Reddit’s r/WTF is meant for people to share any oddities they encounter in their lives. The posts there range from various fails, odd-looking objects, things that don’t belong in their places, or creepy stuff. And that’s what we have picked out today. 

In these photos, you can see various creepy stuff that people found when they were looking through photos, exploring new places, buying a new place, and so forth.

Some of these things might look so out of place and creepy that the brain cannot properly comprehend them. And usually, when this happens, it jumps to the conclusion that the thing must have paranormal origins. 

Did you know that there is a field of study focused exactly on paranormal claims and psychic phenomena? It’s called parapsychology.

Psychic phenomena include such things as telepathy and telekinesis. Paranormal claims are related to near-death experiences or synchronicity.

Belief in psychic phenomena has existed for as long as people have. But it became a study subject only in the 19th century.

The Society of Psychical Research was established in 1882 in London. Later on, similar societies appeared in the US and other European countries.

In the 20th century, parapsychology research was conducted at such high-status universities as Duke University. 

Most mainstream scientists reject parapsychology by calling it pseudoscience. The field is criticized for its practitioners claiming their studies are plausible despite having no evidence. The research for evidence has been happening for over a century, and they still haven’t found anything plausible. So, parapsychology research very rarely appears in mainstream scientific journals.

What we can say is that some of these things from this list could for sure be good contenders to become subjects of parapsychology. Even if the field of the study might be kind of a scam. 

Bored Panda reached out to Filipino/Canadian paranormal researcher Lomar Mendz. He has been studying the paranormal field for over 20 years. You can check out his YouTube channel, where he posts his adventures of paranormal experiences along with his partner Chelsey. He agreed to share his insight into paranormal experiences.

Talking about paranormal experiences and psychology, he brought up his own experience and said “When dealing with the paranormal we have to think rationally about what could have caused certain things. Being in the moment we can overthink or jump to conclusions fast, however, it's good to rethink the scenario after it's done.”

He added, “So, as we take on all these different locations and sites that many locals & visitors claim to be haunted with all these types of occurrences, we always keep in mind that the fear comes from those stories.” And that “In my opinion, about 60-70% of the time, things can be rationalized; however, the other little bit is unexplainable.”

Lomar said that the main thing that causes the unsettling feeling is fear. And that fear is caused by information gotten beforehand. “I'm certain that the stories and history play a massive role in the uneasy feelings many do get at paranormal sites. What's funny is that, for a completely different reason, things can be heavily influenced by horror movies we have seen or other scary things we see from published movies.” 

The paranormal investigator also shared a personal story from his paranormal investigations, where he had a predetermined unsettling feeling. “In New Brunswick, we have friends who own the Dorchester jail where, in the 1930s, there was a double hanging of two young men.

And of course, other inmates as well throughout the years, and when we did our first investigation there, just reading the history and what people have encountered there was very uneasy to hear, not to mention the look and energy of the jail itself was something out of a horror movie. Once we stepped into the jail for the first time, it was even more unsettling.”

Lomar said that in his opinion, the thought of the afterlife or death is a universal thing which causes unsettling feelings. “This whole idea of death can scare people, and many people really do live in denial of the afterlife. Yes, it can be very unsettling and the most unsettling thing for the human race.”

Then he added “We have had so many run-ins with people who say all these things about the afterlife, and the paranormal, those in denial, those who believe there is a space we go to after we die, and those who think we stay on this earth, just in energy forms. It has caused huge debates & discussions.” 

Talking about supporting people who believe that they are experiencing paranormal activity, Lomar said “The way Chelsey and I support those who believe they are experiencing unsettling paranormal activity is to remind them that there is a time and place to be scared.

A very small percentage of the time, you will have negative and dark energy messing with your everyday life. It's time to let them know to tune out of that space they are in before they continue. Fear itself can escalate many things. Most of the time, it's just active energy that's there.”

Lomar also voiced that “Many of the times, respectfully, some of the people who reach out to us don't know what they are looking at. They try to make faces out of nothing and have no actual proof of anything happening in their homes, so it's easily discarded. Keep in mind I said some! Many have had amazing things happen.” 

In the end, the paranormal researcher expressed that “Everyone is different when it comes to the paranormal, but we provide people with what we experience as well as what has worked for us! It's just a game of detective, to be honest.” 

Bored Panda also reached out to paranormal investigator Alexandré LeMay. You should check out their website! They also shared some insights into paranormal experiences. 

For the topic of psychology determining unsettling feelings related to paranormal experiences, Alexandré said “Each person brings their own unique lens into an investigation that shapes their experience. Through our own experiments to understand the paranormal, we better understand which is a gut feeling and which is an internal bias. If you enter a space with the expectation of a negative experience, the likelihood of that manifesting is very high.”

As an example, they shared a story about the Philip experiment: “a 1972 parapsychology experiment conducted to determine whether subjects can communicate with fictionalized ghosts through expectations of human will. During this experiment they gave this “entity" a name, a backstory and a cause of death that was entirely manufactured. They followed it up with a séance that confirmed these suspicions.”

Then they added “According to these assessments, it would seem that you can program or create an entity to have certain characteristics in certain situations. I personally believe this could be happening with some hauntings but not all of them. At the end of the day, we should remember to stand firm in our power to create our energetic reality.” 

When asked about what could be causing a feeling of unsettlement in people, Alexandré replied “Every individual's experience with the paranormal can shape how they interact with it. Those feelings can be fine-tuned so you know when something is truly unsettling or if it’s just simply your mind projecting fear into a situation that’s unknown.”

Alexandré also shared that they consider the concept of the unknown to be universally unsettling for people. “We see this in everyday life but I think that’s what attracts me personally to it. The unknown has always made me curious to where I've thrown caution to the wind on multiple occasions. I have a dire need to understand on a deeper level what it is that makes us so afraid of these paranormal occurrences.” 

Lastly, Alexandré shared what they would advise people who think that they experience paranormal experiences. “I like to remind people experiencing unsettling paranormal activity that even if we don’t know exactly what is happening, this is our realm and we hold more power than we give ourselves credit for. A simple chanting of comforting words can clear out negative energy in seconds. Intent and action even in the smallest sense can alter energetic fields, including those in paranormal spaces.”