Tuesday morning around 9:30/10 A.M., I will be heading to Sicklerville, NJ to conduct my first interview with Tracey, Joe’s (my friend and classmate) future sister-in-law. I know what you’re thinking. Several of my classmates have been interviewing experts in their particular field of research, and don’t worry I will be as well, but because ghost stories are founded on people’s individual experiences, I thought it only appropriate to interview a non-professional as well.
According to Kirin Narayan and Kenneth M. George, authors of the chapter entitled “Personal and Folk Narrative as Cultural Representation” in Postmodern Interviewing edited by Jaber F. Gubrium and James A. Holstein, “…experience appears to dictate the content and form of personal narrative, and so the teller is of central importance. In contrast, folk narratives have been seen as highly conventional, widely shared cultural representations mediated by the narrative community at large” (p. 124). Ghost stories are both. Without an eyewitness account there is no proof that something paranormal took place, and without the general knowledge widely shared throughout this particular community, there would be nothing for eyewitnesses to compare their experiences against.
Tracey has been experiencing paranormal phenomena throughout her life, and told me in the many emails we’ve exchanged that she has many stories to tell. In addition to having years worth of experiences, Joe also mentioned to me that the house Tracey is currently living in is haunted, and that there have been a couple of times when Tracey would call him in the middle of the night and ask to spend the night because of the ghostly activity. So, in order to try to experience some of this activity, Tracey has invited me to her house, where we will conduct the interview. So, I’m pretty excited!
I hope to discover not only what other paranormal experiences Tracey has had throughout her life, but what affect they’ve had on her, if she’s worried about how her young daughter will be affected by the ghostly goings-on, if her daughter has ever sensed a presence in the house (children, young children especially, are said to be extremely sensitive to ghosts), if anyone else in her family has sensed something happening in the house that couldn’t be explained, if she has looked into the history of the house, and if so, did she find any information that might explain these phenomena.
As excited as I am, I equally nervous, or I will be once it gets a little closer to the actual interview. I want the interview to be casual with Tracey doing most of the talking, but I also want to make sure we’re able to cover all of the points I’m hoping to discuss. I was not blessed with a talent for small talk, and I don’t want to make Tracey feel awkward because of my inability to carry on a conversation. However, I’m trying to maintain a positive outlook and focus not on my nerves, but on my excitement. Wish me luck!
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