Episode 111 - Charis Cotter - Ghost Stories from Newfoundland

My guest for this episode is Charis Cotter. Charis is an award-winning author who specialises in writing ghost stories, many of which are influenced by the history, folklore and landscape of Newfoundland where she lives.

Alongside her writing, Charis has worked in schools and libraries across Canada, using drama and storytelling to bring her books to life. She has also encouraged Newfoundland children to collect traditional ghost stories from their communities as part of a project which has seen two books of these tales published, written and illustrated by the students.

I begin the interview by talking with Charis about how her interest in ghosts started from an early age, and how moving to Newfoundland has influenced her passion for writing stories about them. We discuss the relationship between ghosts, storytelling and people and how the importance of that can be seen in the history of Newfoundland as well as in the present day with the projects she has worked on with local school children. We also debate how stories about ghostly encounters may offer an insight into the true nature of what might be happening when people have these experiences and how that can offer a better way to frame a discussion on the paranormal outside of believing or not believing.

Charis also provides some accounts of local ghostly encounters that have been reported to her, which are great examples of why these types of stories fascinate us so much.

Information about Charis and her books can be found at her website https://www.chariscotter.com/.

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The podcast theme is provided by Purple Planet Music - 'Hubbub' by Geoff Harvey and Chris Martyn.