Survey of Claimed Encounters with the Dead

Abstract

In a national survey in Iceland, 31 percent of respondents reported “having perceived the presence of a deceased person.” A multinational Gallup survey conducted in sixteen western countries showed widespread claims of personal contacts with the dead, as well as, considerable national differences. Such experiences were reported most frequently by Icelanders and Italians whereas Norwegians and Danes, considered culturally closest to Icelanders, reported the lowest incidence (9%). In the Iceland survey, interviews were conducted with 127 persons on the nature of these experiences, their relationship with the deceased, the conditions under which these experiences occurred, and various characteristics of the interviewees, as well as, the deceased persons. Attempts were made to test some theories of what may elicit such experiences.