Acadmic and Military Studies into the Paranormal Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation. We are primarily electrical beings; operating at nanovoltages, “our cells whisper to each other”. Not before in commonly-known human history has such dramatic onsalught of non-natural electromagnetic energies beset humankind.
See Michael Persinger’s “God Helmet” work and a handful of “haunted room” electromagnetic experiments. Here’s what we do have in the literature.
1. The “God Helmet” – magnetic fields and sensed presences
Who/where:
- Developed by neuroscientist Michael Persinger (Laurentian University, Canada), based on a design by Stanley Koren. Not MIT, but this is the experiment most people are thinking of when they talk about magnets making you “see demons / entities in the room.” (Wikipedia)
What they did:
- Subjects wore a modified snowmobile helmet with solenoids over the temporal lobes.
- The coils produced very weak, complex magnetic fields (~1 microtesla), patterned after neural activity (e.g., limbic burst firing). (Wikipedia)
What people reported:
- Many participants felt a “sensed presence” in the room – a feeling that another being was nearby. Depending on the person’s beliefs, that presence was interpreted as God, an angel, a dead relative, aliens, or hostile entities (demons, etc.). (Wikipedia)
- Some papers and popular write-ups explicitly say that the helmet could evoke experiences of ghosts, demons, and otherworldly beings, though the primary scientific term used is “sensed presence,” not “demons in the corner.” (Facebook)
Controversy / replication:
- A Swedish group (Granqvist et al.) tried to replicate the effect under double-blind conditions and concluded that unusual experiences were predicted by suggestibility and personality, not by whether the magnetic field was on or off. (Wikipedia)
- Persinger argued they didn’t use his parameters correctly and disputed their conclusion. The debate never fully resolved, so this remains controversial rather than settled. (Wikipedia)
So: the “God Helmet” is the clearest example of externally applied magnetic fields linked to reports of presences/entities in the room, but the strength of the evidence is debated.
2. The “Haunted Room” experiments (complex EM fields + infrasound)
Another line of research tried to build an artificially “haunted” environment:
The Haunt Project (French et al., 2009)
- Researchers at Goldsmiths College, London constructed a room where they could manipulate complex electromagnetic fields and infrasound and then had people sit in it. (ScienceDirect)
- Goal: see if EM fields and/or infrasound alone could trigger classic haunting sensations (presence in the room, dread, visual anomalies, etc.).
Findings:
- People did report odd experiences (unease, feeling of a presence), but these reports did not track whether the EM fields/infrasound were actually on. Suggestion and expectation were far more predictive. (PubMed)
So, this project is often cited as evidence that EM fields by themselves are not enough, at least at the levels they used, and that psychology (expectation, suggestion) is a big part of “haunted” experiences.
3. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) – deliberate brain modulation
If you want hard, reproducible mind-altering effects from magnetic fields, the main tool is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), widely used in neuroscience and psychiatry.
Basic idea:
- A coil on the scalp delivers brief, strong magnetic pulses (field strengths ~1–2 Tesla at the coil) which induce currents in underlying cortex. (ScienceDirect)
- This can excite or disrupt specific brain regions for milliseconds to minutes.
Visual system effects (seeing things that aren’t “there”):
- TMS over the occipital cortex reliably produces phosphenes – flashes of light or shapes in the visual field – in many people. (PubMed)
- These are not usually reported as “demons,” but they are magnetically induced visual perceptions in complete darkness or with eyes closed.
Hallucinations and visual disturbances:
- TMS has been used experimentally in conditions like Charles Bonnet syndrome, where people with vision loss experience complex visual hallucinations. Certain TMS protocols can reduce the intensity of these hallucinations by temporarily altering cortical excitability. (American Academy of Neurology)
Mood and cognition:
- Repetitive TMS (rTMS) over prefrontal cortex is an FDA-approved treatment for depression, and trials report changes in mood, attention, and other cognitive functions – i.e., magnetic fields directly modulating mental state. (ScienceDirect)
4. High-field MRI – dizziness, motion illusions, and “weird” sensations
Static and time-varying fields in MRI machines are much stronger than anything in normal environments:
- Clinical MRI scanners now go up to 7 Tesla and beyond for research, far above Earth’s magnetic field (~50 microtesla).
Documented effects in people near or inside high-field MRI:
- Healthy subjects in strong static fields (e.g. 7 T) show robust nystagmus (involuntary eye movements) and often feel illusory rotation or vertigo even lying still in the dark. (PMC)
- MRI personnel working around high-field systems report transient symptoms including vertigo, metallic taste, headache, ringing in the head, nausea, visual flashes (magnetophosphenes), and difficulties concentrating. (SpringerLink)
This is a very clear example where strong static magnetic fields alone, without any suggestion, can produce strange perceptual and vestibular effects.
5. Radio-frequency and microwave fields – CNS changes and symptoms
For RF/microwave ranges (cell towers, radar, Wi-Fi, etc.), the evidence is more mixed, but there is literature on nervous system effects:
- Reviews of RF-EMF and extremely low frequency (ELF) EMF report that the central nervous system (CNS) is a sensitive target, with changes seen in neurotransmitter systems, oxidative stress markers, and brain activity in animals and some human studies. (PMC)
- Population and occupational studies have looked at symptoms like headache, fatigue, sleep disturbance, tinnitus, mood changes, and cognitive complaints in relation to RF exposures, with inconsistent but sometimes suggestive findings. (ScienceDirect)
- The WHO notes that some people attribute a cluster of non-specific symptoms (headaches, anxiety, fatigue, etc.) to low-level EM exposure, but current mainstream assessments say the evidence for a direct causal link is not convincing. (World Health Organization)
So in this RF/microwave range you get mind-related effects discussed a lot, but they’re subtle, non-specific, and controversial, rather than consistent “see demons in the room” type phenomena.
6. Putting it together
If we translate your ask into categories of evidence:
- “Demons in the corner of the room” via magnets
- The closest real work is Persinger’s God Helmet, where weak patterned magnetic fields over temporal lobes have been linked to sensed presences and entity-like experiences, sometimes interpreted as demons, angels, or spirits by the subject. The mechanism and reproducibility are heavily debated. (Wikipedia)
- Deliberate mind-altering via EM fields
- TMS (strong, brief magnetic pulses) can reliably induce visual percepts, disrupt or enhance cognitive functions, and shift mood, and is used clinically. (PubMed)
- High-field MRI static fields can cause dizziness, nystagmus, and illusions of self-motion in normal subjects. (PMC)
- Longer-term or lower-level EM exposure and “mind-numbing” symptoms
- Animal and cell studies show CNS changes under certain RF/EMF conditions, but human symptom data (headaches, fatigue, sleep issues, cognitive complaints) are inconsistent and hotly debated. (PMC)
See
- Persinger / God Helmet entity-type experiences
- Haunted room / complex EM field “ghost” experiments
- TMS-induced hallucinations and MRI vertigo / motion illusions
- RF/microwave CNS effects reviews
Here’s a focused reading list you can dig into, grouped by topic: (a) actually load, and (b) directly touch altered perception / “presence,” vertigo, phosphenes, or CNS effects from EM fields.
A. Temporal-lobe magnetic stimulation and “sensed presences” (God Helmet)
Overview & Persinger’s own work
- Overview of Persinger’s “God Helmet” device, experimental setup, and reports of “sensed presences” (angels, dead relatives, entities, etc.). (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_helmet - M. A. Persinger, “Experimental simulation of a haunt experience and elicitation of paroxysmal electroencephalographic activity by transcerebral complex magnetic fields: induction of a synthetic ‘ghost’?” Perceptual and Motor Skills. (Discusses building a “haunted” experience with complex weak magnetic fields.) (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_helmet (see References section for full citation trail) - M. Castillo, “The Sixth Dimension and God’s Helmet.” American Journal of Neuroradiology (2011). Narrative but gives a medical-neuro perspective on Persinger and the God Helmet work. (PMC)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7966009/
Replication / critique / follow-ups
- P. Granqvist et al., “Sensed presence and mystical experiences are predicted by suggestibility, not by the application of transcranial weak complex magnetic fields.” Neuroscience Letters (2005). Double-blind replication attempt that attributes experiences to suggestibility rather than the fields. (ScienceDirect)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304394004013473 - C. A. Tinoca et al., “A Partial ‘God Helmet’ Replication Study.” Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research (2014). Uses a similar helmet, looks at roles of expectation vs. EM exposure. (JCER)
https://www.jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/viewFile/361/386 - British Psychological Society overview of “neurotheology” and Persinger’s work, including Granqvist’s failed replication and debates about methodology. (British Psychological Society)
https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/neuroscience-soul
B. “Haunted room” experiments: complex EM fields + infrasound
- C. C. French et al., “The ‘Haunt’ project: An attempt to build a ‘haunted’ room by manipulating complex electromagnetic fields and infrasound.” Cortex 45(5):619–629 (2009). Directly tests whether complex EM fields + infrasound alone can induce classic “haunting” sensations; finds expectation and personality are bigger predictors than the fields. (PubMed)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18635163/
https://www.haque.co.uk/work/haunt/HauntProject.pdf - Project page describing the Haunt installation (design notes and parapsychology background). (Haque)
https://haque.co.uk/work/haunt
C. Strong static magnetic fields (MRI) – vertigo, nystagmus, motion illusions
- O. S. Mian et al., “On the Vertigo Due to Static Magnetic Fields.” PLOS ONE 8(10):e78748 (2013). Shows that simply lying still in a homogeneous high static field can evoke nystagmus and vertigo via vestibular stimulation (Lorentz forces on endolymph). (PLOS)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0078748 - B. K. Ward et al., “A decade of magnetic vestibular stimulation.” Journal of Neurophysiology (2019). Review of how strong MRI fields induce vestibular signals, illusions of rotation, and balance disturbances. (Physiology Journals)
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jn.00873.2018 - J. M. Pogson et al., “Longer duration entry mitigates nystagmus and vertigo in 7-Tesla MRI.” Frontiers in Neurology (2023). Shows how 7T MRI commonly produces vertigo and nystagmus, and how slowed entry/exit reduces symptoms. (PMC)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38046576/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10690370/ - C. C. Go et al., “Persistent horizontal and vertical MR-induced nystagmus and vertigo in 3T and 7T scanners.” NeuroImage (2022). Focuses on persistent nystagmus from high-field MRI. (ScienceDirect)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S105381192200297X
D. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS): phosphenes, hallucinations, cognitive/mood changes
Visual phosphenes / hallucinations
- E. Tapia et al., “Phosphene-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation of human occipital cortex.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2014). Good entry point on using TMS over occipital cortex to induce light flashes (phosphenes) and modulate vision. (PMC)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4039568/ - A. N. Gebrehiwot et al., “Inducing lateralized phosphenes over the occipital lobe using TMS: A tool to navigate a virtual environment.” PLOS ONE 16(4):e0249996 (2021). Uses TMS-evoked phosphenes as a kind of artificial visual cue. (PLOS)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0249996 - P. Phylactou et al., “One in four people fail to perceive phosphenes during early visual cortex TMS.” Brain Stimulation (2023). Shows variability in how easily different people experience magnetically induced visual percepts. (Brain Stimulation Journal)
https://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/S1935-861X(22)00260-1/fulltext - V. Romei et al., “Occipital transcranial magnetic stimulation has opposing effects on visual and auditory stimulus detection in humans.” Journal of Neuroscience 27(43):11465–11472 (2007). Demonstrates that occipital TMS can both disrupt and facilitate perception depending on timing. (The Journal of Neuroscience)
https://www.jneurosci.org/content/27/43/11465 - S. A. Rafique et al., “rTMS reduces cortical imbalance associated with visual hallucinations.” Neurology 87(13):1403–1411 (2016). Uses rTMS to reduce persistent phosphene-like hallucinations in a patient. (American Academy of Neurology)
https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000003180
Clinical / cognitive effects
For more “mind-numbing / mind-altering” but clinically framed work (depression, cognition, etc.), look at rTMS reviews in major psychiatry/neuro journals (they’re abundant). A starting point:
- rTMS overview in FDA-cleared depression treatment context (discussion of mood and cognitive effects of magnetic stimulation). (researchgate.net)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (search within for “repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation depression review” for multiple open-access papers)
E. Radiofrequency / microwave EMF and central nervous system effects
Human symptom & CNS reviews
- M. Röösli et al., “The effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields exposure on headaches and other symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis.” Environmental Health 20:7 (2021). Focuses on headaches, migraine, sleep disturbance, etc., in relation to RF exposure. (PMC)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8484767/ - E. van Rongen et al., “Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on the human nervous system.” Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B 12(8) (2009). Classic review on RF-EMF and CNS (EEG changes, cognition, symptoms). (Taylor & Francis Online)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10937400903458940 - S. E. Mohammadianinejad et al., “The effects of exposure to low frequency electromagnetic fields on headache.” Iranian Journal of Neurology 15(2):88–93 (2016). Links EMF exposure with headache incidence in a clinical cohort. (PMC)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5279981/ - European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) lay summary: “Can mobile phones or base stations trigger headaches or other health problems?” Gives official view on RF-related symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and concentration issues. (European Commission)
https://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/opinions_layman/en/electromagnetic-fields07/l-3/4-phones-headaches-health.htm
See more broader, deeper, diabolical “fringe” research
Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today