Enjoying a good scare is a ritual this time of year, as people subject themselves to horrifying Halloween movies and spooky haunted houses.

But behind the fun and festivities, genuine fright is a different matter.

Seasonal television shows and books try to prove whether humans actually sense supernatural forces or whether there are larger scientific explanations.

Some studies show that electromagnetic fields emitted from electronics and appliances are the culprit behind fear.

Michael Persinger, a Laurentian University neuroscientist, said he thinks an increase in electromagnetic waves can alter an individual’s emotional state.

In his study, 80 percent of test subjects that were pulsed with low EM waves said they felt fearful as if an unknown presence was watching them.

On the other hand, Dean Sabatinelli, a University professor in psychology and a specialist in neuroscience and behavior, said that no one had experienced anything close to Persinger’s claims in his studies with electromagnetic fields.

Sabatinelli added that many psychologists use much stronger instruments in comparison to Persinger. Transcranial magnetic stimulation emits a million times more EM radiation than the earth’s environment.

“Even when humans are exposed to it, the effects on the brain are fleeting and minimal,” he said.

Qun Zhao, a physics professor who also works extensively with magnetic fields, said, “We experience magnetic fields every day with no harm or noticeable effect.”

Though some think everyday objects such as TVs, microwaves and power lines can alter perception, solid evidence to back it up has yet to be found.

Instead, individual perception and sensation are seen as the culprits of fearful responses.

“People are often tainted by their own biases,” he said.

Sabatinelli’s work with visual and audio stimuli reveal that fear depends largely on past experiences and hard-wired instincts.

Sabatinelli and Zhao said it’s easy for people to be scared of what they can’t see, especially invisible magnetic fields.

“Fear is a basic, evolved behavior,” Sabatinelli said.

“Of course we fear the big things that can obviously harm us, but we have also evolved to fear things that are small but lethal, including spiders and snakes,” he said.