"My body shivered": Emotions and empirical evidence of supernatural phenomena in Swedish popular culture

Abstract

Contemporary ghost stories can be mediated through television series that familiarize viewers with the idea of supernatural/spiritual phenomena, and present a way of witnessing, experiencing and dealing with such phenomena. The Swedish TV series Det Okända (The Unknown) is an example of such a production. A – presumably – spiritual phenomenon is tailored to fit a popular culture format and is served to a broad audience. This article’s focus is on the narration of the spiritual activity, the emotions that are expressed and the empirical evidence connected to such phenomena. Ghosts and their agendas, as well as their presence and activities, are performed and narrated by the people troubled by them, and by mediums called to help. In this article, I present some elements that categorize and frame ghosts in a modern Swedish society through the TV show Det Okända.