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[Evan York]

> Voices and visions have never been commonplace, to my knowledge, but that doesn't necessitate that they are barometers of mental illness.

I'd say at least 20% of the population experiences things like this at at least one point in their life - 18% of Americans say they have seen a ghost, that feels like a good jumping-off point from there. In reality, I expect it would be closer to 30%, because of low reporting rates, and that people who see things but ultimately discredit the experience probably wouldn't answer in the affirmative.

So, I would argue, voices and visions, in a low degree of intensity, are in fact fairly normal occurrences and probably not linked to any unusual mental condition.

[jimwalton]

I tend to agree. While hearing voices can be a symptom of mental illness, it's not necessarily so. We're friends with a nice family who claim there is a ghost in their house. (I'm skeptical, of course.) They say they've seen her and talked to her. They're not weird people in the least, and certainly not schizophrenic.