Survey on awareness of haunted spots by prefecture: "Aomori Prefecture knows the most about haunted spots!" Which prefecture is the scariest?

What are some ways to beat the summer heat? Playing in water or eating ice cream are good, but there are also ways to cool your heart. In Japan, there is a culture of going to scary or haunted places to test your courage, known as "testing your courage."
Testing one's courage has been around for a long time in Japan, and there are many haunted spots in each prefecture. Do you know of any haunted spots in the prefecture where you live now? Also, would you like to try testing your courage?

Like the "Summer Horror Experience" in various regions, the online language learning platform Preply values learning about the cultures and customs of various regions. Therefore, this time, we conducted an online survey by prefecture and by gender about the awareness of local haunted spots and courage testing.

Survey Overview

Survey period: July 11, 2024 to July 12, 2024 Survey subjects: 100 men and women in their 20s to 50s from each prefecture (male to female ratio 1:1)
Question:
・Have you heard of any haunted spots in your prefecture? ・Are you scared of a test of courage? ・Would you like to try a test of courage? ・Have you ever tried a test of courage?

Below we present the survey results in detail with some discussion.

Survey results

・The prefecture with the most haunted spots is Aomori Prefecture
・Saitama Prefecture is the prefecture with the least interest in paranormal phenomena.
・Most of the ghost enthusiasts who know more than 10 ghost spots are "male" ・The most courageous women are "Mie Prefecture" and "Toyama Prefecture"
・Men in Saga Prefecture feel most scared of courageous challenges

If you like haunted places, please use this as a reference when choosing places to visit on your trip!!
At the end of the article, we also introduce some famous haunted spots overseas.

Aomori Prefecture is the prefecture that knows the most haunted spots!

We asked 100 men and women in their 20s to 50s from each prefecture whether they knew of any famous spots in their prefecture where mysterious phenomena occur.

The survey results showed that people in Aomori Prefecture are the most aware of local haunted spots. Aomori Prefecture is home to a famous haunted spot, Sugisawa Village, which has even been the subject of a movie.

Fukuoka Prefecture ranked second, and Okinawa Prefecture ranked third.

In Fukuoka Prefecture in particular, nine people answered that they know of more than 10 haunted spots, more than double the number in other prefectures.
It is possible that the reason why so many people know about haunted spots in Fukuoka Prefecture is because there are some haunted spots that are famous throughout the country.
For example, the "Old Inunaki Tunnel" in Kuyama-cho, Kutsuya-gun, Fukuoka Prefecture is a famous haunted spot. It was ranked first in the "100 Most Dangerous Haunted Spots in Japan" conducted by Camping Car Co., Ltd. in the summer of 2021 (Reference: 100 Most Terrifying Haunted Spots | Response ), and is considered one of the three most haunted spots in Japan.

Okinawa, which comes in third place, is home to haunted spots such as the Maeda Tunnel, famous for the high number of ghost sightings, and the Nakagusuku Kogen Hotel, which was abandoned half-constructed.

The reason why there are so many haunted spots in Aomori, Fukuoka, and Okinawa prefectures is thought to be because these are places where historical events occurred and where old buildings remain intact.

Saitama Prefecture has the least interest in paranormal phenomena! What's the reason?

The survey revealed that Saitama Prefecture has the least interest in paranormal phenomena.
According to a survey, 87 out of 100 people in Saitama Prefecture answered that they had never heard of any mysterious phenomena or haunted places in Saitama Prefecture. This figure is significantly higher than the national average of 68.1 people.

The reason why Saitama Prefecture ranks first in terms of the lowest interest is likely because of the rapid urbanization of the prefecture, which means that people have fewer opportunities to encounter strange phenomena or haunted places in their daily lives. This is because prefectures with low interest in strange phenomena are mostly found in urban areas, including the Tokyo metropolitan area. For example, 81 people in Osaka Prefecture, 79 people each in Hyogo Prefecture and Shizuoka Prefecture, and 78 people in Kanagawa Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, and Okayama Prefecture answered that they had "never heard of it."

Gender differences also revealed! Men tend to be more likely to know about 10 or more haunted places

The results of a survey conducted nationwide targeting men and women aged 20 to 50 revealed a gender difference in the percentage of people who answered that they know of more than 10 haunted spots.

According to the survey, 57 men knew of more than 10 haunted places, while the number of women was less than half, at 24. In addition, the number of women who answered "I've never heard of it" was also higher than that of men. These results suggest that men are more interested in strange phenomena and haunted places.

Furthermore, the top answer for men who answered "I want to test my courage" was from Fukuoka Prefecture. As expected, it's only the people of this prefecture who are well aware of haunted spots.

As such, we found that enthusiasts with extensive knowledge of haunted spots are more likely to be men, and that men in Fukuoka Prefecture in particular are eager to take on the challenge of testing their courage.

Ghost hunting is scary after all! Is there a difference between men and women?

We conducted a survey by prefecture and by gender to find out whether people are afraid of ghost hunting. The survey was conducted on 50 men and 50 women.

Mie and Toyama prefectures have the most courage among women

The survey results revealed that Mie and Toyama prefectures had the most women who answered that they were "not scared" of going on a courage challenge.

In Mie and Toyama prefectures, 22 out of 50 women each answered that they were "not scared." This is significantly higher than the national average of 13.1 women, indicating that many women are strong-willed.

On the other hand, there are also areas where many women feel "scared." In Yamagata Prefecture, 43 out of 50 women answered "scared," the highest rate in the country. Next were Tochigi Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture, both with 42 women each.

Are there a lot of scaredy guys? Saga Prefecture is the most scared of men

According to the survey results, Saga Prefecture is the place where men feel most scared of ghost hunting, with 38 out of 50 men responding that they find it scary.

Following Saga Prefecture in first place are Okinawa Prefecture and Fukui Prefecture, with 36 out of 50 men in each prefecture responding that they are "scared."

On the other hand, the prefectures with the highest number of men who answered that they were "not scared" of the ghost hunt were Fukuoka and Osaka, with 27 out of 50 men in each prefecture.

Is the fear of ghost hunting more a gender and individual thing than a regional thing?

The survey on courageous testing revealed that more people, both men and women, found courageous testing to be "scary," with this tendency being particularly pronounced among women. The prefectures with the highest percentage of people who found courageous testing to be "scary," both for men and women, were Yamagata and Kyoto.

However, it doesn't seem like people don't want to try it because it's scary. Saga Prefecture, which ranked first among men who think it's "scary," was ninth in the ranking of men who would "try a test of courage." In addition, when the results were compiled by both men and women, the following patterns were found.

Scary & want to do it: Aichi Prefecture, Aomori Prefecture Scary & don't want to do it: Okinawa Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture Not scary & want to do it: Fukuoka Prefecture, Hiroshima Prefecture Not scary & don't want to do it: Tokushima Prefecture, Mie Prefecture

In addition, it was found that there were no clear regional commonalities between the categories of "prefectures where many people find ghost hunting scary" and "prefectures where many people do not find it scary." The prefectures were almost completely different between men and women, and there were no particular commonalities in terms of population, population density, or number of haunted spots in each prefecture.

The perceived fear of a courage challenge may be influenced more by gender, personality and background, as well as by region.

Famous haunted places overseas

In other countries, there is not much of a culture of going on dare to test one's courage in order to forget the heat, but there are many haunted spots that are famous as tourist destinations.

For example, in Essex, England, there is a place called "Bowley Parsonage" that is famous as a haunted house. Numerous strange phenomena have been reported at this mansion since the 19th century, and it is known that many psychic researchers have come to investigate. In Mexico, there is the eerie haunted spot "Island of the Dolls," which is said to be one of the seven most forbidden places in the world. In India, "Bhangarh Fort," which was once a powerful fortress but has been in ruins for over 400 years, is famous as a haunted spot.

If you're looking to enjoy something a little different while traveling abroad, you might have fun visiting some haunted spots around the world.

summary

This time, we introduced the results of a survey conducted by prefecture and gender on interest, tolerance, and experience levels regarding haunted places and ghost hunting.

Visiting haunted places or going on a dare to test one's courage in order to have a chilling experience during the hot summer is a uniquely Japanese culture. What kind of summer activities are popular in other countries?

Preply is a language learning platform that offers online English conversation lessons . You can learn languages from around the world, such as English , Chinese , Korean , and Spanish , and learn about the culture and customs of those countries from local online instructors.

Through Preply, you may be able to hear information about haunted places in the country or ghost stories unique to that country from your instructor. If you want to deepen your understanding of foreign cultures and customs in addition to language learning, be sure to try Preply!