Colleges and universities attract spooky stories like nobody’s business. The sharing of creepy tales and urban legends is a common part of student life on many campuses. But New York University is somewhat unusual in that it seems to obtain its creepy folklore as part of real estate transactions. In this episode, NYU faculty member Dr. Michele Hanks speaks with Matt about the stories associated with the historic campus.
Returning Special Guest: Dr. Michele Hanks
Dr. Michele Hanks is a cultural anthropologist, teacher, and writer. She has taught writing in the Expository Writing Program at New York University since 2015.
She has conducted ethnographic fieldwork with English paranormal investigators and ghost tourists as well as more recent fieldwork with psychics in NYC. Her book, Haunted Heritage: The Cultural Politics of Ghost Tourism, Populism, and the Past, was published in 2015.
Her writing also appears in American Anthropologist, Nova Religio, Ethnos, and Focaal.
She was our special guest in Episode 25 where she provided some thought-provoking comments on the search for evidence, what belief in ghosts means, and how this all ties into larger cultural issues as well as in Episode 51 where she talked about the role of doubt in paranormal investigations.
This episode featured music by Matthew Armstrong and production assistance from Kaylia Metcalfe.
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Show Notes and Sources
Alena Pirok (not Michelle Pirok)
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
A Haunted History of Invisible Women (Book)
Burroughs of the Dead Ghost Tour Company
Meg Cabot find her ghost story on her website)
Ghosts of Manhattan: Legendary Spirits and Notorious Haunts
Bridgestreet Methodist Church (first independent black church in Brooklyn)
KMMA Media 