Although the term ‘spectrality’ arrived late in the discipline of geography (Maddern & Adey, 2008) and more so, in tourism studies, the last decade has seen an increased interest in the concept of ghosts, the paranormal, haunting, and the uncanny (Maddern & Adey 2008; Pile, 2004, 2005, 2017; Roberts 2013). Ghosts, hauntings, and spectres involve a multiplicity of spaces that resist an overarching definition, but share common characteristics that have been investigated in geographical work, such as histories of violence and death, abandonment, emptiness, decay, ruin, incongruity, neglect, and silence (Buser, 2017; Delyser, 1999; Dixon, 2007; Edensor, 2005; Pile, 2011; Sterling, 2014). Through this special issue, we aim to explore all geographical understandings of spectrality in the context of dark tourism and difficult heritage.
Spectral geographies pertain to examining how haunting manifests troubling presences through memories, materials, and landscapes (McCormack, 2010). The field covers more than “literal” ghosts. Another term that often finds purchase in spectral geographies (and beyond) is that of hauntology, a neologism coined by Jacques Derrida, a portmanteau of “haunting” and “ontology” (Derrida, 2006). Hauntology embraces spectres, ghosts, and all immaterial remains of places, but it concerns itself, in Fisher’s (2012) words, with “the failure of the future” (p. 16). According to this definition, a haunted place is an assemblage where the past must live in the present, permeated by currents of contested colonial histories, affective flows, and political tensions.
Spectral geographies and sites of haunting play a conspicuous part in wider dissonant and contested heritage processes, where overlapping and contrasting layers of social, cultural, political, spiritual, and emotional meanings are conflated into configurations of material spaces. Spectrality lends itself effectively to the field of dark tourism, in which death, violence, and atrocities are consumed as forms of entertainment in the tourism circuit. Indeed, ghosts, spectres, and hauntings are favourable for the development of ‘dark tourism’ (Lennon & Foley 2000). While the connection between spectral geographies and dark tourism is theoretically and conceptually obvious, there has been minimal research (Hanks, 2016; Tzanelli, 2018; Weston et al., 2019; Birns, 2021; Hasian & Paliewicz, 2021) utilizing the concept of spectral geographies and hauntology to critically analyze theories and empirical cases in the field of dark tourism. Roberts (2013) identifies the capacity of ghosts to subvert hegemonic (Western) historical narratives and to give voice to otherwise-marginalised (including indigenous and subaltern) identities and experiences (See Cameron 2008; Maddern & Adey, 2008; Gelder & Jacobs, 1999), which is relevant in dark tourism for understanding non-Western discourses of death and memory. Needless to say, spectral geographies have an immense potential to investigate the social connections between spectral places and tourists, as well as the social, political, religious connections of dark tourism places with spectres of the past – colonial spectres, spectres of natural or human-induced disasters, geopolitical spectres, all inhabiting and shaping dark tourism places in complex ways.
The goals of this special issue are three-fold. First, it aims to engage critically with dark tourism spaces from the perspective of spectral geographies and to demonstrate the different layers and levels at which places can be ‘haunted’, as both receptacles and producers of spectres. Examples include ghost towns, ruins, abandoned buildings, sites of ghost stories, spectres, and the paranormal, along with other mystical and uncanny elements within and beyond the broader frame of spectral geography. Second, by utilizing the idea of spectral geographies, it aims at initiating a discussion on the complexities of the word ‘ghost’, rethinking how spaces, events, and practices connected to dark tourism disrupt our ideas of presence and absence and using spectrality and hauntology as a metaphor for the contested colonial pasts and narratives embedded in places with dark and difficult histories. Lastly, there has been a tendency in academia to dismiss, trivialize and ridicule supernatural beliefs, experiences, and the authenticity of paranormal phenomena. Through this special issue, we hope to explore dark tourism within and beyond the metaphorical and material constructions of haunting and initiate a discussion on related lines of inquiry such as the paranormal and vernacular belief.
The goals of this special issue are three-fold. First, it aims to engage critically with dark tourism spaces from the perspective of spectral geographies and to demonstrate the different layers and levels at which places can be ‘haunted’, as both receptacles and producers of spectres. Examples include ghost towns, ruins, abandoned buildings, sites of ghost stories, spectres, and the paranormal, along with other mystical and uncanny elements within and beyond the broader frame of spectral geography. Second, by utilizing the idea of spectral geographies, it aims at initiating a discussion on the complexities of the word ‘ghost’, rethinking how spaces, events, and practices connected to dark tourism disrupt our ideas of presence and absence and using spectrality and hauntology as a metaphor for the contested colonial pasts and narratives embedded in places with dark and difficult histories. Lastly, there has been a tendency in academia to dismiss, trivialize and ridicule supernatural beliefs, experiences, and the authenticity of paranormal phenomena. Through this special issue, we hope to explore dark tourism within and beyond the metaphorical and material constructions of haunting and initiate a discussion on related lines of inquiry such as the paranormal and vernacular belief.
We encourage submissions that connect dark tourism (but are not limited to) with the following topics:
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Special Issue Timeline
- 15 May 2022 - Deadline for submission of abstract proposals to the Guest Editors
- 15 June 2022 - Acceptance of abstract proposals and notification to the authors
- 15 November 2022 - Deadline for submission of full manuscripts to the Guest Editors through email for initial screening
- 15 March 2023 - Review of manuscripts and comments by Guest Editors
- 15 July 2023 – Submission of the complete and revised manuscript in Scholar One for the full review
- Publication of manuscript - Online as soon as papers are accepted and as part of the special issue in 2024.
Author Instructions
Please email abstract proposals not exceeding 500 words (including the paper title, name of author/s, affiliation, email address, and references) to annaclaudia.martini@unibo.it, nitashar.iu@gmail.com and dtimothy@asu.edu.The author guidelines on the Tourism Geographies website must be followed while submitting the abstract and manuscript. All papers will undergo a double-blind review process. |
Bibliography
Birns, S. (2021). Those Who Might, One Day, Themselves Face Annihilation: Dark Tourism and Chernobyl (Doctoral dissertation).
Buser, M. (2017). The time is out of joint: Atmosphere and hauntology at Bodiam Castle. Emotion, Space and Society, 25, 5-13.
Cameron, E. (2008). Cultural geographies essay: Indigenous spectrality and the politics of postcolonial ghost stories. Cultural Geographies, 15(3), 383-393.
Delyser, D. (1999). Authenticity on the ground: Engaging the past in a California ghost town. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 89(4), 602-632.
Derrida, J. (2006). Specters of Marx. New York: Routledge.
Dixon, D. (2007). A benevolent and sceptical inquiry: Exploring Fortean geographies with the Mothman. Cultural Geographies, 14(2), 189-210.
Edensor, T. (2005). Industrial ruins: Space, aesthetics and materiality. Oxford: Berg Publishers.
Fisher, M. (2012). What is hauntology? Film Quarterly, 66(1), 16-24.
Gelder, K., & Jacobs, J. M. (1999). The postcolonial ghost story. In P. Buse, & A. Stott (eds), Ghosts, pp. 179-199. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hanks, M. (2016). Haunted heritage: The cultural politics of ghost tourism, populism, and the past. New York: Routledge.
Hasian, M., & Paliewicz, N. S. (2021). The national memorial for peace and justice, dark tourist argumentation, and civil rights memoryscapes. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 29(3), 168-184.
Lennon, J. J., & Foley, M. 2000. Dark Tourism. London: Continuum
Maddern, J. F., & Adey, P. (2008). Editorial: Spectro-geographies. Cultural Geographies, 15(3), 291-295
McCormack, D. P. (2010). Remotely sensing affective afterlives: The spectral geographies of material remains. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 100(3), 640-654.
Pile, S. (2004). Ghosts and the City of Hope. In L. Lees (ed), The emancipatory City? Paradoxes and possibilities, pp. 210-228. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Pile, S. (2005). Real cities: Modernity, space and the phantasmagorias of city life. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Pile, S. (2011). Intensities of feeling: Cloverfield, the uncanny, and the always near collapse of the city. In B. Gary, & S. Watson (eds). The new Blackwell companion to the city, pp. 288-303. Chichester,: Wiley-Blackwell.
Pile, S. (2017). Spectral cities: Where the repressed returns and other short stories. In J. Hillier, & E. Rooksby (eds) Habitus: A sense of place, pp. 251-273. London: Routledge.
Roberts, E. (2013). Geography and the visual image: A hauntological approach. Progress in Human Geography, 37(3), 386-402.
Sterling, C. (2014). Spectral anatomies: Heritage, hauntology and the ‘Ghosts’ of Varosha. Present Pasts, 6(1), 1-15.
Tzanelli, R. (2018). Schematising hospitality: Ai WeiWei’s activist artwork as a form of dark travel. Mobilities, 13(4), 520-534.
Weston, G., Woodman, J., Cornish, H., & Djohari, N. (2019). Spectral cities: Death and living memories in the dark tourism of British ghost walks. Urbanities, 9(2), 36-51.
Birns, S. (2021). Those Who Might, One Day, Themselves Face Annihilation: Dark Tourism and Chernobyl (Doctoral dissertation).
Buser, M. (2017). The time is out of joint: Atmosphere and hauntology at Bodiam Castle. Emotion, Space and Society, 25, 5-13.
Cameron, E. (2008). Cultural geographies essay: Indigenous spectrality and the politics of postcolonial ghost stories. Cultural Geographies, 15(3), 383-393.
Delyser, D. (1999). Authenticity on the ground: Engaging the past in a California ghost town. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 89(4), 602-632.
Derrida, J. (2006). Specters of Marx. New York: Routledge.
Dixon, D. (2007). A benevolent and sceptical inquiry: Exploring Fortean geographies with the Mothman. Cultural Geographies, 14(2), 189-210.
Edensor, T. (2005). Industrial ruins: Space, aesthetics and materiality. Oxford: Berg Publishers.
Fisher, M. (2012). What is hauntology? Film Quarterly, 66(1), 16-24.
Gelder, K., & Jacobs, J. M. (1999). The postcolonial ghost story. In P. Buse, & A. Stott (eds), Ghosts, pp. 179-199. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hanks, M. (2016). Haunted heritage: The cultural politics of ghost tourism, populism, and the past. New York: Routledge.
Hasian, M., & Paliewicz, N. S. (2021). The national memorial for peace and justice, dark tourist argumentation, and civil rights memoryscapes. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 29(3), 168-184.
Lennon, J. J., & Foley, M. 2000. Dark Tourism. London: Continuum
Maddern, J. F., & Adey, P. (2008). Editorial: Spectro-geographies. Cultural Geographies, 15(3), 291-295
McCormack, D. P. (2010). Remotely sensing affective afterlives: The spectral geographies of material remains. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 100(3), 640-654.
Pile, S. (2004). Ghosts and the City of Hope. In L. Lees (ed), The emancipatory City? Paradoxes and possibilities, pp. 210-228. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Pile, S. (2005). Real cities: Modernity, space and the phantasmagorias of city life. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Pile, S. (2011). Intensities of feeling: Cloverfield, the uncanny, and the always near collapse of the city. In B. Gary, & S. Watson (eds). The new Blackwell companion to the city, pp. 288-303. Chichester,: Wiley-Blackwell.
Pile, S. (2017). Spectral cities: Where the repressed returns and other short stories. In J. Hillier, & E. Rooksby (eds) Habitus: A sense of place, pp. 251-273. London: Routledge.
Roberts, E. (2013). Geography and the visual image: A hauntological approach. Progress in Human Geography, 37(3), 386-402.
Sterling, C. (2014). Spectral anatomies: Heritage, hauntology and the ‘Ghosts’ of Varosha. Present Pasts, 6(1), 1-15.
Tzanelli, R. (2018). Schematising hospitality: Ai WeiWei’s activist artwork as a form of dark travel. Mobilities, 13(4), 520-534.
Weston, G., Woodman, J., Cornish, H., & Djohari, N. (2019). Spectral cities: Death and living memories in the dark tourism of British ghost walks. Urbanities, 9(2), 36-51.