According to a Gallup poll, more than a few people believe in ghosts. One in four Americans who were polled say they do. One in ten claims to have seen or spent time with ghosts. One in six says he or she has talked to a deceased person.
Why would so many people believe in ghosts or invisible spirits? The rise of spiritualism in the last century has been associated with the aftermath of the Civil War in the United States. Many families lost relatives in that war. The grief was on such a large scale that it apparently led many people into emotional hopes that spiritualistic communication with loved ones was possible.
As people in this century feel subject to rapid and sometimes disorienting change, perhaps the belief in ghosts represents an effort to resolve the past and not to lose the familiar. Or, as materialism attempts to define the nature of man as a wholly physical being, maybe the belief in "otherworldly" phenomena indicates the heart's hunger for affirmation of something that endures beyond the disintegration of matter.
