Connecting to the Dead? How Interested Are These Cities

Connecting to the Dead? How Interested Are These Cities

UK Cities and Their Spooky Searches

Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, and Sheffield have emerged as the leading UK cities for conducting eerie Google searches, as revealed by research conducted by fast house buying company Open Property Group.

Diving into the Supernatural: Interacting with the Afterlife

In anticipation of Halloween, the company delved into the realm of the supernatural. Their investigation involved analyzing cities that conducted the highest number of searches related to topics associated with life after death. These topics encompassed terms like ‘haunted house’, ‘haunting’, ‘paranormal’, ‘afterlife’, ‘tarot cards’, ‘mediumship’, and ‘ouija’.

Unveiling the Top Cities

Leveraging proportional trends data from Google Trends, the research pinpointed the aforementioned cities as the ones where ‘spooky’ search queries reigned supreme. This peculiar association raises an intriguing question: are the residents of these cities particularly intrigued by the world beyond?

City-Specific Insights: Linking to the Spirit Realm

Birmingham emerged at the forefront for ‘haunting’ and ‘ouija‘ related searches, while Liverpool boasted the highest number of searches for ‘haunted house’, ‘paranormal’, and ‘mediumship’.

Exploring the Phenomenon

Sarah Winchester, events manager at Haunted Houses, noted the escalating interest in the paranormal over the last two decades. She attributed this surge to the proliferation of television programs on the subject and the accessibility of paranormal events organized by diverse teams across the country.

Peering into Birmingham’s Haunting

Birmingham, with its significant historical evolution and a prevalence of religious institutions, has become a hotbed for paranormal reports. Notably, in 2011 and 2014, the police recorded around 55 calls concerning witches, underscoring the persistence of belief in witchcraft. This backdrop may contribute to the city’s affinity for Ouija Boards.

Searching for the Supernatural

Search volume statistics paint a vivid picture of the night’s mysteries in these cities. The collective tally for searches in September related to “is my house haunted?” stood at 46,000. Expanding the scope to the entire UK, this figure surpasses 236,000.

Similarly, more than 20,000 queries were made in these cities for terms like “how to contact the dead.” Nationally, the tally reached 81,000 searches. It seems many wish to be connecting to the dead these days.

Insight from Haunted Rooms

Wesley McDermott of Haunted Rooms speculated on the underlying reasons behind this trend. He mused that perhaps residents of these cities exhibit a greater openness to the paranormal. He mentioned Newsham Park Hospital in Liverpool, renowned for its history as a Seamen’s Orphanage and mental hospital, as an exciting location for paranormal enthusiasts.

Drawing Connections

Open Property Group‘s founder, Jason Harris-Cohen, unearthed a compelling connection between cities like Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, and London. He observed a shared penchant for haunted houses, hauntings, and matters pertaining to the afterlife and communication with the deceased.

Interest in Property’s Past: Reaching Out to the Beyond

Harris-Cohen noted an intriguing real estate angle to this phenomenon. He revealed that many prospective property buyers are keen on understanding a property’s history before making a purchase. Properties with an eerie past or ambience could witness a value reduction of up to 20% and potentially discourage potential buyers. He humorously noted that creaky floors, doors, and flickering lights might not always signify paranormal activity but could simply point to subpar DIY work.

Google Trends and Keyword Data

Is my house haunted? (and related keywords)

• Liverpool – 3,430 searches in September 2017
• Birmingham – 4,820 searches in September 2017
• Leeds – 2,810 searches in September 2017
• Manchester – 3,390 searches in September 2017
• Sheffield – 2,620 searches in September 2017
• London – 30,720 searches in September 2017

Combined cities total: 46,030UK total: 236,520

How to contact the dead (and related keywords)

• Liverpool – 1,510 searches in September 2017
• Birmingham – 2,070 searches in September 2017
• Leeds – 1,250 searches in September 2017
• Manchester – 1,360 searches in September 2017
• Sheffield – 980 searches in September 2017
• London – 17,530 searches in September 2017

Combined cities total: 20,660UK total: 81,510Open Property Group was founded by Jason Harris-Cohen in 2014. The company offers a personal service to its customers who wish to sell their property without hassle. 

Connecting to the Dead? – it seems it is a very popular indeed!