We’ve all had those moments when we thought we saw, heard or experienced something that wasn’t natural. Those moments where there is nothing that could explain what just happened.

Since I was very young, there have been moments that I had to take a moment to comprehend what entered the area of my eyesight.

Whether I thought there was something lurking in the shadows or sweeping past my peripheral, it does get confusing.

There were also moments that I thought I heard a disembodied voice or knocking from random spots in my house when I was at home alone. Am I dealing with a haunting?

Not to mention the fact that there are people out there, myself included, that experience déjà vu on a daily basis it seems. Do some of us have the ability to see the future?

Also, you definitely can’t ignore the talking boards available at stores and paranormal investigation shows on TV. All of this has to be real, right?

Well, no. Actually, chances are, none of it is.

The reality is, there’s an explanation for almost everything.

The way that light passes through a window or around objects can influence the way light appears. Trees swinging in the wind on a sunny day can easily create a moving shadow that peaks into your vision as you walk past it in your house, in addition to birds and other things flying in the sky.

Voices may be voices, but no disembodied. The fact is that there are billions of people on Earth and each of them have just as much of a right to make noise as others. Also, with today’s technology, there are many logical sources that sound can come from.

According to brainfacts.org, the feeling of déjà vu may be a result of delayed transferring of sight messages between the two halves of the brain. It’s complicated unless there’s complete detail, but one half essentially gets the message twice and as result the person feels that they’ve seen the event before.

Talking boards, or Ouija boards as they’re commonly called, seem to work in their intention of communicating with spirits due to something called the ideomotor effect.

This simply means that because of beliefs, like believing that the talking board can actually communicate with spirits, will cause the user to unconsciously move the planchette over the board.

When it comes to paranormal shows, it’s all something that could be faked. While some things happen on the shows in traditionally haunted places, it really shouldn’t be considered all that convincing. The exaggerated evidence is only exemplified by the at times poor acting. 

By no means do I wish to stagger anyone’s beliefs. I do, however, wish to see more explanations be considered in scientific and logical sense rather than just jumping straight to a supernatural conclusion.

Elias Albert is a junior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or ewalbert@eiu.edu.