Many people have tried to-or claimed to-communicate with spirits over the centuries in Victorian England, for example, it was fashionable for upper-crust ladies to hold séances in their parlors after tea with friends. Such beliefs offer many people comfort - who doesn’t want to believe that our departed loved ones are looking out for us, or with us in times of need?
Belief in ghosts is part of a larger web of related paranormal beliefs, including near-death experience, life after death, and spirit communication. It even spawned a folklore genre: ghost stories. The idea that the dead remain with us in spirit is ancient, and appears in countless stories from the Bible to Macbeth. In fact, ghosts are among the most widely believed of paranormal phenomena: Millions of people are interested in ghosts, and a 2019 Ipsos/YouGov poll found that 45% of Americans say that ghosts “definitely or probably exist.”
Cultures all around the world believe in spirits that survive death to dwell in another realm.