For our last meeting in 2024, we were treated to a talk by Dylan Jones who spoke about paranormal activity and tourism! Cheri Dean reminded everyone to sign up for Read United which will be held on Friday, January 24th. Once all Rotary business items were discussed, Kim introduced our speaker.
Dylan began by explaining that parapsychology is documenting and understanding human experiences and that paranormal activity is part of modern day culture. There is a high degree of belief in the United States in paranormal activity. There are over 4,000 paranormal societies in our country and as a result, this leads to an increase in tourism in some cities like Savannah. He then showed us photos of places in Savannah that claim to be haunted.
Dylan said that the accuracy of ghost tours is suspect. These tours are a compelling way to engage people in history but is it ethical? At times, the telling of these stories can actually diminish people's lives, distort history, and bring unwanted attention to a place. On the other side, ghost tours can bring history alive, engage an audience, increase revenue, and link people to the culture and heritage of a city. If you would like to go on a ghost tour of Savannah or learn more about paranormal activity in our city, please visit https://www.witchinghoursavannah.com/