For centuries people from every corner of the world have reported weird out-of-body experiences.

Some have seen their own bodies lying on a hospital bed yards below them, others have felt their spirit floating freely - unshackled from its physical cage.

But now an extraordinary experiment has come up with compelling evidence that out-of-body experiences are nothing more than tricks of a confused mind.

Using virtual reality visors and probes, scientists have been able to fool the brains of volunteers into believing they temporarily occupied a 3D character created by a computer.

The peculiar sensations they reported mirrored the experiences of those who believe they have had an out-of-body experience.

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