May 12, 2026 • 11 mins
Want to hear something weird about a scientific explanation for haunted buildings, which turns out to be significantly more depressing than ghosts?
👀 WHO ARE WE?
Weird Tech is a Weird Tech Media production and a proud member of the iHeart Network.
🎙️ Hosts: Rae Johnston and Tegan Jones
💻 Edited by Sam Blacker from the Podcast Butler
🎵 Music: More Than A Game by ColorFilm Music
🔔 FOLLOW US:
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Hey Taken, Hey, Ray, do you want to hear something
weird about a scientific explanation for haunted buildings that turns
out to be significantly more depressing than ghosts?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Oh? Yeah, because I think there's so many reasons so
that could be depressing. Firstly, because it might be sucking
the joy out of hauntings. If that's a sentence, we
can say.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
It is, and it is also accurate, so I'm sure
all right, so on then I'm sorry to be the
bearer of bad news brings into hauntings.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Jesus.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
We can blame Canadian scientists for this one, which specific
I think it's really out of character because Canadians generally
are quite joyful creatures.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
I enjoy Canadians, but in this instance.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Coming in here ruining things for their Canadian tuxedos, going on,
there's no hauntings at science.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Fine, go yeah, so they've figured out that the reason
some buildings feel wrong when you walk into a house
and you're.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Like, okay, question quick question, already ruining this for you?
Are we talking just like normal like say, like say
modern houses where just the vibes are off. Oh, we're
thinking like when you and I were at the quarantine
station and that haunted building felt genuinely evil.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Like what are we talking here?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Bit of both, okay, but it depends on what's in
the building, because.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
That's the explanation though, okay too.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
The reason that they think that some buildings feel wrong.
And this is only some buildings. We're not discounting all
hauntings here, not all haunting, not all hauntings. It might
be sound you literally can't hear, Oh yeah, like a
frequency or something. Yeah, okay for a sound. Sound waves
below twenty hurts, which is below the threshold of human hearing.
(02:00):
Your body responds to even if your brain has no idea. Yeah,
it's happening like a dog whistle, literally a dog.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Whistle from haunted buildings. Human beings were like, something's wrong,
what's going on? It's a ghost.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
So mckewan University in Edmonton, they sat people alone in
a room and played the music, either calming music or
unsettling music, which I really want to hear examples of
what what.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
They were playing.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
What do you mean unsettling? That can mean a lot
of things to different people.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Right.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
They also had hidden subwoofers that were sneaking in infrasound
at eighteen.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Hurtz for half of the participants.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Okay, and then we had a control grew.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Exactly so the participants couldn't tell that the infrasound was there,
and they were asked to guess whether it was on
as well as part of the experiment, and no one
could do it reliably. So they tested to see if
they could tell first, but they took saliva samples before
and after the experiment and tested them for cortisol. The
(03:06):
strike God, yeah, and the infrasound group had meaningfully higher
levels hot a soul. They also self reported, but reported
feeling more irritable, less interested in what they were doing,
and they thought the music sounded sadder, even when the
music was like the same calming.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Track that the other group was hearing.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
So your body is in a stress response when you're
hearing these frequencies and you cannot identify the cause, which
is you know, genuinely unsettling, and it makes you feel
like something is completely off, but you can't pinpoint it why.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
And I've got some terrible news for you.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Okay before you share, can I put on my paranoid
trust no bish like heart from I know that you
said that Canadian scientists have figured this out. Is it
possible that other people might have had a feeling about
this and in quote unquote haunted houses, haunted spaces, that
(04:14):
people might have already been kind of tapping into this
and playing frequencies to freak people out more.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
This study didn't dig into that, but that is a
great line of thought, something that could be genuinely explored.
I think when we're looking at haunted houses, someone's got
to get themselves to Amityville and check for sub offers.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
That's not We'll volunteer his tribute as soon as he
feel safe going to the United States, like one hundred percent,
like we I mean me, especially because I'm very white,
and then Ray does have a white side that sometimes
does take over.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
It's the one that makes me want to go into
haunted houses. Yes, we will do it.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
So the most common sources of man made infrasounds? Do
you know where it's found most often taken?
Speaker 4 (05:09):
Do you have any idea?
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Okay, so man made?
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Where would you come across infrasound in your every day
Do you think?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I know this is going to end up being so obvious,
but it's so early in the morning and I haven't had.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
A coffee yet that's all right.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
I see only to think about like like, I'm pretty
sensitive to sounds, but I think about things that will
really set me off.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
But it's nothing that is infra. You can very much
hear it, Like if.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
I have to be around like a building site or
just anything that is a constant sound that will absolutely
flip me out.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Well, heavy machinery, okay, so right, okay, great, you're calling
that infro when it's just like, well, there's the high
frequencies you can hear, but also the you know below
twenty hurtz frequencies right. Accidentally, machinery aeroplanes as well, which
could explain why a lot of people just generally feel
(05:59):
un settled about being in a plane, other than the
fact you are in a giant metal tube in the sky,
which feels completely unnatural for human beings.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Sure, although that being said, I don't.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Generally feel afraid in planes, despite the fact that I
hate high time terrified.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
A fight, so I would think that I wouldn't be
able to fly.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
But maybe I'm just not sensitive to that particular sound
or something.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
High speed trains is another source, but the big one
that we're all surrounded by nearly every day most people.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
It's going to be electronics, isn't.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
It air conditioning?
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Oh that makes sense, okay, big air con systems, so we.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Air content it again, I'm thinking about this.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
It's like we could basically all be marinating in a
stress inducing frequency that we can't perceive in offices, public
transport on instructures.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I think we can perceive it in offices.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Just basically constantly. We could be in this state, which would.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Also explain not just this we know there as many
factors to this, but why it feels like when you
then go out into nature.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
It's like a valve. Literally, it's like a valve has released.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
And we always say on modern society, which is all true,
but it could also just be this underlying luise.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
It could also just be echon just setting us all off.
We just need an open up window.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
One of the things that I particularly like about this
study as well, the paper itself is titled the cause
might be vibrating pipes rather than restless spirits.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
I love Canada.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Thank you Canadian scientists for making important research fun and
knowing the importance of a headline.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
One of the leading theories about why certain old buildings
feel haunted is because of the aging pipes and.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
The ventilation because they don't have no air con.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Well sometimes it's like the old school h VAC systems.
So yeah, right, they're producing infrasound and you feel awful
and you can't explain it. And if someone told you
that the building was haunted before you walked in, you
can feel like you're having a paranormal experience.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
We're going to put so many mediums out of work
with the tailor.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
I'm so sorry because I genuinely enjoy the vast majority
of your work. We do for the exploitedtive parts. A
couple of caveats on this study. The professor who wrote
the paper also studies pseudoscience and misinformation, which means that
he is professionally obligated to ruin go stories with science.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Can we get him on the show?
Speaker 1 (08:49):
I would?
Speaker 3 (08:50):
I want to talk to this guy.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
I will line it up. I will line it up
for you.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
I reckon he has so many good stories of such
a hundred.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
The sample size for this study was only thirty six people.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Okay, yeah, they.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Only tested one specific frequency, and crucially, they didn't observe
people during the experiment. They just asked them how they
felt afterwards, so it's fully self reported.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Interesting, why was that?
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Probably budgetary issues.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
It's like, yeah, I suppose, how are you been together?
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Line, Well, we need some money so we can try
and disprove some spirits please and thank you, like in
this economy exactly.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
So obviously this is a first step.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
And if they do do another study and it's scales,
I think the implications of this could be pretty significant
because it might play into things like noise regulations and
building design standards and like rethinking what is acceptable near
workplaces and homes. And it got me thinking back as
(09:55):
well to a lot of work I've been doing recently
around the impacts of data centers.
Speaker 4 (09:59):
I'm communit and it is oh no, oh no.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
If you think about the frequencies that are being omitted
from data center.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
No, we can't tell the five G people about this,
they can't prove them right.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
Taken the five G people, the wind farm people, they
might all.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Right, actually be onto something that.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
We're right all along. Maybe it's time for us to
put our tinfoil hats on.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
I reckon.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
I'm like, what, I think that this could give a
lot of people a lot of fuel, and I might
owe a lot of people many apologies.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
We wrote so many things back in the day making
fun of these people.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
So yeah, I regret to inform you that this is
now a cooker podcast.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Amazing, great, I'm all for it.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Thanks Technology. Look what you've done to us, Look what
you've done.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Yeah, the next episode is all going to be about
maybe the flat earths were right.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
I can't do this anymore.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
And that's it for this episode of Weird Tech. If
you have any weird tech that you would like us
to cover, or if some of your tech is being
weird we want to hear about it. You can hit
us up on all social media platforms at weird Tech Media.
We're a Weird Tech Media production and a proud member
of the iHeartRadio Network. This episode was edited by the
podcast Butler. Please remember to subscribe on your favorite podcast
(11:33):
platforms so you don't miss the next episode, and until
next time, stay weird.
Hey Taken, Hey, Ray, do you want to hear something
weird about a scientific explanation for haunted buildings that turns
out to be significantly more depressing than ghosts?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Oh? Yeah, because I think there's so many reasons so
that could be depressing. Firstly, because it might be sucking
the joy out of hauntings. If that's a sentence, we
can say.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
It is, and it is also accurate, so I'm sure
all right, so on then I'm sorry to be the
bearer of bad news brings into hauntings.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Jesus.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
We can blame Canadian scientists for this one, which specific
I think it's really out of character because Canadians generally
are quite joyful creatures.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
I enjoy Canadians, but in this instance.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Coming in here ruining things for their Canadian tuxedos, going on,
there's no hauntings at science.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Fine, go yeah, so they've figured out that the reason
some buildings feel wrong when you walk into a house
and you're.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Like, okay, question quick question, already ruining this for you?
Are we talking just like normal like say, like say
modern houses where just the vibes are off. Oh, we're
thinking like when you and I were at the quarantine
station and that haunted building felt genuinely evil.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Like what are we talking here?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Bit of both, okay, but it depends on what's in
the building, because.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
That's the explanation though, okay too.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
The reason that they think that some buildings feel wrong.
And this is only some buildings. We're not discounting all
hauntings here, not all haunting, not all hauntings. It might
be sound you literally can't hear, Oh yeah, like a
frequency or something. Yeah, okay for a sound. Sound waves
below twenty hurts, which is below the threshold of human hearing.
(02:00):
Your body responds to even if your brain has no idea. Yeah,
it's happening like a dog whistle, literally a dog.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Whistle from haunted buildings. Human beings were like, something's wrong,
what's going on? It's a ghost.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
So mckewan University in Edmonton, they sat people alone in
a room and played the music, either calming music or
unsettling music, which I really want to hear examples of
what what.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
They were playing.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
What do you mean unsettling? That can mean a lot
of things to different people.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Right.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
They also had hidden subwoofers that were sneaking in infrasound
at eighteen.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Hurtz for half of the participants.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Okay, and then we had a control grew.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Exactly so the participants couldn't tell that the infrasound was there,
and they were asked to guess whether it was on
as well as part of the experiment, and no one
could do it reliably. So they tested to see if
they could tell first, but they took saliva samples before
and after the experiment and tested them for cortisol. The
(03:06):
strike God, yeah, and the infrasound group had meaningfully higher
levels hot a soul. They also self reported, but reported
feeling more irritable, less interested in what they were doing,
and they thought the music sounded sadder, even when the
music was like the same calming.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Track that the other group was hearing.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
So your body is in a stress response when you're
hearing these frequencies and you cannot identify the cause, which
is you know, genuinely unsettling, and it makes you feel
like something is completely off, but you can't pinpoint it why.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
And I've got some terrible news for you.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Okay before you share, can I put on my paranoid
trust no bish like heart from I know that you
said that Canadian scientists have figured this out. Is it
possible that other people might have had a feeling about
this and in quote unquote haunted houses, haunted spaces, that
(04:14):
people might have already been kind of tapping into this
and playing frequencies to freak people out more.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
This study didn't dig into that, but that is a
great line of thought, something that could be genuinely explored.
I think when we're looking at haunted houses, someone's got
to get themselves to Amityville and check for sub offers.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
That's not We'll volunteer his tribute as soon as he
feel safe going to the United States, like one hundred percent,
like we I mean me, especially because I'm very white,
and then Ray does have a white side that sometimes
does take over.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
It's the one that makes me want to go into
haunted houses. Yes, we will do it.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
So the most common sources of man made infrasounds? Do
you know where it's found most often taken?
Speaker 4 (05:09):
Do you have any idea?
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Okay, so man made?
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Where would you come across infrasound in your every day
Do you think?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I know this is going to end up being so obvious,
but it's so early in the morning and I haven't had.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
A coffee yet that's all right.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
I see only to think about like like, I'm pretty
sensitive to sounds, but I think about things that will
really set me off.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
But it's nothing that is infra. You can very much
hear it, Like if.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
I have to be around like a building site or
just anything that is a constant sound that will absolutely
flip me out.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Well, heavy machinery, okay, so right, okay, great, you're calling
that infro when it's just like, well, there's the high
frequencies you can hear, but also the you know below
twenty hurtz frequencies right. Accidentally, machinery aeroplanes as well, which
could explain why a lot of people just generally feel
(05:59):
un settled about being in a plane, other than the
fact you are in a giant metal tube in the sky,
which feels completely unnatural for human beings.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Sure, although that being said, I don't.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Generally feel afraid in planes, despite the fact that I
hate high time terrified.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
A fight, so I would think that I wouldn't be
able to fly.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
But maybe I'm just not sensitive to that particular sound
or something.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
High speed trains is another source, but the big one
that we're all surrounded by nearly every day most people.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
It's going to be electronics, isn't.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
It air conditioning?
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Oh that makes sense, okay, big air con systems, so we.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Air content it again, I'm thinking about this.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
It's like we could basically all be marinating in a
stress inducing frequency that we can't perceive in offices, public
transport on instructures.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I think we can perceive it in offices.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Just basically constantly. We could be in this state, which would.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Also explain not just this we know there as many
factors to this, but why it feels like when you
then go out into nature.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
It's like a valve. Literally, it's like a valve has released.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
And we always say on modern society, which is all true,
but it could also just be this underlying luise.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
It could also just be echon just setting us all off.
We just need an open up window.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
One of the things that I particularly like about this
study as well, the paper itself is titled the cause
might be vibrating pipes rather than restless spirits.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
I love Canada.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Thank you Canadian scientists for making important research fun and
knowing the importance of a headline.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
One of the leading theories about why certain old buildings
feel haunted is because of the aging pipes and.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
The ventilation because they don't have no air con.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Well sometimes it's like the old school h VAC systems.
So yeah, right, they're producing infrasound and you feel awful
and you can't explain it. And if someone told you
that the building was haunted before you walked in, you
can feel like you're having a paranormal experience.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
We're going to put so many mediums out of work
with the tailor.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
I'm so sorry because I genuinely enjoy the vast majority
of your work. We do for the exploitedtive parts. A
couple of caveats on this study. The professor who wrote
the paper also studies pseudoscience and misinformation, which means that
he is professionally obligated to ruin go stories with science.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Can we get him on the show?
Speaker 1 (08:49):
I would?
Speaker 3 (08:50):
I want to talk to this guy.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
I will line it up. I will line it up
for you.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
I reckon he has so many good stories of such
a hundred.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
The sample size for this study was only thirty six people.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Okay, yeah, they.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Only tested one specific frequency, and crucially, they didn't observe
people during the experiment. They just asked them how they
felt afterwards, so it's fully self reported.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Interesting, why was that?
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Probably budgetary issues.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
It's like, yeah, I suppose, how are you been together?
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Line, Well, we need some money so we can try
and disprove some spirits please and thank you, like in
this economy exactly.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
So obviously this is a first step.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
And if they do do another study and it's scales,
I think the implications of this could be pretty significant
because it might play into things like noise regulations and
building design standards and like rethinking what is acceptable near
workplaces and homes. And it got me thinking back as
(09:55):
well to a lot of work I've been doing recently
around the impacts of data centers.
Speaker 4 (09:59):
I'm communit and it is oh no, oh no.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
If you think about the frequencies that are being omitted
from data center.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
No, we can't tell the five G people about this,
they can't prove them right.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
Taken the five G people, the wind farm people, they
might all.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Right, actually be onto something that.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
We're right all along. Maybe it's time for us to
put our tinfoil hats on.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
I reckon.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
I'm like, what, I think that this could give a
lot of people a lot of fuel, and I might
owe a lot of people many apologies.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
We wrote so many things back in the day making
fun of these people.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
So yeah, I regret to inform you that this is
now a cooker podcast.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Amazing, great, I'm all for it.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Thanks Technology. Look what you've done to us, Look what
you've done.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Yeah, the next episode is all going to be about
maybe the flat earths were right.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
I can't do this anymore.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
And that's it for this episode of Weird Tech. If
you have any weird tech that you would like us
to cover, or if some of your tech is being
weird we want to hear about it. You can hit
us up on all social media platforms at weird Tech Media.
We're a Weird Tech Media production and a proud member
of the iHeartRadio Network. This episode was edited by the
podcast Butler. Please remember to subscribe on your favorite podcast
(11:33):
platforms so you don't miss the next episode, and until
next time, stay weird.
Popular Podcasts
Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com