I interviewed my informant, HP, on a story she heard from a peer at summer camp. In the interview below, she shared the story and her personal thoughts on the matter. Q refers to me, the interviewer, and A refers to HP, our interviewee/informant. The Q&A is a direct transcript, which is why some of the sentence structure is very casual. Below is my personal reflection on the ghost story.

Q: Where did you source your ghost story from? 

A: I heard this from summer camp, and it was from a girl, and we were camping, and she shared it was the setting in which she told a story, like, kind of spooky, or, yeah, it was dark, and we were on this island, and we were in, like, our camps, we were in our tents and everything, and the wind was like, blowing a lot, and we were just about to go to sleep, and then we decided to share some stories 

Q: That’s really interesting because, like, that’s an exact reflection of what we talk about in ghost stories, which is how you get your ghost stories, not through written stories, usually, but through your peer groups. And I think that like summer camp in the United States, like summer camps in our youth are like the best example of that right now.

A: Yeah, I think most of the stories I have are from summer camp especially.

Q: Have you heard many over the years?

A: Or Yeah, I would say some of them often get repeated, but yeah, I would say most of the ghost stories I hear are from friends.

Q: Okay, so can you tell us the ghost story that your friend told? 

A: So it’s a story about this girl, and her name is Grace, and she lives in an apartment in New York City, and she is just with her dad. You know, he’s a single dad. She lost her mom when she was very young, and her father is the chief of police for NYPD. So they are watching the news.

A: They’re just watching their like weekly night show, just some father daughter bonding time. And then on the news, it comes on and it says, “serial killer let loose from the prison. Like everybody, take cover, be alert, be aware.” So her father immediately jumps up, and he starts suiting up, getting ready and everything. And you know, Grace is kind of used to this. This is just usual as the daughter of the chief of police, and then the father, you know, he looks very seriously at Grace, you know, it’s almost as if something is out of the ordinary. And he says, “Grace, lock the doors, deadbolt everything. Don’t answer any knocking, I will be able to open the door myself. You go to bed. Don’t answer. Do not answer.” So then she’s like, “okay, dad, like, stay safe. I love you,” everything. And he goes out into the streets to, you know, catch the serial killer and protect the citizens. So, you know, she’s a little freaked out, and she just says, “Okay, I just need to go to bed. Just not think about this. It’ll all be okay, whatever.” So she’s going to sleep, and you know she’s getting in her slumber. And then she has a dream, and her mother, and she, it’s her mother, and, you know, they’re playing like they did when they were younger. And then all of a sudden it gets serious, and she says, she says, “Don’t open that door.” And then there’s a faint knocking sound, and it just, Grace is a little bit freaked out. She’s like, “Mom, what are you saying”? And then they go back to playing, and then all of a sudden she gets very serious, and she’s like, almost yells at her, and she’s like, “do not open that door.” And then the knocking gets louder and louder, and then Grace, you know, she’s still sleeping, she’s still having this dream. And then it’s, it’s like the mother screaming and pleading at her, saying, “You can’t open that door. You must not open that door. It’s so dangerous.” And then immediately, you know, Grace gets up and she’s all freaked out. She’s, you know, heart is racing and everything. And then the knocking is so loud. It’s, you know, going through the entire apartment. She’s like, this must be my dad. Like, I know he said that he would get in and whatever, but I don’t know. So then she goes checks with people, and she’s like, “Oh, my God, it’s my dad. What is he doing out there?” And then she goes to open the door, but it’s just his head there, and then there’s a note, and it’s saying “you’ll be next.”

Q:  So I have a question. So do you think that, like, obviously, sometimes people see, you know, like their loved ones, their dead ones, in their sleep. But do you think that because the mother was talking to her about something that was happening in real life, in her dream, her mom was talking to her about the serial killer and everything going on. Do you think that there’s a chance that the appearance of the mother in her dreams wasn’t just a dream, but rather like a ghost, apparition, like a communication with the ghost? 

A: Yeah, I think maybe it could be. I think people think, like, you know, all ghosts are bad, but like, maybe the mother was kind of like a guardian.

Q: Like an ancestral ghost. Okay. And where with the whole like father thing, like, just his head? Do you think that, you know, likely the whole head appearing like, that’s all just a dream, like, the entire story, at least the part after she goes to sleep to, like, when she sees the note? Do you think that could just all be the girl Grace dreaming?

A: Yeah, I think so. I mean, it could be fake. You know, it’s kind of hard to imagine that, like, a serial killer could, like, put up the Chief of Police’s head on the door. Like, I don’t know if that could be hard to believe. And like people in the apartment could see it, so maybe it is a dream, right?

Q: Do you think of apparitions, like that, as ghosts? Say, the head was just not real, but like a visual or something? Do you think that could be like a ghost in a way?

A: I guess it could be, there’s just, it’s very hard to tell. I think, maybe the entire story could have been a dream, and it’s like how the mother appeared. It’s like the father appeared in the form of, like, just a head, right?

Q: And do you personally believe this is a ghost story?

A: I don’t know. It could be real. I mean, it’s, it’s not totally out of the question. I think it could be a real ghost story.

Q: Do you, like, believe in ghosts?

A: I mean sometimes there are certain circumstances that, maybe make me, double guess what I believe in but I think for the most part, I don’t really believe in ghosts. 

Q: Okay, and with this story specifically, do you know if it’s derived from any specific folklore, or how close in proximity was this story to your friend at summer camp, if you know? Is it like, derived from, like any old told story, from folklore,

A: I don’t know. I feel like it’s kind of like a modern-ish story, because, you know, there’s elements of the TV and the big city and all that, but maybe it could have been derived just like, you know, different variation, and it’s kind of evolved. But, yeah, I can’t really say what the exact culture is.

Q: That makes sense. And, I find it interesting because like you mentioned it is more recent, [and] the whole word of mouth thing would lead you to believe that it’s not a story that has touched that many people. Do you remember, what were the reactions from other campers when she told this story? Did people think it was real? Or do people get frightened by this kind of ghost story? Or believe it in any way?

A: I think that a lot of, like, I personally, was also freaked out by it, I think everyone else that was intently hearing this. They were like, “Oh my gosh, I have chills.” And, you know, this is really creepy, and, I mean, I remember, the storyteller did a better job of me, you know, like, would mimic, the knocking sounds and stuff. So I’m also much more theatrical than what I just gave but I think, you know, people are definitely freaked out and a little bit more nosy, maybe there’s a serial killer on the island. 

Q: This is my last question. But also in keeping the tradition of orally told ghost stories, and passing them, like, how at camp you share them with a lot of people? Is this the kind of thing that in the future you would tell others, and pass down the ghost story? 

A: I think somewhat recently, it was kind of a similar thing, like I was doing a camping tripSC Outfitters, and we were just sharing ghost stories. And I shared this one just because it’s so creepy. But, yeah, I think it is very important to share it and make sure other people are sharing it and just keep that tradition alive.

Personal Reflection: Personally, I don’t really believe in the part where the father’s head was just hanging there and left by the serial killer with a note, not because of any ghost-belief reasons, but just because it sounds like the sort of thing that would happen only really in fiction. As for the part about the mother visiting her, I find it very hard to decipher between what’s just in the psyche and what’s a ghost apparition in this story. Because the girl was sleeping, I feel like it would be easiest to say it was just an incredibly realistic dream. However, because of the dialogue with the mother, and the fact that she could really hear her, I start to lean towards thinking that maybe this was a friendly ancestral ghost visitation, intended to protect Grace. As a whole, I don’t really believe in this entire story, but I think it’s really cool that it’s been spread between peer groups.