These 10 weird AF soul experiments will make you question EVERYTHING about the afterlife—you can’t stop reading till the end.
TOP 10. The EVP Experiment
EVP stands for Electronic Voice Phenomenon—basically, random spooky voices popping up on recordings, radio static, or other devices when NO ONE’S talking. The creepiest part? You won’t catch these voices while recording—only when you hit play back. Skeptics say it’s just noise our brains twist into speech (funny how it only makes sense in your native tongue; foreigners just hear gibberish).
Fun Fact: The 2005 flick White Noise has Michael Keaton playing a guy using EVP to reach his late wife—and it’s low-key terrifying.
TOP 9. The “Soul Weight” Experiment
It’s not the official name, but let’s be real—it’s way easier to remember. Back in 1907, Dr. Duncan MacDougall (from Haverhill, MA) stuck 6 dying patients on beds hooked up to scales to weigh ’em right as they passed. Here’s what he found: Each lost roughly 3/4 of an ounce (21.3g) the second they died. He tested 15 dogs too—zero weight drop. His takeaway? Humans have souls, dogs don’t. The experiment even made The New York Times and medical journals.
Fun Fact: MacDougall complained he couldn’t find dogs that died naturally—major red flag that made people think he poisoned ’em. Oh, and this experiment inspired Sean Penn’s movie 21 Grams.
TOP 8. The God Helmet Experiment
Neuroscientist Michael Persinger’s wild experiment used a tricked-out snowmobile helmet to zap people’s brains with magnetic fields—and he claimed it could recreate near-death vibes: bright lights, feeling like God’s there, or seeing dead loved ones. Famous atheist Richard Dawkins tested it, then admitted on BBC he was low-key bummed he didn’t feel any “spiritual connection.” Even someone who’d actually had a near-death experience tried it—nope, no repeat. Total fail.
Fun Fact: Persinger said 80% of people who wore the helmet swore someone else was in the room—describing the presence as God or a dead buddy.
TOP 7. The Philip Experiment
In the early ’70s, Toronto’s Psychical Research Society wanted to know: Can a group of people manifest a made-up ghost just by focusing hard? They cooked up a ghost named Philip, gave him a full backstory and a portrait, then had 8 people memorize his fake life and hold seances for months. Nada happened—until 1973, when Philip “started talking” via table knocks (1 knock = yes, 2 = no). They actually chatted with their own creation!
Fun Fact: The experiment died abruptly when one person snapped and yelled, “You’re just something we made up!” The knocking stopped cold—deny Philip was real, and poof, he was gone.
TOP 6. The Ghost Hunters Experiment
The 2004 banger Ghost Hunters sends teams to haunted spots armed with Geiger counters, EMF detectors, night-vision cams, and laptops to hunt for ghosts. They claim their footage has weird mists, spooky lights, moving stuff, and shadowy figures that pop up and vanish in a flash.
Fun Fact: Critics and atheists roast this show hard—slamming it for shoddy scientific methods, lazy checks, and sketchy editing.
TOP 5. Harry Houdini’s Code Experiment
Magician Harry Houdini (1874–1926) made a career out of calling out fake mediums. He was terrified mediums would scam his wife after he died, so he left her a secret code (10 random words from a Conan Doyle letter) as proof if he ever tried to hit her up from beyond the grave. After Houdini died, Conan Doyle’s pal Arthur Ford claimed he got the code via seance. Most people think Ford and Doyle teamed up to trick Houdini’s grief-stricken, booze-reliant wife.
Fun Fact: Houdini’s wife Bess showed up to Halloween seances for 10 years straight—and never heard a peep from him. Skeptics be like: “Is this the first time ‘spirit communication’ is the only ‘explanation’ for the ‘evidence’?” (Spoiler: Nah.)
TOP 4. Sir William Crookes’ Experiments
Sir William Crookes was a total legend—a chemist/physicist who invented the Crookes tube (key to discovering X-rays and electrons). After his 21-year-old brother died suddenly in 1867, he got hooked on spiritualism. By 1870, he was like, “Science owes it to us to test this stuff,” and set strict rules for mediums: “My house, my crew, my gear.” He claimed to see levitation, glowing objects, ghosts, and automatic writing—all signs of “external smart beings.” His 1874 findings said the stuff was unexplainable and worth more digging.
Fun Fact: Most scientists thought spiritualism was a scam. Crookes’ report made the Royal Society livid—some even wanted to kick him out as a fellow.
TOP 3. The Soul Experiment
University of Arizona psych prof Gary Schwartz’s 2002 book The Soul Experiment breaks down his tests on the afterlife, using mediums and “sitters” (people close to the dead). The mediums spit out crazy accurate facts and names about the deceased—so on-point that even atheists couldn’t write it off as scams, cold reading, or luck. First sitter: 77-95% accuracy (avg 83%); second was similar. A 68-student control group? Only 36% accurate.
Fun Fact: Schwartz said the odds of the 83% vs. 36% gap being a coincidence? 1 in 10 million. Yikes, that’s wild.
TOP 2. The Reincarnation Experiment
In 1983, Australian psychologist Peter Ramster made a doc called The Reincarnation Experiment—and it’s got what he says is proof of past lives. One participant remembered wild details about the French Revolution. Under hypnosis, she spoke fluent, accent-free French, answered questions in French, and even knew old street names that don’t exist anymore (you can only find ’em on super old maps).
TOP 1. The Scole Experiment
In 1993, four parapsychologists ran over 500 experiments in Scole, UK, over 5 years. The chaos included objects popping out of nowhere, flickering lights, and glowing orbs floating in patterns—all recorded directly on 35mm film (no cameras!) and locked up safe. The tests were repeated in the US, Ireland, and Spain, with big names like NASA, IONS, and Stanford scientists joining in.
Fun Fact: James Webster—a magician with 40 years of paranormal investigating experience—said: “I can’t spot any trickery. This ain’t a hoax—between what we saw and how it went down, it’s impossible.”
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