Creaks in the floorboards, cold drafts in the hallway, and the occasional bump in the night. Are these signs of something paranormal — or just signals that a home needs work?
With Halloween around the corner, Mad City Windows and Baths surveyed more than 2,400 people from 48 states to uncover how Americans think about haunted houses, and how those beliefs shape decisions about buying, selling, or fixing up a home.
The results reveal where belief in ghosts runs strongest, how fears of hauntings influence housing choices, and what’s truly behind the sounds that keep people up at night.
Haunted Homes and Housing Decisions
Belief in hauntings plays a role in how people think about where they live.
According to our survey, 57% of Americans would move if they thought their home was haunted — including 11% who said they’d leave immediately. At the same time, 56% would still consider buying a haunted house if it met their other criteria. Among that group, 18% don’t believe houses can be haunted, 16% said they’d buy one but only at a discount, and 4% admitted they’d actually want to live in one.
We also tested belief against housing costs. When asked to choose between today’s prices and living in a haunted home, more than half (56%) said they’d take their chances with the ghosts.
Rising costs, it turns out, are scarier than a potential haunting. But what’s creating the unexplained cold spots in your home, unexplained bumps in the night, and other phenomena?
What’s Behind the Bumps in the Night?
When hearing strange noises, 61% of Americans said they chalk it up to normal house sounds such as pipes or a settling foundation. Another 19% blame pets or people, 10% assume the noises are from outside, and only 6% point to ghosts. Most agree that “hauntings” have everyday explanations.
Homeowners worry about tangible issues in addition to paranormal ones. The biggest concerns when buying an older home are repair costs (90%), outdated systems (80%), mold arising from leaky pipes or outdated bathroom fixtures (73%), and roof issues (71%). Only 15% listed hauntings as a worry.
Comfort, homeowners said, comes from updates rather than exorcisms. Better insulation (44%) and new windows (28%) top the list of improvements that would make people feel more secure, while just 3% said they’d turn to a paranormal investigator.
Ghost stories may stir the imagination, but most homeowners know it’s the creaks, drafts, and upkeep that matter. Paranormal fears might make for fun conversation, but practical improvements, like replacing windows, reinforcing roofs, and modernizing insulation, keep homes feeling safe, comfortable, and free of “haunts.”
States That Believe in Ghosts the Most
We asked Americans three simple questions: do they believe in ghosts, would they move out if their home was haunted, and would they buy a home they knew was haunted? The answers revealed where belief in the paranormal is strongest, and how it shapes living decisions.
Using belief in ghosts as the starting point for our study, let’s take a look at the places where the paranormal seems to be part of everyday life and where skepticism is more common.
State Highlights on Paranormal Belief
Leading the way were Tennessee, South Dakota, and Louisiana, where more than three-quarters of residents said they believe in ghosts. That conviction can translate into how comfortable people feel in their homes. In Tennessee, for example, nearly two-thirds of residents told us they’d move out if their home was haunted. In Louisiana — a state known for its folklore and French Quarter ghost tours — 70% said they’d do the same.
Other states stand out for different reasons. Illinois ranks high in belief, but only 31% of residents said they’d buy a home they knew was haunted, the lowest rate in the country. Oklahoma showed the opposite: even with strong belief, 69% said they’d still purchase a haunted property.
On the other end of the spectrum, skepticism runs deeper in places like Ohio, Washington, and Georgia, where just over half of residents believe in ghosts. In all three of those states, more than half of respondents also said they’d still consider buying a haunted home — suggesting practicality sometimes outweighs potential fear.
One state outside of the extremes for belief in ghosts that we should mention is New Jersey, which stands out because while just 59% of people believe in ghosts, 75% would move out if they knew their home was haunted (the highest mark in the study). Seems like New Jerseyans really won’t mess around if they suspect a hint of paranormal activity.
Oregon sits at the other end of the spectrum. 64% believe in ghosts, but just 43% would move out if their house was haunted (the fewest in the study). Belief may be relatively strong, but Oregonians appear more likely to look for more practical explanations behind bumps in the night. Or they just aren’t afraid of ghosts.
Belief is one thing, but how many people think they’re actually living with a ghost?
Who Says They’re Actually Haunted?
To further gauge the paranormal beliefs of Americans, we also asked people if they’re actively living with a ghost. While just 6% of Americans think their current home is haunted, that number more than doubles in some places. These are the states where more than 1 in 10 Americans claim to be living in a haunted house:
- Massachusetts: 14%
- Michigan: 13.5%
- Rhode Island & Pennsylvania: 12.2%
- Virginia: 11.8%
- North Dakota: 11.1%
- Louisiana & Arkansas: 10%
Now that we know how much Americans believe in the idea of a haunting — and how it might impact their desire to stay in or purchase a home — we can get to the heart of what we set out to find. Next, we’ll take a closer look at these beliefs and uncover what’s really haunting America’s homes.
Belief in ghosts is fairly strong nationwide, but we dug a little deeper to find out how far those beliefs go, what impact they have, and what seemingly unexplained phenomena can be attributed to by the rational mind.
Let’s start with America’s collective level of supernatural faith. As we’ve already observed, it’s strong.
- Nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) say they believe in ghosts.
- More than two-thirds (68%) believe houses can be haunted.
Believing doesn’t always mean seeing. Only 25% of people told us they’ve actually seen what they believe to be a ghost. Which begs the question, with such a gulf in those data points, why do they believe?
The most oft-cited reasons from our survey were: having innate beliefs (54%), having first-hand paranormal experiences (including actually seeing a ghost) at 34%, hearing compelling stories from others (32%), and just thinking it’s fun to believe (17%).
Closing Thoughts
Our survey shows that ghosts still hold a strong place in the American imagination, with most people saying they believe in them and some factoring hauntings into how they think about their homes. At the same time, the real “hauntings” are often the creaks, drafts, and repair needs that come with any house.
While spooky stories may capture attention, lasting peace of mind comes from fixing the issues that make a home feel unsettled. That’s where Mad City Windows comes in — helping homeowners replace windows, update bathrooms, and refresh cabinets so their spaces feels secure and comfortable year-round.
Methodology
To find out more about what’s haunting America’s homes, we asked people from every state about their belief in ghosts, any experiences they think they’ve had with them, and what they actually think would be “haunting” a house — is it ghosts, or something else?
The data is based on a survey of over 2,400 people that ran over two weeks in September 2025. States not included due to insufficient survey respondents: Alaska and Wyoming.
