While I'm not a Paradigm staffer, I am helping to run
Witch Hunter: Dark Providence, the Witch-Hunter MMRPG. My take on the subject is that, while the average civilian certainly believes (knows!) that there are foul supernatural beasties out there, that doesn't mean they won't be shocked and horrified when one shows up. It's kind of like serial killers in the modern era, I suppose; we know that such people exist, but if we discover that our next-door neighbor is one, it would probably freak us out.