often imbuing them with meaning — a psychological phenomenon known as pareidolia. This can manifest as seeing the face of an old man in the knots of a tree or the shape of an animal in the clouds.

Fatal Frame uniquely uses pareidolia with shadowy ghosts. Other games use it with faces in trees or grainy pictures. Pareidolia is the phenomenon of seeing meaningful patterns, such as faces ...

It’s not just your imagination—it’s pareidolia, a fascinating brain trick that helps us recognize patterns, even when none exist. But this ability is part of a bigger phenomenon called apophenia, ...