Examining alternative spiritualities
and the developing American
spiritual landscape.
Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia.
Find me online
Recent Work
I write on enchantment, the contemporary spiritual landscape, and the paranormal for Religion Dispatches.
Dissertation
Twenty-First Century American Ghost Hunting: A Late Modern Enchantment
Ghost Story Project
I am collecting stories about Americans’ encounters with ghosts, demons, or other spirits.
Latest from the Blog
Magic in the West for the last 1,000 Years: As Christian as it is Pagan
Magic in the West With the rise of Neopaganism in the West over the past century or so, modern practitioners of magic have often argued that magic is a tradition or practice separate from and even opposed to Christianity. This has historically not been the case. Though there is a long tradition of Christian religious…
Why is Ghost Hunting so popular?
Why Americans Love Ghost Hunting Almost every weekend in the United States, carloads of people around the country pack up suites of sophisticated electronic equipment and head out into the evening in an attempt to document evidence of the existence of ghosts. They head out to reportedly haunted locations, whether they be public places like…
Daniel S. Wise 