Electrical stimulation induces a ‘shadow person’
🎓 Academic research
Geneva Univ Hospital / EPFL, Arzy, Seeck, Blanke (Nature 2006) · Switzerland · 2006
Stimulating a 22-year-old epileptic’s left temporoparietal junction repeatedly made her feel a dark figure behind her mimicking her movements.
VerdictThe ‘shadow person’ is a mislocation of self-body representation.
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Persinger’s ‘God Helmet’
🎓 Academic research
Laurentian Univ, Michael Persinger · Uppsala Univ, Granqvist double-blind replication (2005) · Canada · Sweden · 1980s–2005
Weak magnetic fields to the temporal lobe made 80% of subjects report ‘a felt presence’; the Swedish double-blind replication found the effect tied to suggestibility, not the field.
VerdictSuggestion can create a ‘sense of presence’.
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Sleep paralysis & ‘shadow people’
🎓 Academic research
Univ of Waterloo, Cheyne (Consciousness and Cognition 1999) · Canada · 1999
The ‘intruder’ and ‘chest pressure’ experiences of sleep paralysis are highly consistent across cultures.
VerdictExplains most ‘dark-figure’ sightings.
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