Abstract
Belief in some form of paranormal--ranging from traditional Christian ideas of resurrection and Virgin Birth to aliens and clairvoyance--is the norm, with 90% of Southern Focus Poll (SPF) respondents believing in one or more forms. The notion of ghosts and the paranormal “violate a number of binaries” that dominate Western culture: life or death, past or present, body or soul. Rather than “or,” the paranormal exists within the and, where life and death are deeply intertwined. The paranormal subsist somewhere between conventional time and space, and belief in such leads to a “culturally powerful position” wherein participants can “shatter” the binary constraints of reality. Believers in the paranormal, ranging from use of astrology to communicating with the spirits of the deceased, create meaning from these encounters. This is an exploration of how believers in the paranormal from the south construct, experience, and make meaning from paranormal belief across varying social locations.
How to Cite
Sheon, L., (2018) “There’s a Haint Up in Here Somewhere!—Paranormal Belief Construction, Experience, and Meaning-Making in the American South”, Capstone, The UNC Asheville Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship 31(2), 5/1/2019.
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