Haunted Houses and the Psychology of Buildings
Halloween is in the air, and the witching season is upon us once more. The studio has been deep in thought about our favourite Haunted Houses. From Luigi's Mansion (Ninetendo) to The Overlook Hotel in The Shining - there is something about those dark corners and creaking stairways that get people on the edge of their seat. But what is it about these houses that produces this emotive affect?
At ArchiWest we work on many older and listed buildings, and it has become a mission this Halloween to figure out creepy spaces and why they affect us in the way they do. In this post we have put together our thoughts as to why a random room in your house or long dark corridor can make you feel on edge… and we’re 99% sure it's not ghosts.
The built environment is inescapable and our surroundings are deeply connected to our wellbeing. Humans have a keen ability to recognise patterns and identify changes to environments, on a conscious and sub-conscious level. So, when you walk into a building your brain begins to catalogue the information and draw comparisons to similar spaces you know, which is why you often pause when entering a space for the first time. You then use these comparisons along with your other senses to identify threats or dangers in the area, or preferably, deem it safe. However, humans are also very susceptible to persuasion and illusion. Meaning, you may perceive something to be a threat when it is completely harmless, or vice versa. This discomfort is often what creates the belief that a building is unpleasant, or perhaps even haunted…
Below we will explain the main senses responsible for activating your fight or flight.
Smell:
The smell of a place can tell us a lot more than you think; subtle hints or things like damp, dust or mildew can set off alarms in the brain. They tell us that the building might not be as structurally sound or well-maintained as it seems. Everyone has experienced the smell of rot or damp, and these scents have strong negative associations, along with other aromas like rotting food, rodent infestation, or sewerage. It is especially easy to assume the worst when the cause of the issue can’t easily be identified. Historic buildings are renowned for throwing up hidden problems during restoration works, and it’s wise to take note that initial first impression, especially if you’re looking for a property to purchase.
Sound:
There is an interesting concept in the film industry of the 'sound of silence', which refers to the idea that each place has its own silence. Everyone is used to the sounds in their own home; you know which door creaks and which floorboards not to step on. But entering a new space means a new set of sounds. Heritage buildings are notorious for being full of things that go bump in the night. These unexpected sounds can trigger the more primal survivor part of your subconscious. Every rattle of a window or gurgle of a pipe can seem like a predator lurking around the corner. Putting you in a state of heightened awareness, which is often experienced as fear. Some noises will turn out to be completely innocent, and may just be the building ‘settling’ during temperature changes, but other sounds should be thoroughly investigated, for example, the infamous ticking of the death-watch beetle…not because it was traditionally believed to be a warning of an impending death in the house, but because of the destruction these wood-boring bugs can cause to historic timber.
Sight:
Perhaps the easiest sense to be tricked is sight. The human brain is hardwired to make sense of ambiguous or random data, and it imposes a meaningful interpretation, like a face, onto a random visual stimulus. A common example is seeing familiar objects and animals in cloud formations.
This is a psychological phenomenon known as Pareidolia, which can be fun if you’re lying in a meadow on a sunny day, but in less comfortable scenarios it can put the nervous system into high alert. As well as most commonly seeing faces it can also be responsible for sightings of ‘shadow people’, which is the brain’s automatic nano-second scan to make sense of a darkened space, and interpreting a human form within it. Pareidolia is what some sceptics believe causes people to believe that they have seen ghosts, entities, or even mythical creatures.
In addition, we use familiar landmarks to navigate our surroundings, so removing these can cause major anxiety. In unfamiliar spaces we subconsciously try to map out the territory, another fight or flight response to identify escape routes. For example, walking down a long dark corridor or alleyway immediately feels uncomfortable, similarly long winding staircases, or enclosed attics or cellars creating a feeling of being trapped. This anxiety response to the visual surrounding can even be manipulated, causing the respondent to take a different route or avoid a particular space, for example. When this is purposely created in the built environment it is known as Anti-Architecture and is often used to direct or restrict public use of a space. However, these environments were also often unknowingly created in historic building developments, when windows were smaller and ceilings lower, increasing the sense of entrapment. In contrast, large bright or open spaces, such as hospitals or industrial spaces, can also create a psychological reaction. Large white spaces distort your sense of scale and distance, and you struggle to decipher the space, the lack of reference points or firm visual anchors causes disorientation, as if stuck in dense fog or blizzard, which the brain perceives as highly dangerous. Similar to motion sickness, this visual loss of perspective can also trigger anxiety, confusion and even physical symptoms like nausea, leaving you feeling extremely vulnerable.
A combination of these issues is often what causes you to feel troubled, even if you've only noticed them subconsciously. This reaction is your bodies attempt to keep you safe, even if it is a somewhat misguided attempt. Now that modern psychologists understand these issues, they can be used to guide those working on architectural projects. Usually, the architects work to lessen these problems, introducing more natural light and moving away from the repetitive nature of the older designs. Colours are also specially chosen for their effects on people, such as light blue or green colours in hospitals or nursing homes, as they are known to have a calming influence, and red and yellow for fast food restaurants , as theses colours stimulate the appetite. However, if you were trying to design a Halloween attraction or horror film set, you might want to use some of these ideas to give your work an extra spooky flare!
For more information on the phycology of buildings we recommend the paper "The Psychology, Geography, and Architecture of Horror: How Places Creep Us Out"- by Francis T. McAndrew (Knox College), linked here:
At ArchiWest our Heritage specialists are adept at reading and researching old and listed buildings. For more information and help with your project get in touch here.
studio@ArchiWest.co.uk - 01934 311017
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