Season 9: Episode 158
In terms of folklore, ghostly encounters are not about the proof of existence of the supernatural so much as they are about the meaning of the experience to the individual. Folklore is about examining the story, the meaning that it has for the witness, and the way in which that narrative is both transmitted and recorded.
We discuss the recording process of ghostly encounters, the 'writing of ghosts' with our guest Amelia Cotter, who has dome precisely this across different genres, including non fiction, fiction and poetry. Amelia is in conversation with correspondent Tracy Nicholas.
Visit Amelia online at www.ameliacotter.com
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Amelia Cotter is an author, poet, and storyteller with a special interest in the supernatural, history, and folklore. Her books include Where the Party Never Ended: Ghosts of the Old Baraboo Inn, This House: The True Story of a Girl and a Ghost, Maryland Ghosts: Paranormal Encounters in the Free State, the children’s book Breakfast with Bigfoot, and the poetry collection apparitions.
Amelia’s award-winning poetry and short fiction explore themes of anxiety, isolation, and trauma, often incorporating supernatural elements. Her work has appeared in journals like Barren Magazine, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, The Heron’s Nest, tinywords, and many others. Amelia is also a frequent contributor to Haunted Magazine, The Feminine Macabre, and Troy Taylor’s The Morbid Curious.
Amelia has appeared on various radio and television programs, including Travel Channel’s Hometown Horror, and in the documentaries Scary Stories and Tinker’s Shadow: The Hidden History of Tinker Swiss Cottage. She also appeared as a regular cast member on Really Channel’s The R.I.P. Files.
Amelia lives and writes in Chicago but is originally from Maryland, where she earned a degree in German and History from Hood College. She has written on the history of Chicago and Maryland, with a focus on Chicago’s hidden history, Maryland’s Civil War history, and, most notably, Maryland’s German World War II POW camps. Amelia has given tours with Chicago Hauntings ghost tours. She regularly presents at conferences and events and is a member of The Society of Midland Authors. In 2020, the 10th anniversary edition of This House: The True Story of a Girl and a Ghost received the Higgypop Paranormal Entertainment Awards Gold Winner award for Best Paranormal Book. In 2023, apparitions was shortlisted for The Haiku Foundation 2022 Touchstone Awards for Distinguished Books as well as nominated for the Eric Hoffer Book Award.
Amelia’s award-winning poetry and short fiction explore themes of anxiety, isolation, and trauma, often incorporating supernatural elements. Her work has appeared in journals like Barren Magazine, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, The Heron’s Nest, tinywords, and many others. Amelia is also a frequent contributor to Haunted Magazine, The Feminine Macabre, and Troy Taylor’s The Morbid Curious.
Amelia has appeared on various radio and television programs, including Travel Channel’s Hometown Horror, and in the documentaries Scary Stories and Tinker’s Shadow: The Hidden History of Tinker Swiss Cottage. She also appeared as a regular cast member on Really Channel’s The R.I.P. Files.
Amelia lives and writes in Chicago but is originally from Maryland, where she earned a degree in German and History from Hood College. She has written on the history of Chicago and Maryland, with a focus on Chicago’s hidden history, Maryland’s Civil War history, and, most notably, Maryland’s German World War II POW camps. Amelia has given tours with Chicago Hauntings ghost tours. She regularly presents at conferences and events and is a member of The Society of Midland Authors. In 2020, the 10th anniversary edition of This House: The True Story of a Girl and a Ghost received the Higgypop Paranormal Entertainment Awards Gold Winner award for Best Paranormal Book. In 2023, apparitions was shortlisted for The Haiku Foundation 2022 Touchstone Awards for Distinguished Books as well as nominated for the Eric Hoffer Book Award.