Highland and other haunts: Ghosts in Scottish Tourism

Abstract

Ghosts and other paranormal entities exist neither in this world or the next, nor in one particular spatial and temporal location. However, ghostly qualities have been used within, and to create, particular sociospatial contexts. This paper traces the history of the parts played by spooks in constructing Scotland as a prime tourism location. Its landscapes, cityscapes, and habitations have been interpretatively re-created over the last two centuries producing conceptions of Scottish history which privilege the mysteriousness of a Highland and Celtic past. By interrogating the shifting relations between ghosts/haunted spaces and tourism, this paper reveals some of the mechanisms developed to stimulate the industry.