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THE UNEXPLAINED MYSTERIES OF THE WORLD MAKE FOR A
FASCINATINGLY ADDICTIVE READ.
From life after death, clairvoyance, and telekinesis to
sleepwalking, multiple personality disorder, and phantom
limbs, this series covers the scientifically accepted as well
as the unproven. Adopting a fact-based approach, Freaky
Phenomena presents the evidence, parses its reliability,
and evaluates the probabilities. Whether proven, debunked, or uncertain, these
phenomena are great fun to explore. Each volume in the Freaky Phenomena series
explores a different category of metaphysical mysteries. Sidebars highlight the role of
various phenomena in popular culture as well as showcasing famous hoaxes.
Set ISBN ..........978-1-4222-3772-4
Hardcover Set Price ...........$223.44
$167.60 (S&L)
Hardcover List Price ..............27.93
20.95 (S&L)
Multi-User eBook List Price ...35.93
26.95 (S&L)
Full color • Library bound
Trim Size: 8 x 9½ • 48 pages
Grade Level: 5-8
HBK ISBN E-ISBN
Consciousness ...................................................... -3773-1 -8007-2
Faith...................................................................... -3774-8 -8008-9
Healing.................................................................. -3775-5 -8009-6
Life After Death............................................................. -3776-2 -8010-2
Mysterious Places..................................................... -3777-9 -8011-9
Personality........................................................................ -3778-6 -8012-6
Psychic Abilities..................................................... -3779-3 -8013-3
The Senses ........................................................... -3780-9 -8014-0
8 VOLUME SET © 2018
Series Consultant:
Joe Nickell,
Senior Research Fellow, Committee
for Skeptical Inquiry
F R E AKY PH ENOMENA
HIGH-INTEREST READING
W
hen a person hallucinates,heor she is seeing (lights,beings,objects),hearing (voices,
footsteps,music,doors banging), smelling,possibly tasting,or feeling (a crawling sen-
sation on the skin) something that is not actually there.The cause of the sensation
may not be real,but to the personwho hallucinates, the experience seems as if it is truly happening.
The ScientificTake:A Mental Disturbance
For themost part, hallucinations are caused by some sort ofmental disorder—Alzheimer’s disease,
brain tumor,
epilepsy
,
bipolar disorder
,
psychotic depression
,
PTSD
, delirium, or dementia.
About15percentofmigraine sufferersexperience visual aura,which can range from vision loss,to sim-
ple hallucinations (typically these are simple shapes and lines).Sometimes they can be fueled by drugs
or alcohol.Studies show that about half of all people have a hallucination at some point in their lives.
It’snormal for thebrain to interpret sights,sounds, feelings, tastes,and smells from external stimuli.
But under certain conditions, the senses can be activatedwithout outside stimulus.Mental disorders
may flood the brainwith confused signals that activate the senses. Interestingly, the brain sometimes
compensates for a lack of stimulus. For instance, it’s not uncommon for blind people to hallucinate
H
ALLUCINATIONS
Words to Understand
Bipolardisorder:
Amental conditionmarked by alternating periods of elation and depression.
Dementia:
A chronicmental condition caused by brain disease or injury and characterized bymemory
disorders,personality changes,and impaired reasoning.
Epilepsy:
A neurological problem characterized by sudden and recurring episodes of sensory disturbance,
loss of consciousness,or convulsions.
PTSD:
Post-traumatic stress disorder is amental health condition triggered by a terrifying event.
CONSCIOUSNESS
25
Studies show that almost half
of all peoplewill experience a
hallucination at some point in
their lives.
C
HAPTER
3
24
freaky
phenomenon