Ghosts over government: People believe in spirits more than they trust the government

SHEFFIELD, United Kingdom — Just how bad are the polls for those in political office right now? It turns out more people are putting their faith in the dead than in living politicians! A new survey finds there are more people who believe in ghosts than trust their government.

The poll of nearly 1,000 people in the United Kingdom, commissioned by SpiritShack Ltd, found that 50 percent believe in the existence of ghosts. Meanwhile, just one in five say they have faith in the government.

Speaking of the government, researchers found that more people believe in ghostly spirits (50%) than they do in “Big Brother” — the belief that the government has everything you do under constant surveillance (38%). It also turns out that more than twice as many people believe in ghosts than trust in the media.

‘I ain't afraid of no ghost'

A belief in ghosts is actually more common than believing in astrology (23%) or magic (12%). In fact, 18 percent of respondents say they've had contact actual with a ghost. Luckily, many of these are not the horror movie kind of encounters — as only 23 percent say they're afraid of these spirits.

According to the survey, the only supernatural phenomena people believe in more are déjà vu and aliens. Three in five respondents believe in both of these topics. One in 20 add they've actually seen or interacted with a UFO.

When it comes to religion, Catholics are more likely to say they believe in ghosts (64%) than other Christians (53%), agnostics (42%), and atheists (37%). Although atheists are the least likely to fear a spooky ghost (17%), just one in three Catholics said the same — pointing to most people actually having a positive opinion of these supernatural visitors.

Interestingly, one in three young adults in Gen Z say they're afraid of ghosts, making them the most fearful of any generation in the poll. Just 16 percent of baby boomers say ghosts creep them out.

When researchers asked the 994 Britons in the survey what actually frightens them, three in four said climate change. Another 65 percent fear cyberattacks, and 55 percent picked germs and illnesses.