New poll results about paranormal belief in the UK show that “earth mysteries” are really popular across the pond. US surveys don’t ask about these beliefs, so we can’t compare. That is just one of many complications that make it difficult to make sense out of poll numbers reflecting levels of paranormal beliefs over time.
Over the years, I’ve tracked belief in paranormal concepts, mostly in the US. It’s been interesting to see people claim that belief has increased, because it’s very much more complicated than that. Factors that increase or decrease not only belief, but social acceptance of those beliefs, are many and various. Media certainly has something to do with it, as well as a rejection of traditional religious practices. Several studies have found a correlation with between religion and the paranormal.
Yearly surveys are common, but not all are good. You can read about difficulties with belief surveys here:
I have updated my tracking table regarding ghost belief to include the one report I found for 2024. It’s fun to look at and ponder but is it really useful? I don’t know.
| DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS? Yearly polling results | ||
| Year | Source | % belief in ghosts |
| 2003 | Harris | 51 |
| 2005 | Gallup | 32 |
| 2007 | Baylor-Religion | 49 |
| 2008 | Harris | 44 |
| 2008 | Ipsos.McClatchy | 57 |
| 2009 | Pew | 18 * |
| 2009 | Harris | 33 |
| 2010 | Harris | 51 |
| 2010 | Gallup | 56 |
| 2011 | YouGov | 36 |
| 2012 | YouGov/Huff. Post | 45 |
| 2013 | Harris | 42 |
| 2016 | Chapman | 47 |
| 2017 | Chapman | 52 |
| 2017 | YouGov | 45 |
| 2018 | Chapman | 58 |
| 2019 | YouGov | 45 |
| 2021 | YouGov | 41 |
| 2021 | Statista | 36 |
| 2023 | NORC | 50 |
| 2023 | RealClear | 61 |
| 2024 | Civic Science | 41 |
A new paper came out measuring belief in paranormal concepts in the UK.[1] It’s not surprising that there would be a difference in popularity of certain beliefs between the US and UK. For example, I would guess that the US population has a higher percentage of belief in UFOs and Bigfoot, but I should not assume because these polls are always tricky to interpret and not reliable. From the abstract:
The study makes four contributions to research on the paranormal by a) reiterating the continuing popularity of paranormal beliefs, even in highly secularized locations, with over 70% of people in the United Kingdom believing in something paranormal; b) demonstrating that these beliefs are differentiated across contexts where they might otherwise be assumed to be similar; c) demonstrating the applicability of social control and bounded affinity theories for explaining belief in the paranormal;
and, d) documenting how conventional religiosity relates to paranormalism in a relatively secular cultural context. These findings highlight the need for further research on diffuse forms of supernaturalism
and the potential for such studies to contribute to important questions about theory and research in sociology.
The 70% may be surprising at first, however, it is similar to the U.S. When you give an array of people a list of many choices, they likely will favor at least a few.
You can read the entire paper here. Let’s look at the top beliefs that showed up in this survey.
The highest levels of belief were reported for issues related to earth mysteries, with belief in dowsing (45.6%) and ley lines (41.5%) registering the highest affirmative responses. Beyond this, the highest levels of belief were reported for black magic (36.3%), hauntings (35.9%), mysterious creatures (32.9%), and curses (30.0%). The lowest levels of belief were reported for belief in Bigfoot (14.8%), the U.K. Wildman (14.8%), and fairies (15.4%).
Dowsing and ley lines! I have thoughts. Obviously, earth mysteries relates to my interest in spooky geology. I have first-hand experience in seeing how attached people are to their belief in dowsing. I have also seen the increased mention of ley lines in paranormal contexts. Currently, reports of spook lights or encounters with mysterious balls of light (BOL) are increasing, particularly related to cryptids. The association with “window areas” and, in turn, a connection to earth energies, is a given.
Belief in dowsing and ley lines might be less in the US because, at least for leys, the concept began in the UK and is more tied to their history and heritage. However, I don’t recall either of these being an option in US surveys. That is unsurprising as you have to limit your choices and such surveys already include a pretty long list related to cryptids, ghosts, aliens, Atlantis, psi, etc. So I do wonder what the comparison would really be regarding dowsing and leys in the US vs UK, especially considering the rising media inclusion of BOL and high strangeness areas.
I’m unclear why this these two options were included in this recent UK survey. I haven’t seen their inclusion before. In the past surveys (done by Baker and Bader) the focus was more on fears, but included paranormal beliefs such as ancient civilizations and telekinesis. “Black magic” was framed as demons or the devil. It’s similar but may not be interpreted the same way by respondents. As always, the phrasing of questions is always a problem. Notice the phrasing in this survey (with the percentage of “belief” shown):
- Dowsing can be used to detect water, minerals and other elements 46.5
- Lines of energy, sometimes called “ley lines,” connect ancient structures 41.5
- Black Magic exists 36.3
- Places can be haunted by spirits 35.9
- Mysterious creatures, previously thought extinct, still inhabit this world 32.9
- Curses can be used to inflict harm or punishment on someone 30.0
- The ancient, advanced civilization of Atlantis, once existed 26.3
- Aliens have visited the Earth in our ancient past 25.6
- Some crop circles are created by non-human forces or energies 25.4
- Alien Big Cats (ABCs) roam the British countryside 21.6
- Aliens have come to Earth in modern times 21.6
- Some people can move objects with their minds (telekinesis) 19.5
- The Loch Ness Monster exists 19.5
- Fortune tellers and psychics can foresee the future 18.9
- The Abominable Snowman exists 15.9
- Fairies have the power to influence the human world 15.4
- Bigfoot is a real creature 14.8
- The U.K. Wildman, sometimes known as “the British Bigfoot,” exists 14.8
- Believe in at least one item above 78.3
- Believe in at least one item above (excluding earth mysteries) 71.5
I could critique the phrasing on almost all of them for some reason. Just a one word change may prompt a different answer. Example: “Mysterious creatures, previously thought extinct, still inhabit this world”. What does that even mean? Ivory billed woodpeckers? Dinosaurs? It’s a terrible phrasing structure, but you have to do some lumping to be as comprehensive as possible. The ley lines question puts them in context of connecting ancient structures but also loops in “lines of energy”. This conflates multiple ideas about leys.
Similarly, those who respond to these questions may not have a full understanding of what is being described. Many people mistakenly think that dowsing has some strange, but scientific, basis. As with ley lines, the idea of “energy” from the earth may suggest that there is some natural component at work that we haven’t yet discovered. Those kinds of belief may seem less paranormal than aliens, curses, or magic. Typically, higher education is correlated with lower levels of belief, but not in all concepts. This complexity shows how difficult it is to parse out why people believe weird things.
In conclusion, while I find these surveys interesting, there is a lot going on in the background and interpretations are context-dependent, which renders the percentages suspect. I’m beginning to question if we can make any kinds of concrete assumptions from them. The latest study concludes that the researchers are hopeful that “social scientists will further explore this interesting and consequential form of culture, across a wider range of social contexts.” I agree with this – paranormal beliefs are an important part of our culture and need to be recognized as such – but I would prefer a careful approach. Reported high percentages of belief in the paranormal sure are interesting, but is not something to fret about. It has always been, and always will be present.
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- Tom Clark, Joseph O. Baker & Christopher D. Bader (10 Feb 2025): Marginalized, Secularized, and Popularized? The Prevalence and Patterns of Paranormal Belief in the United Kingdom, The Sociological Quarterly, DOI: 10.1080/00380253.2025.2461298