STATIC IN THE ATTIC
Hey this is a very interesting study!
Majikthise points out that more people seem to believe in haunted houses (37%) than believe that ghosts (32%). From this we must logically conclude that five percent of houses are haunted by non-ghosts (possibly a bigfoot or Samsquanch).
I was trying to find some comparable statistics for Canada, and I came across this article about UFO sightings in British Columbia. Did you know that there are over 300 sightings here every single year? Mostly in Surrey you say? I dunno it’s crazy. I only mention it because the article contains what I believe to be one of the more superior sentences of the English language:
“I like to consider myself skeptical,” said Heather Anderson, director of the B.C. Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society, a three-year-old organization.
That’s…….terrible. :(
Anyways, you should continue reading after that sentence, because they go on to describe the B.C. Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society (BCGHRS)’s highly skeptical investigation into the mysterious case of what may be a haunted apartment complex on Marine Drive. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but it turns out there are ghosts there.
Wow actually that page is like an insane bottomless pit of craziness that never stops giving. Take John Kirk, president of the B.C. Scientific Cryptozoology Club and tireless protector of Samsquanch habitats. He has no time for baseless fantasies like ghosts or leprechauns or pirates. “We have absolutely no interest in the paranormal whatsoever,” he says. “Our entire investigations are based on the principles of science. And we have arrived at conclusions rather than beliefs.”
SFU psychologist Barry Beyerstein responds to Kirk and his ilk:
“Some of it is kind of a chip on the shoulder, wanting to prove the experts wrong,” he said. “[Or that] despite the fact we’ve messed up the world and polluted it, there are some creatures that are too smart for us and keep out of our clutches and … remind us that we aren’t so smart after all.”
Turns out we actually are so smart after all! Go us!
Here’s some Canadian stats about paranormal belief: a 2003 Ipsos-Reid poll about “God and Other Mysteries.”