Take This Class! Haunted by the Unknown

A sociology course explores why people believe occult and outlandish claims.

Ouija boards, psychic mediums, haunted houses, alien abductions: For many, paranormal phenomena are simply fodder for Halloween costumes and decorations. Yet for true believers, these are year-round concerns.

Why do people trust ideas or conspiracy theories for which there is no scientific evidence, or perhaps even robust evidence against? It’s the question at the heart of “Down the Rabbit Hole: Conspiracy Theories, Paranormal Beliefs, and How to Know What’s Real,” a University of Maryland sociology course that debuted last fall.

“The things that lead us to believe weird stuff are normal human thinking processes that serve us well in a lot of ways but can sometimes lead us astray,” said Professor Jeffrey Lucas, who teaches the course. “I want students to understand why people think the way they do about the world, and how they develop beliefs and decide what to believe and what not to believe.”

The class covers topics like astrology, Area 51, the JFK assassination and the Satanic panic of the 1980s. Along the way, Lucas interweaves scientific concepts about how memory works (or fails), perception and why beliefs persist even in the face of contradictory evidence.

Collage by Valerie Morgan; images via Adobe Stock and Unsplash

Published on Fri, Oct 30, 2026 - 9:01AM