"I think I saw a ghost": The potential for fright tourism in the city of João Pessoa – PB

Abstract

Historic centers are plural spaces with memories of great importance to the cultural identity of a people. Besides their cultural and heritage importance, these spaces are ideal for entertainment, specifically, for the development of fright tourism, due to their dark narratives. Fright tourism can be understood as a process in which elements of local tradition are mixed with transnational aesthetics, coming from cinema, pop culture, horror, and cultural industries, promoting feelings of fear for tourists. In this context, this study aims to analyze the potential for the promotion of fright tourism, based on stories of hauntings at historical attractions in the city of João Pessoa-PB. This study is characterized as descriptive and exploratory, based on the collection of bibliographic and documentary data and a field visit. The results show that the Sólon de Lucena Park, the Santa Roza Theater and the Boa Sentença Cemetery have stories such as the ghost woman of the Lagoa, the vigilante spirit, the woman in white, the bride who walks among the tombs and the Boa Sentença employee, which permeate the popular imagination and can be used to promote fright tourism.