Top Five Reasons to Share Your Ghost Story
Best-selling authors Dan Gordon and Gary Joseph claim that October is not the only month when it’s considered fashionable to talk ghosts. Drawing from their hundreds of interviews with busy professionals with ghost stories, the authors of "Cape Encounters" have developed a new list of reasons to talk about your own personal ghost stories year-round.
(PRWEB) October 17, 2005 -- During their ten years research on ghost experiences on Cape Cod, best-selling authors Gary Joseph and Dan Gordon often wondered why so many rational Americans have personal ghost stories while so few report them. For their book "Cape Encounters: Contemporary Cape Cod Ghost Stories," they spoke with scientists, journalists, police officers, school teachers, medical professionals, academics and entrepreneurs, all with firsthand ghost stories and all deeply embarrassed to speak about it in public out of fear of being looked upon as “crazy.”
Drawing from their hundreds of interviews with ordinary Americans with ghost stories, the authors have developed a new list of reasons for coming out of the closet with your ghost story.
Top Five Reasons to Share Your Ghost Story
1 To Know That Normal, Grounded People Have Stories.
So many of us hide ghost stories for all the wrong reasons. We fear being ostracized or ridiculed by our co-workers, friends and family members. And yet very likely you have friends, family members or colleagues who have had very similar experiences. According to a recent Gallup poll, more than twenty million Americans believe they have seen a ghost, and far more suspect a ghost haunts a place where they live or work. Hiding the news might prevent you from connecting with friends and loved ones who have had stories of their own. Think of it as an investment. In the short-run you might be poked fun at by one or two cynical peers, but the long-term benefit might be the rewarding discovery that you are in good company.
2 To Move Discussion Of The Topic Into The Mainstream.
Ghost stories are widespread in the United States, and yet there is no mainstream discussion of the validity of ghost stories by the national media and very little academic research on the topic in our universities. With several million stories in the U.S. alone, why does the mainstream media stir away from reporting on these types of stories only allowing the topic to creep in during the days leading up to Halloween? If more Americans openly discussed these types of stories, it might stir more interest in the topic in mainstream culture and put to rest the stigma that only flighty people believe in ghosts.
3 To Gain Insight Into Your Experience, Even If You're Doubtful That The Incident Was Truly The Work Of Ghosts.
Many of us have had experiences that we can’t explain and wonder in the back of our minds whether a ghost made those strange noises in the attic or made our car keys disappear. In sharing our story with friends and family, you can have an interesting discussion about whether ghosts really exist. And it can open intriguing discussion on what is real and what is an invention of the imagination or the power of suggestion. The mere speculation of a ghost may also give you objective feedback on your own experience and help you get to the bottom of what was behind the incident.
4 To Talk About Something Other Than Sports Or Weather.
The mere mentioning of a ghost encounter can liven up the dullest of conversations. Discussions on ghost stories can be meaningful and profound. Not only do these accounts remind us of the history of our surroundings and of the people who occupied the same land or the same building in generations before, but they encourage us to have concrete conversations about whether people carry on after death. More often than not, they’re also fun to talk about and can set a room abuzz with stories passed around from one person to the next.
5 To Afford Friends And Loved Ones The Opportunity To Know You Better.
Happiness in a meaningful relationship comes from understanding one another. Revealing your ghost stories allows you to step behind the everyday veil of your outer life that often hides your core beliefs. Ghost encounters often reveal deeply personal experiences that reflect your spiritual views and interpretations of life after death. Coming out with your story could lead to closeness, more of a sense of intimacy, and less loneliness in that you can talk about areas of your life that you couldn’t before. It also may help you in a time of crisis or loss, when a loved one with knowledge of your spiritual perspective can support you through the grieving process.
About the Authors:
Dan Gordon and Gary Joseph spent over a decade researching the haunted houses of America’s most beloved summer travel destination, and in the process wrote the runaway regional bestseller Cape Encounters: Contemporary Cape Cod Ghost Stories (Cockle Cove Press/July 2004/$14.95).
In Cape Encounters, over forty Cape Cod residents describe paranormal sightings and activities as part of their everyday lives. Like most New Englanders, these Cape Cod residents are always practical and sometimes humorous; they relate their ghost encounters in a matter of fact way that keeps their stories identifiable and intriguing.
Gordon and Joseph have appeared on the New England television news magazine Chronicle, WBZ Radio-Boston, WCAI-NPR Woods Hole, WMAS Springfield, WHJJ Providence, WEIM Fitchburg, WBSM New Bedford, WSAR Fall River, WATD Boston’s South Shore, WJDA Boston’s South Shore, WPEP Taunton, WOON Woonsocket, WNRI Woonsocket, WQRC Hyannis, WOMR Provincetown, and APSR Radio.
Rave Reviews for "Cape Encounters":
Kirkus Discoveries, August 26, 2005
"In this winsome compendium of local lore, ghosts become a marvelous household amenity."
Lawrence Brown, Columnist, Cape Cod Times
"A marvelous collection of stories, some spooky, all interesting, and some unexpectedly touching."
Standard-Times, December 2, 2004
"What distinguishes this collection from virtually all other compendiums of bizarre encounters is the intelligence and sensitivity the two writers bring to their quest for ghost stories. What they were after in their interviews is personal history, the kind that Studs Terkel and Ken Burns have made so compelling."
New London Day, October 27, 2004
”If you're a skeptic, be warned: you might be converted.”
Improper Bostonian, December 3, 2004
"The many people in this book who claim to have seen, heard, even been kissed by intruders from the gauzy past in their Cape Cod houses seem remarkable sane. If anything, they have an almost Puritanical practicality that would suggest they'd never believe in such things as ghosts. The stair-tromping, door-unlocking, window-opening visitors described in these exciting , uncanny stories are mostly sympathetic, as are the visitees."
Worcester Telegram & Gazette, October 29, 2004
”These encounters are recounted by everyday people, who seem to treat the paranormal as, perhaps, a normal part of life."
# # #
Bookmark -
Del.icio.us |
Furl It |
Technorati |
Ask |
MyWeb |
Propeller |
Live Bookmarks |
Newsvine |
TailRank |
Reddit |
Slashdot |
Digg |
Stumbleupon |
Google Bookmarks |
Sphere |
Blink It |
Spurl
|
