Fact or Fiction? How to tell a true Ghost Story

by: Jim Hall

There is a certain Bridge in Durham County, NC with a tragic history. It spans a small creek in the eastern part of the county, on a long, desolate stretch of country road. On a dark evening in the summer of 1912, a man and woman and their infant son were returning home from a church revival along the road. As the man drove across the bridge, something spooked the horse pulling their wagon, and it overturned. The baby was thrown into the creek and drowned. The woman was crushed underneath the wagon. Only the husband survived, but seven days later he hung himself from the bridge in a fit of despair. Some say it was The Devil himself that spooked the horse, angered by the family’s Christian beliefs, but ever since, the bridge has been cursed. If you dare to go out to the bridge at midnight on the night of a full moon, you may hear the sound of a baby crying. You may hear the creak of a rope, swinging below the bridge. You may run into a pale woman, who will frantically ask you to help save her baby. Or maybe, if you are unlucky enough, you will meet The Devil himself.

The point of this story is…not a word of it is true. I made the whole thing up.

As paranormal investigators, it is amazing the number of stories of this type that we hear, almost all of which are SWORN by the source to be true. They will usually also throw in an anecdote of their own of a “funny feeling” they got or a “weird noise” they heard on the bridge, just before jumping into their car and racing for the safety of home. The fact is that in the case of this story, a minimal amount of background research would probably begin poking holes in it. For example, a phone call to the Department of Transportation might reveal that the road, bridge and all, was constructed in 1968, and the original dirt road ended a mile short of the creek.

The simple fact is that a story like this one is started and spread because it is FUN. We WANT to believe it because it makes our world more exciting. But, as a serious paranormal researcher, you can waste a lot of time (not to mention film, tapes, batteries…) on wild goose chases if you don’t learn how to spot the phonies. Now, nothing will replace good research skills as a truth detector, but an experienced ghost hunter can usually tell a true ghost story before you get to the end. Here are a few signs of a fake:

• Dramatic Structure
  While presumably a ghost is the spirit of a person no longer living, and the deceased’s manner of death MAY make for a good story, beware of an overabundance of drama. A good ghost story will have a sense of irony to it. A good ghost story is not necessarily true (and a true ghost story is not necessarily good). The experiences we have in the field, while exciting to us, would not make for good campfire fare: "…and then the needle on the compass swung 30 degrees, the EMF meter jumped to 7.0, and we got an orb shot with the digital camera. Boo!" While dramatic structure does not in and of itself disqualify a ghost story, it should send up a red flag: proceed with caution.
  
  
• The Devil You Say
  Whenever a ghost story involves Old Beelzebub, WARNING! I don’t mean to get into a theological debate, but the idea that the Enemy of Mankind; the Devourer of Souls has nothing better to do than spook animals, dance with unsuspecting ladies, or pace in circles in the woods, at the least, stretches credibility.
  
  
• I Heard This From A Friend Of A Friend
  Be very careful if the story is related 2nd (or 3rd, or 4th, or 5th…) hand. At the least, some crucial details have probably been lost or changed in the telling (for example, the location of the paranormal activity). If someone is relating a story that happened to someone else, and you suspect that there MIGHT be some truth to it, ask if you can talk to the source directly.
  
  
• You Put Your Left Foot In, You Take Your Left Foot Out...
  This is one of my favorite parts of a good ghost story, the interactive element. This is the part where the investigator can, through some strange action, actually SUMMON the spirit. Some of my favorites have been walking backwards around the location, honking your car horn three times, and whistling Dixie. There IS some evidence that spirits may be more active at certain times of day, or on certain dates (they seem to really like anniversaries of important events for some reason), but that is probably the extent to which one can control their responsiveness. And please, for the love of whomever you hold Holy, don’t go out on an investigation and start messing around with Ouija boards or seances. Not only are these methods untested and potentially dangerous, but their results are not scientifically valid, and your credibility can and probably will be damaged.

These are but a few of the litmus tests that an investigator will subconsciously put a ghost story through before choosing to check it out for him or herself. Unfortunately, this field of study lends itself well to flights of fancy. The best advice for determining fact from fiction is…when in doubt, take it with a grain of salt.