RADFORD – The town of Shanksville, Pa., was relatively unheard of until it became a Mecca of sorts for people to gather and reflect on 9/11.  Folks have been traveling to Romania for centuries in hopes of connecting with Count Dracula. At some time in their lives, many could admit to chasing a fire truck just to see where the fire was. And right here in the New River Valley -- including on campus -- stories of morbidity are unending. Recreation, Parks and Tourism professor Teresa O’Bannon is hoping her research on “Dark Tourism” will shed some light on the subject.

O’Bannon, whose research interests also include agricultural and rural tourism development, is part of the Dark Tourism Forum based in England. This not-so-new phenomena is described as “the act of travel and visitation to sites, attractions and exhibitions which has real or recreated death, suffering or the seemingly macabre as a main theme.” O’Bannon says the subject is still taboo in different parts of the world and though the destinations are sometimes disturbing and even gruesome, people still come.

“One example is in Amish country where the children were killed in the schoolhouse,” she says. “After the shooting, cars were lined up, with people wanting a look at the place. I wanted to go up there and hand out surveys and ask ‘just why are you here?’ “The same can be said about the bookstore depository in Dallas and the grassy knoll just down the street. She says people will come from all over just to stand near the spot where the Kennedy assassination story began to unfold. “It’s as much about trying to find peace and resolution in the soul as it is about the history,” she says.

O’Bannon hears various explanations of why people visit places where tragedy has occurred or is occurring. If they’re following red sirens, it’s because they want to see if it’s anybody they know so they can lend a helping hand. She says, “There’s more to it than that.” It’s human nature to either be right in the midst of it or on the outskirts looking at it from the sidelines. “The Why” is what she wants to learn more about.

“Tourists still want to see the house where Nicole Brown Simpson was murdered. They still want to go to the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast. Even Abingdon has the Martha Washington Inn and its ghost. It’s like people want to get as close to death as they can without actually experiencing it,” she says.

One of the unofficial dark tourist attractions in France is the place where Princess Diana died. Ironically, France is one place where the government chooses not to push dark tourism, at least for the purposes of making money. They prefer to call it “Tourisme de Mémoire” which means memory tourism. It is aimed at remembering in order to know and accept tragedy and “the victory on one side is a defeat on the other.” O’Bannon says often times localities do not want to take ownership of dark tourism sites but they think it fits everybody else.

 O’Bannon’s research has taken her as far away as Robben Island in South Africa where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, but she can actually gather about as much information as she can contain even if she doesn’t set foot outside of Radford. “This coming weekend, there’s going to be a ghost tour making a loop around campus and through town and tickets are sold out,” says O’Bannon. Among the stops is the Harshberger home in central Radford, the obelisk in West View Cemetery that pays tribute to Appalachian heroine Mary Draper Ingles and La Riviere, often referred to as “The Castle”, in West Radford.

When a friend of Dick and Kathleen Harshberger spoke with them about buying his house, he told them they might want to stay in it a few days before they decided to buy. Harshberger says, “He told us they had poltergeists.  This was a well-educated man, and we knew he wasn’t making things like that up.” Harshberger said the owner shared stories with them about a person who hanged himself in the attic and the scratch marks left on the attic door, which, by the way, had a problem staying shut. “We went ahead and bought the house and didn’t have any problems. Kathleen said she felt a presence one time and she told them that we didn’t mean any harm and later the feeling passed.”

Visits to the old Saint Albans psychiatric hospital property in Fairlawn have been a long-debated subject among locals. The property is privately owned and is not open to the public. O’Bannon says there needs to be a high level of respect for visiting any dark tourism venues. An RU employee who asked not to be identified agrees.

The employee, a former Saint Albans staff member, says, “For the people affiliated with Saint Albans, and that includes staff and clients, the property was a big part of their lives and for many, it was actually their home. You need to have the same amount of respect for visiting such places as you would when you go into your grandparents’ home.”

To learn more about O’Bannon’s research, e-mail tobannon@radford.edu

(And on an eerie note: Writers for the RU Magazine and the student online publication Whim both researched the folklore, truths and legends associated with buildings and historical characters on campus. The tales are too numerous to include in this story but O’Bannon can provide more information if you dare listen.)