Boo! Get your attention? Although, a ghost is not likely to use this form of language (if they exist) but, most paranormal investigators would love to hear some form of communication from a ghost. The topics about ghosts are still as popular today as they were several years ago. People often sit around and tell stories about the unexplained bumps, footsteps, dark lurking figures experienced in many of their homes or hotels. Never mind that the house is probably settling, or an appliance is malfunctioning. The easiest explanation is to cast it off as the occupant that used to live in the house, and died a violent death, is now causing misery for the entire family. For years, movies and television have gained popularity from the tales of the other side. There are even television shows currently running where paranormal investigators are going to popular haunted venues and recording the paranormal activities.
In an article published by Y’All magazine, Author, Mereith Dabbs’ piece entitled “the Haunted South”, sets out to identify some haunted locations across the American South. This article seems more of an advertisement, but she cleverly adds some body to the sales pitch to create interest in the article. Dabbs opening statement is her thesis, “Spooks, haunts, spirits, apparitions, and ghosts…no matter what you call them, and they’re all just as mysterious and unexplainable…!” (p.1 2007). Essentially, the argument she has established is the probable existence of ghosts. The audiences for this article are mainly people with an interest in the American south, most notably people with a paranormal curiosity. She establishes credibility with the people who believe in the supernatural by providing locations to visit wh...
... middle of paper ...
...ide any true ghost stories. This article was
disappointing to read because the author tricks his audience into a certain realm only to switch gears and talk about something else.
Ghost stories have been around for generations and will remain for generations to come. Television is making ghost chasing a popular subject and a person can virtually plan a vacation at a haunted location having the opportunity to experience to witness paranormal activity.
Works Cited
Dabbs, Meredith. “The Haunted South”. Y’all (2007): 68-70.
Stoller, Gary. “More hotels across the USA embrace their ghost stories.” USA Today n.d:
Academic Search Premier. EBSCO Web. 6 Apr. 2011.
Vernon, Alex. "GHOST STORIES." American Heritage 53.5 (2002): 64. America: History &
Life. EBSCO. Web. 8 Apr. 2011.
Since I come from the Eastern Shore of this state, I was surprised to hear a ghost story I was previously unaware of. The story takes place in a park in Salisbury. The person who told me the story is a 19-year-old sophomore at the University, and we spoke about it one evening after dinner. He believes it to be true, because one of his friend’s siblings has apparently experienced the ghost firsthand. I tape-recorded his narrative:
"New Mexico: Ghost Stories and Haunted Places." Haunted New Mexico. Retrieved 5 Apr 2005 http://hauntednewmexico.tripod.com/id1.html.
The book, What’s So Super About the Supernatural tells of well known stories about poltergeists. A poltergeist is a noisy or high energy ghost who might perform violent activity. A young girl by the name of Tina Resch lived in Ohio and is known to be a poltergeist. “No ghost was ever seen or heard on camera; however when the camera was inadvertently left running, the tape showed Tina surreptitiously pulling over a lamp” (Gardner). The evidence was found after people were reporting the activity. Newspaper reporters went to the scene to check out the action only to find evidence of Tina throwing objects violently around the house. Another example of proof that ghosts exist goes back to a case involving a poltergeist in England. An eleven-year-old boy by the name of Matthew Manning performed several violent actions that his dad had noticed and reported. Gardner writes, “ On one occasion, Matthew’s bed was thrown about and left leaning at an angle against the wall” (Gardner). These examples are not the only reported cases regarding ghosts and paranormal activity. Many stories about the supernatural have been told and passed down for several generations. Spirits are even mentioned in well known religious books that have been passed down for hundreds of
There is only ghost where they die and where they're favorite place is to be or what they held close to their heart. Many people have not seen these ghost only the people who work in the white house. Will you be one of those people who does find the ghost or hears them doing something in the place of happiness. Now you know where to go if you want a ghost hunt.
An interesting aspect of the story is that it incorporates an actual location and history into a ghost story: it is intriguing because the mysterious events occur in an accessible place that people can go and visit.
www.theatcoghost.com--A site detailing directions on how to see the ghost with an accompanying message board in which individuals recount their own experiences of attempting to witness the ghost.
There’s a haunted house in Dover, Delaware called the Governor’s Mansion, where all of the Governors of Delaware have lived. If you go to the house yourself, you might see or experience a couple different ghosts. One evening, a guest to the house passed an old man dressed in old-fashioned clothes while going down the stairs for dinner. Once at the table the guest asked the owners who the person was. The curious owners asked for a description of the man. The description that the visitor sent chills down the spines of the owners, as it was an exact description of the owner’s father who had been dead for many years, and nobody else was in the house. The father had also been known for getting drunk a lot, so to this day he can still be seen drinking any liquor left out in the open. The mansion is also known for being a part of the Underground Railroad, so lots of slaves were always coming and going through the house at night. One night the house got busted and one of the runaway slaves ran and hid in a big tree in the yard. The slave was up there for a while and was already tired from his journey to the house.
The particular story I collected takes place in Philadelphia, where ghost stories are plentiful. Philadelphia is an old city with a rich cultural heritage, and our founding fathers made history in the place that was once our nation’s capital (Eidmann). Many believe that their spirits and spirits of those from colonial times still lurk around. It is easy to feel like spirits are around when in a place where many people have lived and died before, and in a place that is filled with old buildings and landmarks. All of these factors make this city a perfect place for a ghost story.
A 19-year old female from Harford County, Maryland, narrated the story of Black Aggie, the urban legend of an overnight stay in a cemetery. She grew up Christian, and still lives in one of the more rural areas of Maryland with her younger sister and parents, who own and work at an electrical contracting business. Accustomed to hearing many ghost stories and urban legends, she first heard the story of Black Aggie during a middle school slumber party. Late one Saturday night over pizza in our Hagerstown dorm, she was more than willing to share her favorite urban legend with me.
The Haunting of Hill House is a gothic horror novel written by Shirley Jackson. Supernatural occurrences take place within the house revolving around Eleanor. Eleanor is a thirty-two-year-old woman who never once has felt the sense of inclusion. Eleanor seems to never recall the feeling of delight in her adult years due to the fact that she was a caretaker for her now deceased Mother; who took away most of her freedom by being incredibly restrictive. Dr. Montague, a doctor that specializes in analysis of the supernatural rents Hill House, a supposedly haunted house. During the renting period, Dr. Montague begins an experiment inviting individuals who have had involvement in abnormal events
This story, although somewhat unique in its exact plot, contains many elements that make it a typical and traditional ghost story. These elements suggest common fears in today’s society of people in general, and children specifically.
The Nelly Butler hauntings is referred to as the first recorded ghost story in American history (LiBrizzi 5), and possibly the most exciting hauntings to date as there are still many unsolved mysteries. The apparition appeared on more than 30 separate occasions to over 100 witnesses in Sullivan, Maine, just over fifteen years after the American Revolution (5-6). Although the Nelly Butler apparition is one of the most convincing ghosts of all time, it was subject to suspicions of fraud. These claims turn out to be groundless as the evidence reveals the ghost to be genuine.
Are ghosts real? That is the question that most of society deliberates day after day. The true definition of a ghost is a soul or spirit of a deceased individual that can appear in visible form or other manifestations to the living. Ghosts are of the most common paranormal belief in the world. Most people believe in ghosts because of a personal experience, whether that was seeing or sensing an unexplained presence. Who wouldn’t want to believe that our beloved family members are looking for us?
Ghosts have been around for many years and the root of the whole idea comes because it is “based on the ancient idea that a person's spirit exists separately from his or her body, and may continue to exist after that person dies” (“History of Ghost Stories”). Ghost stories have been told through centuries and because of this it is not known where the first spirit could have appeared or why, but one of the first actually recorded experience happened within the first century A.D. A man named Pliney recorded that he had seen a man and heard objects moving around and he could not explain what what happening (“History of Ghost Stories”). Even though the first supernatural experiences are not known, they created worldwide talk to present time about spirits and hauntings.
a dull grey colour as if it had lost the will to live and stopped