Why do we see faces in the mirror that aren’t our own? Have you ever played the game “Bloody Mary,” and then seen Mary herself? There is a very scientific reason behind what you saw. In today’s episode, we explore why our brains make us see the strange things we do, what it means to see faces where faces don’t exist, and what it’s like to be face-blind.

Then, we talk about how mirrors are actually pan-dimensional portals that cause spirits to get trapped. Because that’s how we roll.

Listen now, and learn about how our brains manifest and reveal the monster within, today, on The H-files, brought to you by Homespun Haints!

The H Files

Welcome to The H Files: a limited-run miniseries where we delve deep into the folklore and science behind ghostly sitings and urban legends. This series begins September 1 and runs every other Tuesday until November. If you would like to discuss anything you hear on the episode, please reach out to us in our Facebook Group or through Instagram. And, as always, if you have something you’d like to contribute to the show, you can always email us at info@HomespunHaints.com.

References

Be sure to check out this episode’s sister article on The Robinson Age.

The Troxler Effect

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/558091/origin-bloody-mary-and-why-we-think-we-see-things-mirrors

Mirror Gazing and Depression

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4258311/

Origins of Bloody Mary

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/558091/origin-bloody-mary-and-why-we-think-we-see-things-mirrors

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bloody-mary-story/

https://pascal-francis.inist.fr/vibad/index.php?action=getRecordDetail&idt=12771052

Mirror Gazing and Seeing Things

https://mindhacks.com/2010/09/18/the-strange-face-in-the-mirror-illusion/
Read this one just for the comments!

What is Pareidolia?

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/538524/science-behind-pareidolia

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3432238/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-faithful-resemblance/

What is Prosopagnosia, or being Face-blind?

https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/a-quirk-of-the-brain-called-prosopagnosia-makes-it-hard/