Halloween Shivers: Polling the Paranormal

Posted by admin on October 28, 2007

Do you believe in paranormal phenomena? If you say yes, then you have plenty of company.

In preparation for Halloween, the Associated Press conducted a telephone poll to see what kinds of shiver-inducing phenomena Americans believed in. Just over one-third (34%) believe ghosts exist, while 23% report encounters with apparitions. The same percentage accept the existence of UFOs. Yet a whopping 48% believe in extrasensory perception, with most of the believers being well-educated. Another 20% call themselves at least somewhat superstitious.

Interestingly, the AP article which announced the poll results compared those results with the outcomes of more mundane polls—36% of people are baseball fans. However, more people believe in ghosts and UFOs than approve of the president’s actions. E.T. for president, anyone?

Previous polls by other groups have demonstrated similar results. Even the AP pollsters seem to have gotten into the superstitious act—they polled 1,013 people. Either the pollsters have a sense or humor, or they flouted the superstition about unlucky 13 just to irk the fates.

Or perhaps they had no plans to poll 1,013 people. Perhaps the number occurred naturally.

Or…supernaturally.

Happy Halloween!

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