Ghost hunting events and storytelling

Abstract

Ghost hunting events are a popular leisure activity providing visitors with an immersive dark experience, connecting them with the dark heritage and supernatural legends of a place. This research note aims to conceptualise the role of storytelling in the promotion, production, and participatory aspects of ghost hunting events. In doing so, the paper argues that ghost hunting events draw upon co-productive and experiential forms of storytelling, and proposes a cyclical model to illustrate an ongoing, iterative process of narrative construction. As this research note suggests, pre-existing narratives framed by the dark history and supernatural legends of a place help to frame promotional discourse and the production of events. However, extraordinary personal experiences, mediumistic intuition, and the collective interpretation of unusual activity, shape and transform existing narratives. As such, this research note concludes that ghost hunting events are shaped by, and shape, storytelling through interactive and interpretative processes.