Boo Who?

Just in time for the holiday, a story that ought to scare you.

One third of people polled by the AP believe in ghosts and UFOs.

The poll was conducted by phone over two days consisting of over 1000 people, which right there should tell you something about the results. What kind of Samsonite answers the phone to participate in a survey about make believe things? Here are some of the other discoveries that the fine field of statistical science brings us:

>19% polled accept the existence of spells or witchcraft. 100% of those people read all seven Harry Potter books.

>48% responded they believe in ESP (extra-sensory perception). Over half the kids I went to school with were in ESL (English as a second language).

>23% of folks think they've seen a ghost or been in the presence of one. In the presence of? Are you sure it wasn't just a drafty window?

>18% of those who've seen a spook identified themselves as conservatives, while nearly twice that number sided with liberals. By the data alone, doesn't that seem obvious?

To put this in perspective with other polls and topics, 36% said they are baseball fans, 37% felt the U.S. made the right decision to invade Iraq, and 31% approve of the job President Bush is doing. Methinks the sampling group was primed to offer those results. Were they all red state farmers? I could tell you about the further polling on superstitions and how the demographics break down, but I feel we're establishing a pretty incredible un-credible set of poll respondents. Or ones who are more frightening than the results their beliefs speak to.