Not surprising to me.
New York Gallup reports today that its latest poll found that one in three Americans “believe in ghosts.†The numbers: 32% of all adults say they believe that “ghosts/spirits of dead people can come back,†while 48% do not, and 19% are unsure.
An even larger number of Americans believe that houses can be haunted, with 37% holding that position, 46% saying no, and 16% not sure.
There's an ideological twist, with 42% of liberals saying they believe in ghosts--but only 25% of conservatives and 35% of moderates saying this.
Belief in ghosts declines with age, with 45 of those 18 to 29 sticking to that, while only22% of those 65 and over holding that view.
The poll was based on interviews with 1,002 adults, with plus or minus 3% sampling error.
Great Caesar's Ghost! Gallup finds 1 in 3 Americans Believe Houses Can Be Haunted
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Great Caesar's Ghost! Gallup finds 1 in 3 Americans Believe Houses Can Be Haunted
I think older people don't believe in ghosts because it's not the best destination when one dies. And with death getting closer, .................
I'm always hearing about ghosts being lost souls who've lost their way. Others talk about spirits just hangin' out around their old haunts (so to speak). Did the article make a distinction?
I'm always hearing about ghosts being lost souls who've lost their way. Others talk about spirits just hangin' out around their old haunts (so to speak). Did the article make a distinction?
Great Caesar's Ghost! Gallup finds 1 in 3 Americans Believe Houses Can Be Haunted
MY Ghost Story:** * ** * * ** **
Ghosts, like UFOs are never believed by people unless that person has actually experienced it.
As for ghosts.....Here's my personal experience. Make of it what you will.
In the late sixties, my very progressive parents took to taking in runaway flower children in Boulder, Colorado. These "hippies" were usually younger girls, who were destitute and homeless. My father was a scientist for the National Bureau of Standards, so we had space and money to burn.
The only rules that applied to the guest were:
1. You had to be in school or have a job. My family helped with both of those things.
2. No drugs in the house.
In exchange for this small behavior, the runaway was made an honorary member of our family. They ate at our table, stayed rent-free, and played with us kids.
One day a girl came along who was very different from some of the rowdier drifters that had stayed with us. her name was Rae Jean Kelly.
She had runaway from an abusive father, and I have to tell you, she was everything that was right about the flower power movement. She was a joy to be with, she wrote songs and excellent poetry. She played Sitar music and burned incense and was highly intelligent.
Although she had been through some hard times, and was sleeping in the street when we found her, she bounced back with an unparalleled enthusiasm.
With my family's help, she went back to school, cleaned up and began what we were all sure was a wonderful life.
She often stated that she had never really had a "real childhood or family" and that the experience had changed her and given her hope.
Then............one fateful night......She went for a ride with some of her friends on a high cliff road. The driver had been taking LSD. No one is quite sure what happened, but everyone in the car was killed. Rae Jean went into a coma and never woke up.
We were all distraught, of course. I was only 9 at the time but Rae jean had been my baby-sitter for over a year so I missed her terribly.
Her room had been downstairs next to mine, everyone else lived upstairs. About two nights after she had died. I began to have dreams. I felt as if someone was in my room.
During the course of the next few weeks, things got worse. I began to wake up in the middle of the night and hear music coming from her room. I could smell incense burning. Her perfume hung in the air throughout the house.
I finally couldn't take it any more, so I asked my mom one day if I could move upstairs. When she asked why, I told her what was going on.
She got the most horrified expression I have ever seen on an adult then or now. Apparently, she had also been having "experiences". She found the bed slept in every morning, despite the fact the the door had been locked.
She had found the furniture moved, and records on the turntable. Needless to say, we soon moved to a different house.
That would seem to be the end of this story, but a couple of years ago, I passed through Boulder again and decided to see my old homestead.
A nice German lady agreed to give me a tour of the house, despite the fact that her husband and son had been killed in a tragic plane crash the month before.
As I entered the house, I got that strange "hair standing up" feeling again. When we got to the room that used to be Rae Jean's, I noticed that the door was still padlocked shut.
I asked what that room was used for now and the poor lady turned pure white while she stammered, "No one goes in there anymore."
She went on to explain that the room had a history dating back to the original owners (us). This is interesting because we never told anyone about Rae Jean. It was a personal family secret.
Apparently, guests who had stayed in the room had terrible experiences. Attacks in the middle of the night, sheets being pulled off, books flying, that kind of thing.
Worse yet, the three families that had owned the house since us had all had terrible tragic deaths in their family.
You see my point don't you? Rae Jean is still there. Why? I don't know. Maybe it was the only place she felt comfortable in her whole life. Maybe she's waiting for us to return. Maybe she's just lost.
But there's no doubt in my mind anymore.
Ghosts exist.
Ghosts, like UFOs are never believed by people unless that person has actually experienced it.
As for ghosts.....Here's my personal experience. Make of it what you will.
In the late sixties, my very progressive parents took to taking in runaway flower children in Boulder, Colorado. These "hippies" were usually younger girls, who were destitute and homeless. My father was a scientist for the National Bureau of Standards, so we had space and money to burn.
The only rules that applied to the guest were:
1. You had to be in school or have a job. My family helped with both of those things.
2. No drugs in the house.
In exchange for this small behavior, the runaway was made an honorary member of our family. They ate at our table, stayed rent-free, and played with us kids.
One day a girl came along who was very different from some of the rowdier drifters that had stayed with us. her name was Rae Jean Kelly.
She had runaway from an abusive father, and I have to tell you, she was everything that was right about the flower power movement. She was a joy to be with, she wrote songs and excellent poetry. She played Sitar music and burned incense and was highly intelligent.
Although she had been through some hard times, and was sleeping in the street when we found her, she bounced back with an unparalleled enthusiasm.
With my family's help, she went back to school, cleaned up and began what we were all sure was a wonderful life.
She often stated that she had never really had a "real childhood or family" and that the experience had changed her and given her hope.
Then............one fateful night......She went for a ride with some of her friends on a high cliff road. The driver had been taking LSD. No one is quite sure what happened, but everyone in the car was killed. Rae Jean went into a coma and never woke up.
We were all distraught, of course. I was only 9 at the time but Rae jean had been my baby-sitter for over a year so I missed her terribly.
Her room had been downstairs next to mine, everyone else lived upstairs. About two nights after she had died. I began to have dreams. I felt as if someone was in my room.
During the course of the next few weeks, things got worse. I began to wake up in the middle of the night and hear music coming from her room. I could smell incense burning. Her perfume hung in the air throughout the house.
I finally couldn't take it any more, so I asked my mom one day if I could move upstairs. When she asked why, I told her what was going on.
She got the most horrified expression I have ever seen on an adult then or now. Apparently, she had also been having "experiences". She found the bed slept in every morning, despite the fact the the door had been locked.
She had found the furniture moved, and records on the turntable. Needless to say, we soon moved to a different house.
That would seem to be the end of this story, but a couple of years ago, I passed through Boulder again and decided to see my old homestead.
A nice German lady agreed to give me a tour of the house, despite the fact that her husband and son had been killed in a tragic plane crash the month before.
As I entered the house, I got that strange "hair standing up" feeling again. When we got to the room that used to be Rae Jean's, I noticed that the door was still padlocked shut.
I asked what that room was used for now and the poor lady turned pure white while she stammered, "No one goes in there anymore."
She went on to explain that the room had a history dating back to the original owners (us). This is interesting because we never told anyone about Rae Jean. It was a personal family secret.
Apparently, guests who had stayed in the room had terrible experiences. Attacks in the middle of the night, sheets being pulled off, books flying, that kind of thing.
Worse yet, the three families that had owned the house since us had all had terrible tragic deaths in their family.
You see my point don't you? Rae Jean is still there. Why? I don't know. Maybe it was the only place she felt comfortable in her whole life. Maybe she's waiting for us to return. Maybe she's just lost.
But there's no doubt in my mind anymore.
Ghosts exist.
All the world's a stage and the men and women merely players...Shakespeare
Great Caesar's Ghost! Gallup finds 1 in 3 Americans Believe Houses Can Be Haunted
When I was a kid we lived in a house that was about 90 years old. It was a two story colonial style with a big attic and a basement.
We had a boxer dog that was very alert and protective.
One day my mother and I were the only ones at home and we were on the main floor of the house. Suddenly the dog went to the bottom of the stairs and began that low growl with her ears laid back and the hair on her back standing up. We heard what sounded like dice being rolled on the upstairs landing. In a minute the dog settled down and we went upstairs. Sure enough, there they were…a pair of dice laying there on the hardwood floor.
We had a boxer dog that was very alert and protective.
One day my mother and I were the only ones at home and we were on the main floor of the house. Suddenly the dog went to the bottom of the stairs and began that low growl with her ears laid back and the hair on her back standing up. We heard what sounded like dice being rolled on the upstairs landing. In a minute the dog settled down and we went upstairs. Sure enough, there they were…a pair of dice laying there on the hardwood floor.
Schooling results in matriculation. Education is a process that changes the learner.
Great Caesar's Ghost! Gallup finds 1 in 3 Americans Believe Houses Can Be Haunted
well I believe in ghost. But I am still a little skeptical . I would like to witness some. or hear some stories.
kmhowe