Shaily Patel joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about a new course she’s teaching that explores hauntology, its connection to ghost stories, and the cultural significance of these narratives. Patel explained the role of ghosts as cultural metaphors and how ghost stories serve as a way of making meaning out of past traumas. She also shared the significance of ghost stories in Appalachia and the importance of their role in how people make meaning of the human experience.

Patel is an assistant professor of early Christianity in the Department of Religion and Culture at Virginia Tech. Her research explores the ways in which so-called magic was used to advance a number of theological ends in early Christian texts, and she teaches courses in New Testament, Christian apocryphal texts, orthodoxy and heresy, and demonology and exorcism.