We recently caught up with instructor Dr. Karen Frances McCarthy to learn more about her upcoming course The American Ghost Story at the Academy of Lifelong Learning. Dr. McCarthy is a scholar and author specializing in spectral and speculative fiction and its intersections with culture, psychology, and religion.
Q: Can you tell us about your background? How did you get involved in this field?
A: I’m from Ireland and I’ve always been interested in myth, folklore, Irish mythology and these kinds of stories. Education-wise, my master’s was in Anglo-Irish literature, which included W. B. Yeats and his interest in Spiritualism and the occult. My Ph.D. dissertation is on contemporary American spectral or ghost literature.
I’ve always loved the Romantics and Transcendentalists as well as the Spiritualist era in American history. I enjoy some of the work of Rupert Sheldrake, Dean Radin, and the research that’s been done at the Institute of Noetic Sciences in California and the University of Virginia. The programs focus on the intersection of human experience, science, and rational approaches to consciousness studies.
Q: What can students expect from your class? What is one thing on the syllabus that you are particularly excited to cover or introduce to your students?
A: Lots of inspiring discussion and new perspectives. We’re going to explore great literature from some of America’s most respected writers, from Washington Irving to E.A. Poe, Toni Morrison, George Saunders, and many others. We’ll be looking at ghost stories throughout American history, from the influence of the frontier to the literary innovation and experimentation that occurs in contemporary ghost stories. Many authors use pleasantly surprising form and technique to explore themes of trauma, disenchantment, and meaning.
Traditionally, ghosts have always been associated with trauma, because usually if a ghost is dead, they have a sort of task to complete, like make amends or seek revenge. But that’s no longer the story, because in contemporary American ghost literature, the ghost is now in the afterlife. It all takes place in a liminal space—it doesn’t take place on the planet—so they’re just living out in a new society, in another place, and they are haunted themselves. But they’re ghosts, so all sorts of interesting things can happen because they’re not limited by physical reality.
In contemporary ghost fiction, the ghosts keep telling their stories over and over again trying to process their lives and make sense of things. They’re searching for the solution to trauma, loneliness, meaninglessness, and eco-destruction. That introspection can be helpful in everyday life.
The one thing all of these novels have in common is that the ghosts are restored, healed, and made whole, not by an omnipotent deity, but by being left to figure things out by themselves. What they all invariably figure out is that meaning comes from a connection to something greater than themselves. This is surprisingly tangible even in liminal space. It takes the form of helping others in interesting ways, which brings a sense of meaning and purpose and restoration. It’s a very sophisticated way of looking at ghost stories.
Q: How can this class help students at different stages of their lives?
A: I think anybody who wants to look at the development of American history, art, and culture in an innovative way would enjoy this course along with anybody with a love of fiction. These novels and a couple of short stories we’ll be looking at are wonderful innovations in American literature. Anyone looking to reflect on their own lives, regardless of the stage they’re at, could appreciate the quality literature and the life lessons and themes discussed in this fiction.
Q: What inspired you to create this course?
A: I love ghost stories. They’re imaginative and not constrained by the parameters of reality. So they can make insightful statements about culture and about society, but can also at the same time be engrossing and engaging.
Ghost stories have always reflected the society from which they emerge. So if we look at the ghosts—what they are struggling with and how they react to the world around them and how others react to them—we can also see the shifts and changes in American culture.
To get a real sense of this, we’ll be looking at the evolution of ghost literature and the rich tapestry of the supernatural from colonial hauntings to contemporary spectral innovation and fiction. It’s a fascinating way to explore existential questions and see American culture and history from a new perspective.
Q: Do you have any future class ideas or projects you’re excited about?
A: At the moment, I’m working on conference papers. One is for the American Literary Association on narrative experimentation in George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo and another on narrative empathy and eco-consciousness in Kevin Brokmeier’s The Brief History of the Dead. I’m also finishing up a new monograph called The Re-enchanted Ghost in Contemporary American Spectral Fiction, which is to be published by Routledge next July. Once all of that is complete, I’ll start on something new!
Ghosts are waiting… Dr. McCarthy’s The American Ghost Story starts October 6. Reserve your spot before it disappears!