West Virginia ranks number one for paranormal investigations
GHENT, WV (WVNS) — One of many topics that can be associated with the Mountain State is ghosts, cryptids, and a variety of the paranormal.
The many feet of the most famous cryptid
According to a study held by JeffBet, paranormal investigations are most common in West Virginia, and many keywords related to the paranormal, such as ‘ghost orb,’ were studied to discover what states were most interested in paranormal investigations.
West Virginia took the top spot with an average of 403 searches per 100,000 people each month, which is 67 percent higher than the national average of 241 searches per 100,000 residents. According to the keywords that were analyzed for the study, common paranormal search terms that West Virginian’s searched for included ‘spirit box,’ ghost hunting,’ and ‘cold spots.’
While West Virginia came out on top for a high interest in ghost hunting, the state with the second highest interest in tracking the paranormal went to Alaska. Alaska’s searches were 35 percent higher than the US average with 326 monthly searches per 100,000 people.
The wild and not-so-wonderful cryptids of West Virginia
Third place goes to Colorado with 305 monthly searches per 100,000 residents, 27 percent higher than the US average. Oregon took fourth place with 295 monthly searches per 100,000 residents, and fifth place went to Nevada with 288 monthly searches per 100,000 residents.
While West Virginia took the top spot for an interest in ghost hunting, Mississippi took the top spot for the exact opposite. Mississippi is the state with the least interest in ghost hunting with a total of 161 monthly searches per 100,000 people, which is 47 percent below the national average.
Second place for the states with the fewest searches goes to New Jersey at 42 percent below the national average, with 178 searches per 100,000 people. Louisiana came in third place with 194 searched for each 100,000 people, coming in at 36 percent below the national average.
The question of whether the paranormal exists or is fiction is a long-debated topic – and one where the answer will greatly depend on who you are asking. Judging by these findings, if you are speaking to someone in West Virginia, it’s significantly more likely that they’ll be arguing the former. The difference from state to state in how many residents are actively hunting for proof of paranormal activity could reflect where views the thought of afterlife as comforting, and where see it as unrealistic – or perhaps, just where would rather leave the undead be.
Jeffbet Spokesperson
According to the analyzed search terms, some of the most popular searched for paranormal related keywords in America were ‘Ouija Board’ and ‘Spirit box.’ The search terms, 133,914 and 161,705 respectively, show that communicating likely plays a large part for those who are interested in paranormal investigations.
Some of the paranormal investigation related search terms that were involved in the study included ‘poltergeist hunting,’ ‘best thermal camera for ghost hunting,’ ‘how to hunt ghosts,’ ‘where to buy spirit box,’ and ‘demon hunting equipment.’
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