Sudden sensations or measurements of cold recur in reports of apparitions, séances and hauntings, and are often treated as signs of paranormal agency. Although some cases include instrument readings, the evidence remains sparse, and ordinary environmental and physiological explanations may account for at least part of the effect.
- Reports of cold spots are common in accounts of apparitions, séances and reputed hauntings, but most are anecdotal and lack objective measurement.
- A small number of investigations recorded unusual temperature drops, yet the data are limited and often remain open to normal physical explanation.
- Feelings of sudden cold may arise from normal responses to fear, stress and thermoregulation as well as from any actual change in ambient temperature.
Contents
Introduction
Unusual changes in temperature, whether perceived or observed, have become a characteristic of many types of paranormal experience, perhaps most notably those attributed to apparitions, spirits and hauntings. Predominantly, sensations of cold are reported; however, in a small number of examples, the temperature is reported to have increased or the witness felt a sensation of warmth. Typically, these changes are described as occurring suddenly and without warning. Many such reports are anecdotal and made in the absence of objective measurements. Nonetheless, they are sufficiently numerous to suggest that a consideration of temperature might be worthwhile in some instances. Of particular note are the appearance of cold spots, the focus of this article.
The frequency of reporting of this phenomenon was noted by GNM Tyrrell in his book Apparitions:1Tyrrell (1953), 73. ‘Another characteristic of apparitions, not invariably but fairly frequent, is that the percipients experience a feeling of cold. One can see no reason for these cold feelings; they are just an empirical fact’.2Tyrrell (1953), 73. Tyrrell provides several anecdotal examples from the literature but also points out that some of these accounts of temperature drops may be the result of subjective feelings.3Tyrrell (1953), 74.
Unusual temperature changes associated with, or in some instances attributed to, paranormal phenomena have been reported in a variety of situations, including séances, haunted locations and spontaneous experiences in places with no previous attribution of paranormal activity. These sudden changes in temperature, often described as ‘extreme’ or ‘intense’, are a regular feature in the promotion and advertising of allegedly haunted locations by those who offer investigation visits.
Séance Phenomena
Investigators of séance phenomena in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries often reported anomalous temperature changes but gave little serious consideration to the phenomenon. An exception was Harry Price, who in the 1920s made frequent thermometer readings during sittings with the medium Stella Cranshaw. He often noted a drop in temperature coinciding with the strongest effects and concluded the phenomenon to be an objective fact, not merely a psychological effect.4Price (1925), 33. In one instance, he reported a drop in temperature of more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit (11 Celsius), coinciding with extremely violent table movements, raps and levitation.5Price (1925), 35-38. Price was convinced that there was a connection between the motion of the table or objects and temperature drops.
Psychomanteum
A more rigorous consideration of temperature change was made in relation to experiments involving a psychomanteum chamber. Participants in early tests reported sensations of intense cold. To investigate this, Dean Radin and JM Rebman at the University of Nevada constructed a fully instrumented psychomanteum chamber, enabling ambient temperature and skin temperature of the participant to be recorded.6Radin & Rebman (1996), 65-87. They noted that the most significant cross-correlations between participant and environment were due to changes in the ambient temperature, but largely dismissed these as possible artefacts caused by the presence within the chamber of the experimenter and also the relaxed state of the participant. However, the researchers concluded that there was suggestive evidence of a genuine relationship.7Radin (2001), 164-94. Parsons and O’Keeffe later argued that the temperature data was in fact likely to be an accurate reflection of the ambient conditions.8Parsons & O’Keeffe (2006).
Haunted Locations
Numerous accounts of cold spots and breezes relate to supposedly haunted locations.9Wiseman et al. (2003). Most lack verification, but measurements made in a few fieldwork studies indicate an objective phenomenon of sudden and highly unusual changes in the ambient temperature.10Turner (1970), 325-53. Such recordings tend to be infrequent, possibly reflecting a long cycle between repetitions or that they are caused by particular circumstances which occur rarely.11Parascience (2005).
A notable example is Borley Rectory, where a peculiar cold spot was reported to exist on the first floor, outside the Blue Room. Furthermore, numerous witnesses described experiencing sensations of extreme cold throughout the building. Price initially tried to record the temperature with a transmitting thermograph, but this showed only slight variations which he considered to be of no significance.12Price (1940), 118. Later fluctuations were larger, but Price was reluctant to attach significance to them, considering the controls to be too inadequate.13Price (1946), 171-178.
Unusual temperature variations continue to be anecdotally reported, but little more has been learned about them, despite advances in measurement technology. Investigators take spot measurements, but appear to have little appetite to conduct more detailed observations. Temperature drops remain a feature in many claims relating to haunted sites, but subsequent reports offer little quantifiable evidence.14Lisa (2017) provides an example; unfortunately, this link is obsolete.
Causes of Actual Temperature Change
Temperature changes may be real or they may be perceived.
Actual temperature changes within any environment are caused by physical changes. These events may occur naturally as the result of weather. For example, cloud formation will reduce the amount of sunlight and lower the ambient temperature; likewise, the movement of air in the form of wind may also cause the temperature to change. These weather effects cause changes to take place at a more localised level such as the inside of a building. An open door or window, or poor and defective insulation may result in a cold draught of air, lowering the ambient temperature within.
Mechanisms of cooling can occur naturally or as a result of human-made processes. Evaporative cooling takes place when a liquid gives up thermal energy and becomes a vapour.15Lohner (2017). The use of fans to move the air increases the effectiveness of this method: increased air movement will also result in evaporative cooling of exposed skin. Evaporative cooling of surfaces can also result in a lowering in temperature of the surrounding air; for instance, damp or wet floors and walls cause the surrounding air to cool. Other means by which physical cooling can occur are convection, conduction and radiation.16Boston University Physics (1999).
All these effects can occur as a result of both natural and human-made methods and can be utilised as a means of measuring temperature. For example, radiative cooling is the process whereby heat is transferred by means of thermal radiation emitted by an object. This thermal radiation is predominantly within the infra-red range of the electromagnetic spectrum; this is utilised by some thermometers and thermal imaging cameras.
Causes of Perceived Temperature Change
The belief that temperature changes, particularly downward changes, are a significant factor in hauntings, apparitional experiences and other supposed paranormal phenomena is widespread. Possibly one of the earliest references to feelings of coldness associated with a paranormal experience is recorded in the Bible: ‘Then a spirit passed before my face and the hair on my flesh stood up’.17King James Bible, Job 4:15.
The sensation of hair standing on end and accompanying sensations of feeling suddenly cold is a normal psycho-physiological response to an intensely stressful or fearful situation, in which the individual feels themselves to be threatened. Often referred to as the ‘fight or flight’ response, it is caused by activation of the sympathetic nervous system.18Brittanica Editors (2026).
This stress response causes an increase in blood supply to the skin, increased perspiration production, the contraction of muscles beneath the skin resulting in the hair standing on end and shivering. These sensations may cause an individual to perceive or believe that the ambient temperature is falling. Additionally, the increased blood supply and perspiration may also cause an actual reduction in body temperature, as both are part of the body’s normal thermal regulation mechanisms.19Holland (2022).
Fearful or stressful situations are commonly associated with paranormal experiences and it is therefore likely that these sensations have become strongly associated with such experiences.20Ghost Hunt Events (n.d.). Currently, the majority of ideas offered in an attempt to explain reported temperature variations are based upon the manifesting ghost or spirit using thermal energy in some manner.21Deel & Deel (2017); Schwarz (2014)./fn] However, all of these ideas remain either conjecture or belief-based and sceptics argue that they must go against the established laws of physics and therefore cannot be a reality.21Schwarz (2014).
Steven Parsons
Works Cited
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