GHOST PHOBIA

A phobia, the most common type of anxiety disorder, is a powerful, irrational fear.
There are many specific phobias. Phobic people try to avoid what they fear and, if
they cant, might experience panic, panic attacks, shortness of breath, trembling,
rapid heartbeat, lightheadedness, sweating and a strong need to escape.
Phobias can disrupt a persons life, damage self-esteem and strain relationships.
Although most people with phobias know their fear is irrational, merely thinking
about what is feared usually causes anxiety. Phobias can develop spontaneously
during any life stage or be induced. The intense fear of ghosts is called both
spectrophobia and phasmophobia.

Ghost Phobias
Many people feel an enjoyable thrill of anxiety when they read ghost stories, tell
tales about them and watch movies and shows featuring the entities. This fear can
become so intense for some that they develop a phobia.
There are people who fear the word ghost itself and its synonyms: phantoms,
specters, spirits, poltergeists, entities, apparitions, hauntings and phantasms. They
will go to any steps they think are required to avoid an encounter with a ghost, such
as sleeping with the lights on in the mistaken belief that ghosts only appear in the
dark.

Phasmophobias can be induced

Psychologist John B. Watson conducted experiments at Johns Hopkins University
that proved phobias can be induced. The subject of the experiment was toddler
Albert. They showed him a stuffed white rabbit or rat (accounts differ).
When Albert tried to touch the toy, Watson created a loud noise that scared the
child. Soon, the child reacted in fear when he saw the toy, evidencing that a phobia
was induced. Watson continued his experiments to prove that phobias can be
generalized. When the experiments ended, Albert exhibited phobic reactions to
similar white fluffy objects, including a cotton wad.

How the Media and People Can Induce Ghost Phobia

The Amityville Horror is a film thats considered one of the scariest movies about
ghosts. Its based on the book of the same name that was touted as nonfiction.

However, many psychotherapists consider it to be unreal, which was proved

afterwards.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

By how much past unpleasant experiences contribute towards

Phasmophobia?
By how much media (movies) and childhood ghost stories contribute towards
Phasmophobia?

METHODOLOGY

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Primary research:
Questioners (from a sample of 30)
Interviews

Secondary research:
Scholarly articles

EXPECTED FINDINGS

Media acts as an important factor for phasmophobia in teenagers.

Childhood stories make an important contribution towards such imaginations.
Any past bad experience creates terror, the experience could be imaginary.