A former tourist information office beneath Coventry Cathedral has long been plagued by reports of ghostly apparitions and inexplicable occurrences. But a researcher from Coventry University claims to have finally uncovered the 'ghosts' in this 14th-century cellar – and it's not what you might expect.
The cellar, now vacant, had become notorious for its unsettling atmosphere, with multiple visitors reporting feelings of unease or even seeing apparitions. A Canadian journalist described a woman's face appearing over his shoulder, while Carole Jung, then assistant manager of the tourist office, recalled feeling as though she was 'intruding' during tours.
Vic Tandy, an experimental officer at Coventry University, has published research in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research concluding that infrasound is the culprit behind these phenomena. Using a sophisticated spectrum analyser, he measured infrasound at 18.9 Hz within the cellar – a frequency consistent with previous findings on 'haunted' sites.
Infrasound, vibrating below human hearing threshold, has been linked to physiological effects such as hyperventilation and eye vibrations. Tandy cites evidence from NASA suggesting that exposure can lead to anxiety and visual disturbances, which could contribute to the sensations reported by those in the cellar.
Tandy is now developing a portable device to detect infrasound and investigating why some individuals appear more susceptible to its effects. His research builds on growing work exploring scientific explanations for supernatural phenomena – offering a rational framework for understanding inexplicable experiences.
This study, published in a peer-reviewed journal, has significant implications for our understanding of unexplained occurrences in supposedly 'haunted' locations. By attributing the 'ghosts' to infrasound, Tandy's research provides a new perspective on these long-standing mysteries.