I think the universality is basically because we are human, and identifying other humans is very important, so human shapes are a common target(?) for pareidoli

I think the universality is basically because we are human, and identifying other humans is very important, so human shapes are a common target(?) for pareidolia. I'm a little more interested in the curious consistency in details of stories of paranormal encounters. I've heard a handful of first-hand accounts of paranormal experiences that, despite the tellers having some pretty widely different interpretations (one conservative Christian who thought he was talking about demonic activity), described some very similar details, in ways that are at least trickier to explain than simple pareidolia, and not always part of the standard ghost stereotypes either. Assuming ghosts aren't real, there at least has to be something interesting going on. You'd think having read "The Demon-Haunted World" would prepare me better for this but mostly what I remember from that book is about sleep paralysis.