Exploration of Ghost-like Phenomena

L O N D O N, April 20 -- Headless drummers, a phantom piper, and a little girl with her dog …

These are just some of the ghosts rumored to haunt the dungeons, vaults and underground tunnels around Scotland's Edinburgh Castle and the South Bridge, a nearby 18th-century structure. The popular tourist district used to house prisoners before their executions.

A team of scientists has just finished what it calls the largest and most technologically advanced experiment ever conducted in the investigation of paranormal activities.

Creepy Dungeons, Deep Breathing

A group of 250 volunteers recruited through newspaper ads endured creepy black dungeons and cold chills for 10 days this month. Among their observations: eerie flashes of light, whispering, apparitions, the sound of deep breathing and rapid temperature changes.

British psychologist Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire in England led the “ghost-buster” team of researchers, joined by U.S. psychologist James Houran from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

Wiseman says he is skeptical of the paranormal, but at this week’s Edinburgh International Science Festival he said the study results showed “a definite mystery that needs further investigating.”

The study found that 51 percent of the volunteers reported having “experiences” when in one of five vaults identified as “haunted.” Only 35 percent of people who went into vaults called “ghost-free” reported any unusual experience.

Mercat Tours, which organizes viewing of the vaults, identified the “haunted” and “ghost-free” vaults for the scientists based on reports from people who had gone on the tours.

“For five years we have logged paranormal experiences of people who have visited certain vaults,” Mercat's Fran Hollinrake told ABCNEWS.com. “The sheer number of people that have seen things has resulted in the reputation developing of specific areas being haunted.”