Paranormal in America

Paranormal Beliefs:

Sociology professors at Baylor University, Christopher D. Bader and Carson Mencken(http://www.paranormalamericabook.com/) discussed details of their survey about paranormal beliefs among various groups and ethnicities in the United States. Their work was meant to be a study of people who believe or research the paranormal, not an investigation of the phenomena itself. Interestingly, in their survey of typical Americans, they found that 68% of the respondents believed in at least one type or aspect of the paranormal. Accordingly, belief in the paranormal could now be considered normal, Mencken commented.

They found that belief in the paranormal tended to break down into two different types-- those that have a desire for adventure or discovery, such as Bigfoot or ghost hunters, and those who seek enlightenment or self-improvement such as people interested in psychic powers and astrology. Belief in UFOs was higher in men, while most of the other paranormal categories had a higher interest by women, Bader reported.

A lot of the paranormal topics are caught between religion and science, and accepted by neither. They noted that some Christian groups warn against involvement in the paranormal, and believe a lot of the phenomena is "the devil in disguise." Bader & Mencken recounted some of their field research which included a Bigfoot hunt, and a trip to a house said to be haunted by 150 demons. The Bigfoot expedition (documented in the episode "Swamp Stalker" of the TV show MonsterQuest) used "call blasting," audio of a screeching primate to try and attract the creature. The next morning, possible Bigfoot tracks were uncovered.

A C2C Insta-Poll, posed the question: Which paranormal beings or experiences do you believe in?
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/poll/view/48665

The picture is of their new book cover/Take the poll if interested..

Do you believe in the Paranormal?

Interesting results show many do.

One survey of the beliefs of the general United States population regarding paranormal topics was conducted by the Gallup Organization in 2005.[17] The survey found that 73 percent of those polled believed in at least one of the ten paranormal items presented in the survey. The ten items included in the survey were:
Extrasensory perception (41% held this belief),
haunted houses (37%), ghosts (32%),
telepathy (31%), clairvoyance (26%),
astrology (25%),
communication with the dead (21%),
witches (21%),
reincarnation (20%),
and channeling spiritual entities (9%)
. These items were selected as they "require the belief that humans have more than the 'normal' five senses." Only one percent of respondents believed in all ten items.

Another survey conducted in 2006 by researchers from Australia's Monash University[18] sought to determine what types of phenomena people claim to have experienced and the effects these experiences have had on their lives.
The study was conducted as an online survey with over 2,000 respondents from around the world participating. The results revealed that around 70% of the respondents believe to have had an unexplained paranormal event that changed their life, mostly in a positive way.
About 70% also claimed to have seen, heard, or been touched by an animal or person that they knew was not there;
80% have reported having a premonition, and almost 50% stated they recalled a previous life.