Poster #140 - John Brown’s Body: Dark Tourism in Harpers Ferry

• In Event: ASC Poster Session I

Abstract

This paper applies ghost criminology to the ghost tour industry in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, the site of John Brown’s 1859 raid against slavery. Ghost criminology examines how spectral narratives reinforce social control, historical memory, and cultural anxieties. In Harpers Ferry, ghost stories have emerged that demonize John Brown and his Black followers, portraying them as vengeful spirits rather than heroic abolitionists. This phenomenon raises critical questions about how ghost tourism reshapes historical narratives, turning a fight for justice into a tale of terror. By analyzing these ghost stories, this study explores how ghost tourism serves as a form of historical revisionism, where resistance to oppression is reinterpreted as a spectral threat. The racialized portrayal of Black abolitionists as frightening apparitions reflects lingering anxieties about race, rebellion, and justice. Furthermore, the commodification of these narratives perpetuates a form of posthumous criminalization, where those who once challenged systemic power are reimagined as spectral menaces. Through the lens of ghost criminology, this paper critiques the ghost tour industry’s role in shaping public memory and underscores the need to deconstruct narratives that distort racial and historical realities for entertainment purposes.

Authors

• Abigail Fuchs, Arcadia University

• Keisha M. Robinson, Arcadia University