The Re-Enchanted Ghost with Karen Frances McCarthy

Summary

Irish author, scholar, and Spiritualist medium Karen Frances McCarthy discusses her book The Re-Enchanted Ghost in Contemporary American Fiction, which grew out of her doctoral dissertation. She describes a shift in recent American novels in which ghosts become protagonists with their own agency, inhabiting in-between afterlife spaces free of conventional religious doctrine. Drawing on her work as both a literary scholar and a practicing medium, she links this trend to post-secular spirituality, near-death experiences, and the cultural search for meaning beyond organized religion and materialism.

Key takeaways

• 1Karen Frances McCarthy's book The Re-Enchanted Ghost in Contemporary American Fiction is based on her PhD dissertation in English literature from the University of Birmingham.
• 2She argues that contemporary American fiction increasingly portrays ghosts as protagonists with agency, rather than as traditional antagonists or avengers.
• 3These novels imagine liminal afterlife spaces that are free of conventional theology, reflecting a 'post-secular' spirituality.
• 4McCarthy connects these literary trends to near-death experiences and suggests some novels function almost as sacred texts.
• 5She stresses the importance of ambiguity and of public education about consciousness and mediumship.
• 6McCarthy is also the author of Till Death Don't Us Part, and her forthcoming book Still Here is scheduled for publication by White Crow Books in 2027.

Glossary terms

Source