or feeling a ghostly presence in the room.

Ms Stevens added: “We know that when people are isolated it can cause them to have a sense of a presence. We’ve even seen it in astronauts, or people on remote mountains.”

Prof French added: “Paranormal belief, traditional superstitions and unfounded conspiracy theories tend to increase when you feel that things are out of your control.

“It makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. Our brains have evolved to pay attention to threats.

“The pandemic was a very traumatic time for a lot of people, people couldn’t visit their dying relatives, so I am not really surprised that we see this rise.”

Tellingly, as the pandemic recedes, the number of such reports is declining. I’ve noticed a drop in people getting in touch,” said Ms Stevens. “It could be that people are out the house again, and are feeling less anxious. I think a lot of people were just lonely and wanted a chat.”

‘We did see an increase in [people] reporting poltergeisttype activity from the full range of the social spectrum: the unemployed; retired nurses; lawyers’