37% Believe In Ghosts, Poll Says

UTICA, NY - For a sizeable number of U.S. adults, ghosts are more than just pranksters in costume for Halloween.

A Zogby Interactive poll found that 37% say they believe in human or animal ghosts, 23% believe they have been visited by a dead relative or friend, and 20% say they have seen or heard a ghost.

Another 22% say that while they have not experienced a ghost, they know someone who says they have. It is a topic which seems to capture the imagination of respondents, as three in ten say they are interested in the supernatural.

The poll also asked about participation in Halloween activities, with 87% of people with children saying their kids dress up in costume and 71% trick-or-treat from house to house. Serial killers (such as Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers) costumes were chosen most scary by 35%, with the walking dead and zombies next at 22%.

Other findings included:

• If they could come back as aghost, 47% would come back as themselves

• 58% say they or their children take part in Halloween activities

• 12% do not participate in Halloween for religious reasons

• 67% say their children go to school or community Halloween functions

• 75% say candy is their favorite Halloween treat

• 38% believe in aliens

• 33% believe creatures such as Bigfoot do exist, but have managed to elude mankind

• 35% enjoy horror films

The interactive poll consisted of 2,100 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of +/-2.2%.  A sampling of Zogby International's online panel, which is representative of the adult population of the U.S., was invited to participate.  Slight weights were added to region, party, age, race, religion, gender, and education to more accurately reflect the population.