Sure, ghosts might not exist, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t haunted our footsteps.
Bridging
subjects from religious studies to nursing to East Asian studies and
more, the Penn Ghost Project consists of a group of interdisciplinary
professors and academics, who all are interested in studying the social
phenomena surrounding ghosts. The initiative started three years ago and
has recently expanded its project list.
“Penn was really the only center that ever did anything like this,” Religious Studies professor Justin McDaniel said.
Penn is unique in having a history of paranormal academia.
The
Penn Ghost Project even draws an uncanny parallel to the Seybert
commission, a 19th century study on whether ghosts are real or not. The
study was prompted by a monetary gift with the caveat that “the
University should appoint a Commission to investigate ‘all systems of
Morals, Religion or Philosophy which assume to represent the Truth, and
particularly of Modern Spiritualism” — in simpler terms, whether ghosts
exist.
And
while the Seybert commission concluded that ghosts are not a real
phenomenon, that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to study about them.
“We’re
taking the study of ghosts both sociologically, psychologically and
aesthetically, seriously,” McDaniel said. The group focuses on studying
and documenting the idea of ghosts, the ways in which the concept of the
lingering deceased has been and continues to be alive and well
throughout the world. A 2013 Harris Poll found that 42 percent of
Americans believe in ghosts.
In the past, the Penn Ghost Project has brought speakers to Penn, as well as going on ghost hunts and having events.
In
the next few weeks, the Project plans to start documenting ghost
stories among the Penn undergraduate community. Inspired by the people
who would come up to them at events and share their experiences with the
supernatural, the group is undertaking the recording of more than a
hundred stories, with hopes of expanding the project to the Penn
graduate community and beyond.
“The reason we’re doing this is because
there’s a huge interest,” McDaniel said. “It’s almost impossible to meet
someone who doesn’t have one eerie experience.”
Both
the spectrally-inclined and spectrally-skeptical are encouraged to come
speak about their supernatural experiences. “We’re interested in
hearing those experiences, even from people who don’t believe them —
people who are like ‘I’m sure there’s another explanation but I can’t
explain what that explanation is,’” McDaniel added.
The group is surprised by the amount of feedback and support it’s received from the community.
The oral history project will be up for public participation in early February.
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