Spooky Season: National Ghost Hunting Day
By Jeff Ayers — / Lifestyle
Do you believe in ghosts?
Everyone has a ghost story. Whether it is something you experienced directly, or a story that was passed on to you, there are countless tales involving something spooky. You don't even have to fully believe in ghosts to see their lasting impact on storytelling and popular culture, as they often make their unearthly appearances in movies and TV shows.
Ghost hunting, in particular, isn't a new thing. And in the last decade, you may have especially noticed an influx of ghost hunting shows. In fact, a recent study found that 46% of Americans believe in ghosts today, compared to just about 11% 40 years ago. According to my Casper calculations, that means the belief in ghosts is up over 400% in the last four decades. So it is only fitting that there is a national holiday set aside to recognize the ghost hunters out there.
For as long as there have been ghost stories, there have been people interested in figuring out the mysteries behind them. In 1862, The Ghost Club was formed to investigate hauntings at that time, and some of the first members of the club included prominent authors Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens.
Since 2016, National Ghost Hunting Day has been recognized as the last Saturday in September, and the day celebrates the ghost hunters—from novice to expert—and their investigations. Plus, you can find ghost hunts happening all over the world that day as part of the World's Largest Ghost Hunt event, with many of the investigations streaming live for you to watch all day and night. If you do plan on staying up all night to get spooky with all the world's ghost hunters, then you should probably take some of the World's Strongest Coffee along on your adventures as well.
In 2020, I visited the Lizzie Borden House and Museum and spent the night trying to contact the ghosts that are said to still haunt the site of one of the most gruesome murders in American history. I might have made contact with some of those spirits, and you can judge for yourself with the footage we collected in our video recap of my experiences there.
If you are interested in learning even more about ghosts and the possible scientific explanations behind some of the most famous hauntings, you can watch our “Science of Ghosts” segment from our Halloween Science Series.
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