While we can't be sure that anyone has perceived anything from the afterlife, patterns in claims suggest that younger people and animals do seem to be seeing and hearing things that the adults in the room aren't picking up on.
So what are they perceiving, and why can't we perceive it as well?
The Theory
The story goes that spirits exist on another plane or dimension and that when they communicate and visually manifest, it's typically happening within a sound frequency and light spectrum beyond our human perception, therefore we can't see or hear them with our mere mortal eyes and ears.
Animals and children, however, are said to have hearing and sight within these mystical ranges. So is it true?
The Truth
Well, yes and no.
First of all, we can't even speculate what frequency of light or sound spirits occupy, nor whether they exist at all. The only thing we can weigh in on is whether or not animals and children have more sensitive or expansive hearing and sight than us (adults). Long story short - they do.
Kids' & Babies' Hearing
Yes, children (under 10) can hear things we can't. This is due to physiology, lack of damage/desensitization, and neurological processing differences.
They're known to hear tones outside our natural range, both higher and lower. High frequency sounds refer to noises that are 2000hz and above, while low frequency sounds fall under 200hz.
While most adults have major trouble hearing past 13,000hz, kids can hear 20,000hz easily. Kids can also hear as low as 20hz, with adults typically close behind.
But it's really not that simple. While we picture a frequency scale as a linear line with two poles (0 and 20,000hz), really it comes down to a spectrum of processing abilities. While kids and babies have access to more frequencies, due to their sensitivity, they're not neurologically developed enough to sort the sounds in an organized way. Unlike adults, they (mainly babies) hear all kinds of frequencies at once (broadband), without any filtration or analysis process. Adults only catch a few prominent frequencies (narrowband) at one time and then select what's necessary.
Basically, little ones are better at hearing, but we're better at listening.
Just like how we have the ability to use every part of our brain, but we only use a maximum of 10% at any given time. If we used our whole brain at once, we'd be counterproductive rather than superhuman, due to overwhelm.
Animals' Hearing
Can animals hear more than us? Simply put, it depends on the animal!
Dogs for example can hear ultrasonic sounds (super high frequency sounds above 20,000hz), while bats can hear as low as 1hz! Elephants have some of the best low-frequency hearing around too.
50-85,000hz is the average range for the domestic house cat, while dogs sit at 65-47,000hz. Definitely far beyond our range, no matter the age.
If you've got a pet hamster or snake, it's not likely they'll pick up on a spirit's presence, but if you've got cats, dogs, or birds, it's certainly possible they can hear *things* we can't.
Kids' & Babies' Sight
Children and babies have trouble with vision fundamentals like depth perception, light adjustment, and focus control, making their perception of reality skewed. So while their vision is more 'sensitive', it's not necessarily more expansive.
Little ones (under 12) also perceive and process images differently than adults, much like with sound. Kids don't integrate the sensory information that they take in to draw a big picture, but instead keep the information somewhat compartmentalized. This paints their perception of reality differently than ours, presenting both challenges and benefits.
Within the electromagnetic spectrum lies the "visible light field" which is the human range of sight. It's nestled in between ultraviolet light and infrared light. Our average vision range is recorded as 380-750 nanometers of the wavelength.
While rare, kids have been known to perceive faint UV and IR signals, but only a fraction outside average human range. Humans may see beyond this range with a rare condition called Aphakia, which allows them to see UV light due to the loss of their ocular lens. Another condition called Tetrachromacy (not to be confused with Dichromacy, or "color blindness") allows humans to view over 100 million colors vs the typical million, due to an extra cone. We can also see limitlessly far away (in decent clarity), as long as even a single proton is present amongst a contrastingly dark background - like stars against the night sky.
Alternately, newborns can only see shades of grey and can't see beyond about 12 inches outwards. Their vision pretty much sucks until they're at least 4 months old. Thing is though, they notice details we don't.
It would seem that babies aren't seeing things we can't, but instead noticing things we don't.
Kids have sharper vision in general, since they haven't succumbed to the symptoms of aging and degeneration, but their vision access is generally very average.
Animals' Sight
Indeed lots of animals can see past the human's visible light spectrum, into the UV/IR frequencies.
Dogs and cats, for example, can see into the UV spectrum, however they're at the disadvantage of being unable to see certain hues and colour richness that humans can. They can access more visibility but not with great quality.
Many fish also see in the other direction (infrared), so maybe your pet goldfish or guppy can see ghosts…?
Intuition
While we're talking about senses, we have to consider that perhaps kids and animals are more perceptive to spiritual interactions because they're more receptive to them intuitively.
They're unjaded and uninfluenced by the skeptics of society, leaving them open to experiences without pre-judgement. It may be that we have the ability to perceive things but have subconsciously turned these mechanisms off in order to better assimilate in the world and its firm constructs of reality and logic.
While C.LA.S.S.-A deeply values skepticism in our approach to truth, we must recognize that it could work to our detriment in terms of obtaining personal experience. However, it's our goal to capture objective evidence rather than personal anecdotes, so the skepticism stays.
Another day we'll get into the relationship between belief and paranormal
/psi experience (sheep-goat theory), but for now we leave you with this not-so-simple explanation of varying awarenesses.
If your pets or little ones are reacting to things you can't detect, consider other possibilities beyond the mystical; critters, bugs, glares, reflections, and other mundane stimuli that we're trained to edit out.
Remember to always use critical thinking, but to keep an open mind as well. Happy hunting!
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