Weird

Over half of Americans claim they have been visited by a dead relative

Fifty-three percent of Americans polled said they have been visited by a dead relative. Women and religious people were more likely than others.

Tombstones mark graves at the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Portsmouth, Va.
Steve Helber/AP
SMS

A new poll released by the Pew Research Center found that most American adults said that they have been visited in some form by a dead relative. 

According to Pew, 53% of Americans say they felt a deceased family member has visited them. The poll found 46% have been visited in a dream, while 31% say they have experienced a dead relative in some other form. 

Women were considerably more likely to say they have been visited by a dead relative. The poll found that 63% of women have been visited, compared to 42% of men. 

Those who are atheist and agnostic were also far less likely than Protestants and Catholics to say they have been visited. But what's notable is it was those who are moderately religious, and not weekly church attendees, who were more likely to report being visited. 

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The poll also found that in the last 12 months, 28% of Americans said they have told dead family members about events in their life. Pew also found that 15% of Americans said they have communicated with dead family members in the last year. 

"While the survey asked whether people have had interactions with dead relatives, it did not ask for explanations. We don’t know whether people view these experiences as mysterious or supernatural, or whether they see them as having natural or scientific causes, or some of both," Pew said. 

The poll included over 5,000 adults and was conducted from March 27 to April 2.