The Stories Behind the Attractions: More Than Urban Legends?
The haunted tourism industry was created through the stories that make the attractions haunted. But where do the stories come from? First of all, cities with a history of tragic incidents are hot spots for haunted attractions. New Orleans, LA, Detroit, MI, and Savannah, GA, are three cities in the United States with a large sum of attractions for tourists to visit. But what keeps the stories alive? Margee Kerr, sociologist and scare specialist, believes it has a lot to do with the structure of the story. When a story follows the traditional layout for a tale of terror (an introduction with content that builds tension and concludes with a resolution of some sort), it is more memorable and easy to retell. Once the tale is heard, it can be told to others, and then they tell the story to others.
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Through this process, the story is spread, which gives it publicity. When people hear about the story behind a haunted place, they may become interested in visiting it to experience the thrill in person. In addition to story structure, the appearance and liveliness of the city where the stories live have to be suiting. The French Quarter of New Orleans, LA, is a great example of an area with these qualities. Because it has a rustic look and an abundance of tourism to keep it active, it is a great place for stories to thrive and stay alive.
What keeps the stories alive is not limited to the place itself. Another aspect to consider is the psychology behind why people are afraid of the place. Bruce Hood is a British psychologist who studied this and many other topics similar to it. In the second chapter of his book Supersense: Why People Believe in the Unbelievable, he addressed the idea that, no matter a person's religion, people are hardwired to suspect hidden forces in the world, which in turn creates superstition. In an experiment, people were asked to put on a cardigan that he brought with him. After being told the origin of the cardigan, which belonged to a murderer, people who offered would no longer put it on. All in all, the instinct of humans to believe in superstitious things, places, and events keeps the stories thriving.
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With the way the market for haunted tourism is today, having a story is usually great for business. An issue that presents itself with this idea is that a story might not already exist, so one is created. In a Halloween haunted house with the aim of scaring people, it isn't that big of a deal; the customers know that they are paying for a scare and not historical thrill. On the other hand, when a story is created for a house or other structure that is intended to be seen as a true story, issues arise. This type of an attraction is a complete hoax; the owner of the structure created the story to intentionally fool the people who buy into it. As a business plan, it may seem intelligent at first, but after the fraudulent story is exposed, business will sharply decline. In many cases, though, exposing a fake story is irrelevant because the owner already made their money.