Sir, Dr Richard Wiseman’s last post for denizens of the spectral world (report, “It’s time to give up on the ghost, say scientists”, May 21) is premature.

His idea that spooky surroundings provoke spooky experiences is certainly not new, having been discussed as long ago as 1570 by Louis Lavater in his classic book Of Ghosts and Spirits Walking by Night.

Any theory purporting to “explain” ghosts must also cover poltergeists, near-death or “crisis apparitions”, ghosts of the living, strange reactions on the part of animals and the volumes of data accumulated over more than 100 years by psychical research societies.

Study of such material shows that a phantom is far more likely to be encountered in mundane settings such as ordinary houses or offices than in more romantic or dramatic locations such as stately homes or castle dungeons. Furthermore, reports suggest that ghosts usually appear when least expected, not when people are agitated.

Similarly, cultural expectations play no part. On research trips abroad I have found that Colombian witnesses report basically the same phenomena as witnesses in Romania, despite vastly differing supernatural folklores.

Certainly, it is encouraging to see psychologists taking serious interest in experiences which have puzzled mankind for centuries. But Dr Wiseman’s theories are only one in a long line of “explanations” including ultrasound, eye disease, radiation from mobile phones, underground water, bad diet and neurological disorders, all advanced in recent years.

The moral seems to be that one should never run after either a bus or a ghost theory — there will be another along in a minute.

Yours faithfully,
ALAN MURDIE,
Chairman,
The Ghost Club,
27 Philip Road,
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP32 6DH. camghost@hotmail.com
May 21.

From Mr Tom Kendall

Sir, During the 1960s we lived in a three-storey house in Windsor, not far from the Thames. On several occasions my young daughters came screaming to our bedroom claiming that the drawer handles in their room were rattling during the night. As a responsible father I felt obliged to investigate the causes of the panic, and witnessed myself several recurrences of the shaking drawer handles.

Investigations revealed that when the river flowed high and coincidentally a strong wind blew from the south or the east, the house vibrated, rather as it would in a mild earthquake, thus setting up resonant systems in susceptible places — particularly in the furniture in the loftier bedrooms.

As the level of the Thames rose, so the porous beds beneath the clay beds absorbed the rising water, lifted the clay and loosened the foundations of the house. This of course allowed the pressures exerted by the wind to cause impulses to pass into the structure of the house, and from there to the chests of drawers. Once we found the cause my daughters slept peacefully.

In light of the above I suggest that Mark Henderson adds “geophysical” to his list of phenomena which can promote unease.

Yours faithfully,
TOM KENDALL
(Retired geophysicist),
Tanglewood,
Kirstead Green, Norwich NR15 1EB.
thoskendall@aol.com
May 21.

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