Lying awake at night, hallucinating, jumping at every sound one hears are few of the most common symptoms of fear of ghosts.Children, for example, might start to scream, cry or wet their beds.Heart palpitations, stress and anxiety or panic attacks are common in such cases.Quiz: Do You Have an Anxiety Disorder? Take the Test Now Phasmophobia can be quite debilitating in that the affected person suffers from many physical, social and emotional symptoms. The concept of ‘returning dead people’ haunting a household might sometimes be triggered by stress which comes from the belief that someone they are close to is about to die. Many scientists believe that Phasmophobia is actually the fear of our own death or things to come. Stories of ghosts taking away and murdering children or pets, finishing off one’s life savings or destroying households also trigger Phasmophobia. Ghosts are portrayed as evil entities that injure, harm or have violent tendencies.
TV shows, Hollywood movies, culture or religions also steep in our fear of ghosts. For example, a child might have been spooked out by siblings or friends, as a result of which, they tend to recollect those fearful events each time they are left alone or in the dark. The brain simply does this as part of its defense mechanism. The amygdala, a part of the brain secretes a chemical that triggers fear. This is fuelled further by movies, scary folktales, religious/superstitious beliefs and news or media reports about supposed ‘ghost sightings’. Causes of PhasmophobiaĪnticipatory anxiety, fear of the dead or unknown (or things which go ‘bump in the night’) are mainly responsible for triggering Phasmophobia. Halloween is an especially scary time of year.
Many refuse to step outside after dark, or sleeping alone or turning out the lights. For people having extreme fear of ghosts, life can become downright miserable.