November reporting: 7 November 2026. Paper published: 6 October. Sources checked: 14 November.
Twenty-four of 30 volunteers said they sensed a presence after spending time in a darkened mirror-gazing chamber, according to a study that gained wider attention through ScienceAlert’s November coverage. The finding concerns what participants experienced; it does not establish that someone who had died was physically present.
An experiment built around a felt presence
Christine Simmonds-Moore, Chase O’Gwin, Michael Steder and Elena Mayfield studied a procedure called a psychomanteum. Participants first spent 15 minutes preparing and remembering a deceased person, followed by 45 minutes gazing into a mirror in a dim chamber. The mirror was positioned so they would not see their own faces.
Participants signalled strong imagery or a sensed presence with a keyboard button, then described and rated their experiences. The researchers also recorded physiological and environmental measurements, random-number output and infrared video.
Recruitment matters when interpreting the result. Half the sample formed a synesthesia group, including people with strong synesthesia and related tendencies. The paper’s detailed discussion says some of those participants had not previously experienced a ghost; all members of the comparison group had reported experiences they interpreted paranormally. The sample therefore does not represent a random cross-section of the public.
What the results suggest
The two groups did not differ significantly in the main experience comparisons. A measure of creative fantasy was associated with how vivid and real experiences felt. That association does not show that creativity caused an experience, or establish its source.
Small specks appeared on infrared recordings in both baseline and participant sessions. Some additional analyses linked camera anomalies with subjective experiences and random-number output, but overall random-number results did not differ significantly from chance. The authors discuss ordinary camera effects, including particles and small mirror movements, as well as more speculative interpretations.
A starting point for further work
The study was exploratory, was not preregistered and involved many comparisons in a small sample. The authors acknowledge limited statistical power and call for larger follow-up studies. Those limits are central to assessing the reported associations.
ScienceAlert’s 7 November report adds an interview with Simmonds-Moore about the emotional significance some volunteers described. Neither that coverage nor the study establishes communication with the dead or a treatment for bereavement. The news is an attempt to study an unusual human experience, with important questions still open.
Sources and dates
Original paper, publication record and authors; open full paper, especially methods and results pp. 167–175 and discussion/limitations pp. 176–182.
ScienceAlert’s 7 November reporting and researcher interview. UKPX checked the primary methods and discussion rather than treating later summaries as independent studies.
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