Only a person with a clear mind and a rational mindset is able to maintain composure and the ability to analyze when meeting with a ghost replicated in legends. Fortunately, not only fanatics of the theory of paleocontact, but also authoritative scientists "chase" ghosts. True, with varying degrees of success.
Candidate of Psychology, Associate Professor Ekaterina Ageenkova is a famous person among the "ghost hunters". Now her occupation is quite peaceful - she teaches psychology at the Minsk Institute of Management. But in the old years, she traveled almost the entire Soviet Union in search of all sorts of things. She says that she never had a desire to debunk myths and accuse someone of falsification. Rather, on the contrary, I really wanted to face something inexplicable.
All-Union scope
At one time in the USSR, a commission was created for the study of anomalous phenomena with branches in all republics. Ekaterina Ageenkova also worked in such a regional laboratory.
- At the turn of the 1980-1990s, we received a huge number of messages. Quite often people observed unusual phenomena, came into contact with aliens, found a poltergeist in their homes, and so on,”the specialist recalls. - It was a natural psychosis - a time when people went to Kashpirovsky's sessions en masse, and Alan Chumak charged water and creams from the TV screen. I can say that in 90 percent of cases of the so-called poltergeist, there was a human factor.
That is, if objects were flying or moving around the room, it means that someone was throwing or moving them. There were also some interesting moments. For example, in one of the Minsk apartments, the ceiling of a chandelier suddenly pulled to the side, and then fell off and smashed against the wall, sparking sockets. But, as it turned out later, the woman from the neighboring apartment was “winking” with the electrical wiring. Roughly speaking, she stole electricity from the residents of the entrance in order to pay less. But why the chandelier tilted, I don't know.
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"Garden" solution
A group of enthusiasts (and the commission worked on a voluntary basis) had to travel to the sensational “Perm zone”.
- I would not say that all phenomena can be explained by simple reasons? - emphasizes Ekaterina Ageenkova. - But largely because of the mass hysteria in the media, this topic is so discredited that serious scientists still shy away from it like the devil from incense. This happened with the so-called "Perm zone", or "M-sky triangle". When we arrived at the place, we discovered that the mysterious stones are ordinary rock exfoliation, and the mysterious traces on the ground are the remains of vegetable gardens and foundations of houses. Once there were old farmsteads, whose inhabitants were resettled under Khrushchev.
Until now, the zone is often mentioned in various articles. Although, in my opinion, nothing unusual has happened and is not happening in this area. During my work, I have also accumulated good material on UFO research. Indeed, it must be admitted that these are some physical phenomena that occur quite rarely. But I have to disappoint the adherents of the theory of paleocontact: in none of the cases we studied, there was no reason to assume the presence of extraterrestrial intelligence.
A bad omen
They say that according to the law of meanness, scientists have to investigate paranormal phenomena after the fact. Ekaterina Ageenkova herself had a chance to see the mythological character - the Black climber.
“Once in the mountains I had to overcome a difficult climb,” she says. - Everyone was frozen, moving slowly. And suddenly, with a peripheral vision, I saw a little to the left side of the silhouette of a man in black clothes with a hood pulled down over his eyes. Being half asleep, she was not even surprised. I just noted the fact for myself and realized that this was a hallucination caused by fatigue and thin air.
Sometimes I shook myself and the vision disappeared. Then she again plunged into half-sleep, and it appeared again. At that time, I had not heard of the Black climber, although, as it turned out, this is a fairly well-known character, called in symbolic psychology in an archetypal way. Seeing him is considered a bad omen, promising serious danger and even death.
The next day, the group narrowly escaped death, losing the path in the fog. Nevertheless, Ekaterina Ageenkova is convinced that the silhouette of the man in black was born of her tired mind.
On the verge of sleep and wakefulness
At one time, we wrote about the attempt of Belarusian scientists to explain unusual phenomena using the theory of magnetic anomalies that occur in the places of fractures of the earth's crust. According to Ekaterina Ageenkova, sometimes there is a combination of several factors.
- In recent years, for example, the theory of altered states of consciousness is gaining popularity in Russia, - the interlocutor notes. - This is a state between sleep and wakefulness, which occurs, say, in a stressful situation. It is observed even in quite healthy people. Based on experience, I can say that every time people see "ghosts" or "aliens" in specific images.
A person does not like uncertainty at all and from any objects creates something that fits into his usual picture of the world. That is, if you see an alleged alien, then he looks like a humanoid creature. This is a projection of the prevailing stereotype. It's even easier in the case of a climber. What should a person look like in the mountains? If you are familiar with the tourist legend, then he will be wearing a storm jacket. As for me, since I hadn’t heard of him before, I saw a man dressed like a typical mountaineer.
Scientists claim that it is the mountains that are the most abnormal places on earth due to the huge number of faults. Magnetic fields behave unpredictably here. You can see anything in the mountains, but it does not have to be related to reality. In addition, according to Ekaterina Ageenkova, in some regions electromagnetic waves with a frequency close to the alpha rhythm may indeed occur. And this is exactly the rhythm of falling asleep. This means that the theory of altered states of consciousness is present here along with the theory of geomagnetic faults.
Collective mysticism
But what about our native "anomalous zones", about which the guides like to talk? We are talking about Belarusian castles and colorful ruins.
“There is such a thing as collective consciousness,” explains Ekaterina Ageenkova. - In other words, if there is a legend that people see the Black Panna in the Nesvizh castle, then, being in the appropriate circumstances and conditions, you can see or hear something. All this - shadows, sounds, and so on - your imagination will instantly "finish" to the desired shape.
Our oddities
At the moment, in our country, an informal community of enthusiasts "Ufokom", which is part of the Russian "Cosmopoisk", is engaged in tracking anomalies. As the community activist Viktor Gaiduchik explains, there are really unusual places in Belarus. But not such as people who are hungry for sensations imagine them.
- Let's start with what exactly is considered "anomalous zones" - he suggests to understand. - In the narrow-minded view it is certainly "where the goblin wanders." We do not have such zones. There are areas where, according to local reports, they often observe UFOs. These are the Rossonsky, Ivanovsky, Stolin and Pinsky districts, and indeed the Pripyat River region. Data for the Rossony District appeared in 2000, for three others have been known since the 1960s. Also described are several cases of the appearance of triangular UFOs in the Baranovichi area.
If we are not talking about ufological anomalies, then it is known that on some routes cars with an electronic ignition system fail. This is a certain area between Baranovichi and Lyakhovichi. There are places where mechanical watches behave strangely.
- Alas, the "reputation" of this topic is really seriously tarnished, - continues Victor Gaiduchik. - Therefore, scientists are trying in every possible way to disown, at least publicly, from the same ufology. Although many are interested in private. It happens that we turn to such people for advice on a particular issue and always meet with quite a friendly attitude on their part.
As for the unusual phenomena themselves, according to Viktor Gaiduchik, they still need to be studied. Indeed, against the general "muddy" background, interesting directions for scientific work and serious research may emerge.
- Recently, the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience published a letter from Etzel Cardina, a psychologist from the Swedish Lund University, says Victor Gaiduchik. - He called for the maximum involvement of scientists in the study of phenomena related to parapsychology and the mysteries of consciousness. It is curious that about 90 scientists from all over the world, mainly specializing in psychology, neuroscience and other related disciplines, put their signatures under his appeal.
Consequently, serious science has an interest in the topic of anomalous phenomena. And it is quite possible that this direction will present mankind in the near future with a lot of surprises and incredible discoveries.