Ghost seeing in dark places: the allure of dark tourism.

Ironside, Rachael

Abstract

A talk given at the Spritualism and the Supernatural Event hosted by the Research in Arts and Humanities Department at Manchester Metropolitan University. This presentation explores the rise of ghost tourism, and the continued allure of the supernatural in contemporary society. Bringing the audience into the present, Dr Ironside’s paper explored the explosion of interest in ghost tourism in recent years. Ironside challenged the view that contemporary society is sceptical of belief in the supernatural, arguing that statistics gained from recent polls posit that over half of the British population have some belief in ghosts. This interest in the supernatural, Ironside argued, has seeped into the marketplace, with ghosts becoming marketing tools with which tourist boards ensnare an audience, articulating how landscapes and buildings are visited because of the uncanny possibilities they offer. Ranging from the crumbling castles and manor houses of the pre-twentieth century to abandoned prisons and the ‘dark places’ of the modern world, Ironside’s paper traced the changing landscape of ghost tourism, and how both industries and visitors engage with a place that may or may not be haunted.

Citation

IRONSIDE, R. 2018. Ghost seeing in dark places: the allure of ghost tourism. Presented at 2018 Spiritualism and the supernatural symposium, 31 October 2018, Manchester, UK.

• Presentation Conference Type: Lecture
• Conference Name: 2018 Spiritualism and the supernatural symposium
• Conference Location: Manchester, UK
• Start Date: Oct 31, 2018
• Deposit Date: Feb 25, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 5, 2020
• Keywords: Dark tourism; Ghost tourism; Spiritualism; Supernatural
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/840874