Do You Believe in Ghosts, Haunted Houses and Psychic Abilities?

Ghosts, haunted houses, and psychics, what do Americans think? Gallup polled 1102 Americans in June 2005 to find out what Americans believe. Their findings might surprise you.

Haunted Houses

First off haunted houses, I'm sure many of you remember the spooky old abandoned house in your neighborhood that every kid swore was haunted. Was it really haunted, or did parents create the malicious stories to keep children out of harms way from a decaying old home? No one will probably ever know for sure. But when it comes to Gallup Polls, "37% of Americans told Gallup they believe in haunted houses, while 46% say they don't, and 16% aren't sure." Where do you fit into the category? TV shows that deal with hauntings and ghost investigations are on the rise. Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventurers and Paranormal State, just to name a few, are not lacking when it comes to fans and followers. If you judge by the television media, hauntings and ghostly interest are on the rise.

Ghosts

When Gallup polled Americans about their beliefs in ghosts, they experienced similar results to the belief in haunted homes poll. According to Gallup, "(32%) say they believe in ghosts, while nearly half (48%) do not. About a fifth (19%) say they aren't sure about the existence of spirits." The results are not really surprising. I imagine you would need a ghost or two before you could believe a home was haunted.

Psychic ability

When it comes to psychic abilities, what do Americans believe? According to Gallup when Americans were asked about "Clairvoyance/the power of the mind to know the past and predict the future," 26% responded that they believe in Clairvoyance. Again if the television media is any example of what Americans are watching and wanting to see more of, then psychics top the list. Sylvia Browne, John Edward, Chip Coffee and James Van Praagh are all recognizable either from their media appearances, or for hosting their own television shows. In fact in July of this year, psychic Mary Occhino will be premiering her own reality show called Mary Knows Best on the Syfy channel. It is evident that Americans want more psychic and paranormal TV programs.No matter what your beliefs are; Americans are interested in the paranormal. New ghosts, psychic and paranormal television shows are hitting the airwaves. Television programming is generated by supply and demand. It would appear that believers and nonbelievers alike enjoy exploring the unknown.

Sources:
Syfy
Gallup Poll
Gallup Poll