More than one in five Brits believe their house is haunted, according to new survey

Whenever Halloween comes around, all things paranormal enter our thoughts and it turns out many of us Brits (69 per cent) believe ghosts, spirits and apparitions are real – and not just figments of our imagination.

In a Paramount+ survey to celebrate the launch of the new supernatural thriller, The Burning Girls, it found that 38 per cent are convinced they have seen something ghostly that unnerved them, with 51 per cent of those insisting the presence was friendly (phew).

It seems homes are a popular place for the paranormal as 21 per cent say a spirit resides there, while one in ten (10 per cent) believe a family member’s house is haunted.

Other haunting spots include the neighbour's house, and even in their office at work (6 per cent) while 4 per cent believe their car is haunted.

The office is one of the places mentioned as a haunting spot by 6 per cent of the 2,000 Britons surveyed.iStockphoto by Getty Images

Londoners (75 per cent) are most likely to believe in the paranormal, followed by Mancunians (70 per cent), while residents from Edinburgh (47 per cent) and Cambridge (54 per cent) are the least likely to believe.

The Burnings Girls sees Reverend Jack Brooks (Samantha Morton) and her daughter Flo (Ruby Stokes) move to the sleepy village of Chapel Croft, unaware of its dark secrets.

After strong advice not to delve into the village’s past, Jack begins to question the disappearance of two teenage girls, who vanished thirty-years ago.

CJ Tudor, author of The Burning Girls and Executive Producer of the series, said: “I’ve always found belief in the supernatural interesting, and it’s intriguing that so many Brits are believers - with many claiming to have had their own experiences.

"The idea of things we don’t understand or there being something ‘other than this world’ will always fascinate people and draw them into stories which examine those beliefs.”

Overall, as many as 30 per cent believe the town they live in to be haunted, while 17 per cent of those polled have been spooked by local ghost tales about where they live.

While 16 per cent of Brits say they would go out and hunt the ghost if there was paranormal activity in their town, while a tenth (nine per cent) admit they would leave the area immediately. An entrepreneurial nine per cent would start a tour guide business.

The nation's intrigue around the paranormal is clear to see with our TV and film choices with 69 per cent admitting they love watching shows around this spooky topic.

Modern Brits (18 to 29 years old) are most likely to tune into a spooky show (77 per cent) with over 60s, the least likely (57 per cent).

The Burning Girls is available to watch now exclusively on Paramount+.

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