Shadow Walking: Will a Ghost Walk Tour Affect Belief in Ghosts?

Langston, William; Hubbard, Tyler

doi:10.30891/jopar.2019.01.04

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This holistic view identifies psychosocial elements as important contributors to the onset or structure of personal experiences, which agrees with conclusions from our broad sociocultural analyses of ghost narratives (Hill et al, 2018(Hill et al, , 2019Drinkwater et al, 2019;Houran et al, 2020). To be sure, considerable evidence implicates attitudinal, normative, and situational influences in the phenomenology of witness accounts (Houran, 2002;Houran et al, 2002bHouran et al, , 2019aWiseman et al, 2002Wiseman et al, , 2003bFrench et al, 2009;Drinkwater et al, 2013Drinkwater et al, , 2017Dagnall et al, 2015a;Laythe et al, 2018;Pharino et al, 2018;Langston and Hubbard, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Things That Go Bump in the Literature: An Environmental Appraisal of “Haunted Houses”

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper contains a narrative overview of the past 20-years of environmental research on anomalous experiences attributed to "haunted house." This exercise served as a much-needed update to an anthology of noteworthy overviews on ghosts, haunts, and poltergeists (Houran and Lange, 2001b). We also considered whether new studies had incorporated certain recommendations made in this anthology. Our search revealed a relative paucity of studies (n = 66) on environmental factors that ostensibly stimulate haunt-type experiences. This literature was diverse and often lacked methodological consistency and adherence to the prior suggestions. However, critical consideration of the content revealed a recurring focus on six ambient variables: embedded (static) cues, lighting levels, air quality, temperature, infrasound, and electromagnetic fields. Their relation to the onset or structure of witness reports showed mostly null, though sometimes inconsistent or weak outcomes. However, such research as related to haunts is arguably in its infancy and new designs are needed to account better for environmental and architectural phenomenology. Future studies should therefore address four areas: (i) more consistent and precise measurements of discrete ambient variables; (ii) the potential role of "Gestalt influences" that involve holistic environmentperson interactions; (iii) individual differences in attentional or perceptual sensitivities of percipients to environmental variables; and (iv) the role of attitudinal and normative influences in the interpretation of environmental stimuli. Focused scrutiny on these issues should clarify the explanatory power of evolutionary-environmental models for these and related anomalous experiences.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Things That Go Bump in the Literature: An Environmental Appraisal of “Haunted Houses”

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Hill et al's (2018Hill et al's ( , 2019 VAPUS model. Investigations ideally will give up the ghost to measures and models that balance the study of attentional, perceptual, and attitudinal mechanisms in tourists or attendees (e.g., Langston & Hubbard, 2019;Olsen, 2013;Pharino et al, 2018) against environmental variables that may typify so-called sacred or enchanted spaces (e.g., French et al, 2009;Robinson & Pallasmaa, 2015). Although the findings would be enormously useful to paranormal tourism and broader hospitality alike, a dedicated research program that uncovers crucial nuances in the interactionist perspective of space activation and consumer psychology is bound to be more daunting than haunting.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paranormal Tourism: Market Study of a Novel and Interactive Approach to Space Activation and Monetization

Houran¹,

Hill²,

Haynes

et al. 2020

Cornell Hospitality Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We review the premise, popularity, and profitability of paranormal tourism, which involves visits to any setting or locale for the explicit purpose of encountering apparent supernatural phenomena for leisure, investigation, services, products, or conventions. This niche sector can offer an inherently engaging conceptual framework for seasonal or year-round space activation and monetization by businesses situated in specific settings or cities. On a broader level, the niche also illustrates how tourism–hospitality brands and operations can navigate and even capitalize on three paradigm shifts that have disrupted contemporary markets, that is, the mobilities, performative, and creative turns. This assertion is underscored with a case analysis of a historic site that successfully leveraged paranormal themes as part of its space reactivation and rebranding. Finally, our market study suggests that the success factors of paranormal tourism might indicate a fourth paradigm shift across the wider tourism–hospitality industry, whereby the experience economy is transforming to an enchantment economy.

show abstract

“…Interestingly, tourism studies of haunted or spiritual sites (Langston & Hubbard, 2019;Pharino et al, 2018; Table 3.…”

Section: Paranormal Tourism: a Case Study In Enchantmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, tourism studies of haunted or spiritual sites (Langston & Hubbard, 2019; Pharino et al, 2018; Sharpley & Stone, 2012) have shown that the result is often visitor experiences that reflect a mixture of positive and negative emotions and ideations. This pattern is also sometimes seen with tourism in general (Prayag et al, 2017).…”

Section: Paranormal Tourism: a Case Study In Enchantmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Consumer Enchantment via Paranormal Tourism: Part I—Conceptual Review

Drinkwater

Massullo

Dagnall

et al. 2020

Cornell Hospitality Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Tourism-hospitality businesses sometimes market consumer experiences in terms of “enchantment,” although this phrase is often used vaguely or variously. Therefore, we approached the issue conceptually by examining prior research on the experience economy, extraordinary architectural experiences, and accounts of paranormal tourism. Our critical overview suggests that we are dealing with a phenomenon rooted in environment-person bidirectional (or enactive) effects. We subsequently argue for the term “situational-enchantment” to denote a distinct and progressive arousal state characterized by dis-ease or dissonance that facilitates a sense of connection or oneness with a “transcendent agency, ultimate reality, or Other.” An iterative Content Category Dictionary exercise based on target literature specifically mapped this hypothesized state in terms of five competing features: (a) Emotional, (b) Sensorial, (c) Timeless, (d) Rational, and (e) Transformative. We frame this phenomenology within Funder’s Realistic Accuracy Model, which we propose drives an epiphanic process involving attentional, perceptual, attributional, and social mechanisms. Our synthesis of the multidisciplinary literature in this domain helps to clarify the nature and relevance of enchantment as an individual difference that varies across people and is subject to a variety of contextual influences. Accordingly, we discuss how this hypothesized state can be manipulated to an extent within certain people by creating or reinforcing conditions that spur experiential and rational engagement with ambiguous or unexpected stimuli.

show abstract

Shadow Walking: Will a Ghost Walk Tour Affect Belief in Ghosts?

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Things That Go Bump in the Literature: An Environmental Appraisal of “Haunted Houses”

Things That Go Bump in the Literature: An Environmental Appraisal of “Haunted Houses”

Paranormal Tourism: Market Study of a Novel and Interactive Approach to Space Activation and Monetization

Understanding Consumer Enchantment via Paranormal Tourism: Part I—Conceptual Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About