The SlotsLV Spookiest States Survey: America’s Supernatural Secrets
Almost half of the U.S. adults in our survey (48%) said they would consider buying or renting a home believed to be haunted if it were cheaper than a comparable property.
When we asked respondents to choose one of five spooky overnight scenarios for a fixed $10,000 reward, 39% chose a haunted house.
Our team surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults across 10 states to explore supernatural beliefs, paranormal experiences and the choices people say they would make when the unexplained becomes personal.
The survey covered:
- Ghosts, aliens and other paranormal beliefs
- Personal experiences with unexplained activity
- Zombie-outbreak survival confidence
- Whether a cheaper haunted home would tempt buyers or renters
- Supernatural dating dealbreakers
- A $10,000 spooky overnight challenge
Here are some of the most interesting findings from the survey:
Which State Believes in Ghosts the Most?
Our Spookiest States survey found that Vermont had the highest share of respondents who said ghosts or spirits could be real, at 90%.
| Rank | State | Ghosts or spirits could be real |
| 1 | Vermont | 90% |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | 85% |
| 3 | Minnesota | 76% |
| 4 | Florida | 76% |
| 5 | Washington | 74% |
| 6 | Maine | 72% |
| 7 | Texas | 72% |
| 8 | North Dakota | 72% |
| 9 | Michigan | 71% |
| 10 | California | 70% |
What Percentage of Surveyed Americans Believe Ghosts Could Be Real?
Our survey showed that belief in ghosts topped the list of supernatural phenomena by a wide margin.
The survey also found that 75% of respondents said they believe ghosts or spirits could be real – comfortably the most widely believed phenomenon of everything surveyed. For most respondents from these ten states, ghosts aren’t just tales from campfire stories, but a genuine possibility.
And it’s not just ghosts. Over half (56%) believe in haunted houses or buildings, and 51% believe extraterrestrial life could be real.
Nearly as many believe UFOs have visited Earth (44%), with the same percentage believing in supernatural or demonic possession.
Belief in curses trails slightly behind, at just under 4 in 10 (37%).
Which State Believes in Alien Abductions the Most?
North Dakota stands out in alien-abduction belief. In our survey, 41% of North Dakotans said alien abductions could be real, the highest share among the 10 states surveyed.
| Rank | State | Believe alien abductions could be real |
| 1 | North Dakota | 41% |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | 28% |
| 3 | California | 28% |
| 4 | Michigan | 27% |
| 5 | Maine | 24% |
| 6 | Vermont | 24% |
| 7 | Minnesota | 24% |
| 8 | Florida | 23% |
| 9 | Texas | 23% |
| 10 | Washington | 17% |
North Dakota Also Reports the Highest Rate of Unexplained Activity
Eight in 10 North Dakotans in our survey (82%) said they had personally experienced unexplained noises or activity in a building, the highest share among the states surveyed.
Over half of North Dakotans believe in demonic possession (51%), and the state’s top three most believed supernatural phenomena include ghosts or spirits (72%), haunted houses (56%), and extraterrestrial life (56%).
A further 31% said they had seen an unexplained creature or figure, also the highest state result in our survey.
Which State Believes in Ghosts the Least?
California sits at the bottom of the ghost-belief ranking, but the result is still high: 70% of Californians in the survey said ghosts or spirits could be real.
California’s answers also vary depending on the phenomenon. Six in 10 Californians (60%) said extraterrestrial life could be real, the second-highest result among the 10 states surveyed.
Zombie confidence is lower. One in four Californians (25%) selected the response that they would be fine because they had prepared and had a plan.
Which State Chose a Haunted House Most Often in the $10,000 Challenge?
Florida provides one of the clearest risk-versus-reward stories in our survey.
We asked respondents to choose one of five spooky overnight scenarios for a fixed $10,000 reward, and 44% of Floridians chose the haunted house, the highest share among the states surveyed, sitting above the overall survey result of 39%.
Florida also records high ghost belief, with 76% of Floridians saying ghosts or spirits could be real.
How Long Do Surveyed Americans Think They’d Survive a Zombie Outbreak?
Respondents had mixed expectations about how long they’d survive a zombie outbreak.
Our survey found that 32% of respondents selected ‘I’d be fine – I’ve prepared and have a plan’, making it the most common of the five zombie-survival responses.
Men were more confident than women on this measure: 38% of men selected the prepared/plan response, compared with 25% of women.
Women were also twice as likely as men to say they probably would not survive at all (22% vs 11%), highlighting a clear confidence gap between the sexes when it comes to doomsday planning.
Which Generation Feels Most Prepared for a Zombie Outbreak?
Confidence in surviving a zombie outbreak also varied by generation.
Gen X reported the highest confidence of any age group, while Boomers were the most likely to believe they wouldn’t survive at all.
| Generation | I’d be fine – I’ve prepared and have a plan | Less than a day | I probably wouldn’t survive |
| Gen X | 36% | 12% | 17% |
| Millennials | 34% | 13% | 9% |
| Gen Z | 31% | 10% | 10% |
| Boomers | 25% | 12% | 30% |
| Overall survey | 32% | 12% | 16% |
Which State Believes in Demonic Possession the Most?
Texans also reported confidence in surviving a zombie outbreak: 35% said they’d be fine because they had prepared and had a plan, compared with 32% overall.
Texas recorded the highest belief in supernatural or demonic possession among the 10 states surveyed, at 53%. In the relationship question, 38% of Texans did not select a possessed partner as an instant dealbreaker.
Would an Alien Reveal Be a Dating Dealbreaker?
For many respondents, a partner who was secretly an alien wasn’t an instant dealbreaker.
According to our survey, nearly 7 in 10 respondents did not consider discovering that their partner was secretly an alien as an instant dealbreaker, making alien the least frequently selected dealbreaker among the supernatural reveals tested.
Ghosts (68%) and werewolves (65%) weren’t far behind.
How We Ranked America’s Spookiest States
For a simple comparison across the 10 states surveyed, we ranked states by the percentage of respondents who said ghosts or spirits could be real.
Rankings use the underlying unrounded percentages, while the figures shown are rounded to the nearest whole percentage.
Methodology
SlotsLV surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults aged 18+ via the platform OnePulse on August 28, 2026.
Sampling: Respondents were recruited via OnePulse across 10 selected U.S. states, and state rankings and comparisons in this study refer only to the 10 states surveyed. The 10 selected states were: California, Florida, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont and Washington.
Weighting. Each state is weighted based on the number of respondents. These weightings are:
- California: 13%
- Florida: 13%
- Maine: 10%
- Michigan: 11%
- Minnesota: 10%
- North Dakota: 4%
- Pennsylvania: 11%
- Texas: 15%
- Vermont: 3%
- Washington: 10%
The survey explored Americans’ paranormal beliefs and experiences, including belief in ghosts, curses, and possession; personal paranormal experiences; and attitudes toward supernatural scenarios, broken down by state, age, and gender.
The survey also asked respondents about their confidence in surviving a zombie apocalypse as well as which supernatural partner revelations they would consider an instant relationship dealbreaker and where they would draw the line.