The Haunting of the Captain Phillips Rangers Memorial and the Memory Work of Ghost Stories

• In Event: 228 - Section on Sociology of Culture Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 09. Culture and Memory

Abstract

This paper discusses the ways in which ghost stories allow non-elite social actors to engage in the work of collective memory. Data are taken from online posting about the ghost stories attached to a local monument in central Pennsylvania. Ghost stories often contain a great deal of historical detail in order to support their paranormal claims. Ghost-storytellers also draw selectively from official commemorations to build their narratives. The paper concludes by discussing briefly how commemoration by ghost story can serve the same purpose as formal means of commemoration.

Author

• Christine Bucior, Pennsylvania State University