Ghostly Encounters
Recent studies find that three in four U.S. adults hold at least one paranormal belief. One in five say they have seen or been in the presence of a ghost. Although some scholars expected paranormal beliefs to decline with the rise of science, these beliefs persist. Why do people today believe in ghosts? Do people who believe that ghosts exist or that they have encountered a ghost face stigma from others? Why are these encounters such meaningful experiences for the people who claimed to have had them? During the Fall 2022 semester, students in Professor Renfrow’s sociology of the paranormal collected oral history interviews to answer these and other important questions about this potentially discrediting set of beliefs.
