Welcome to alt.folklore.ghost-stories!

Alt.folklore.ghost-stories is for the discussion of, well... ghost stories! If you've been visited by ghosties, ghoulies, long-legged beasties, or things that go bump in the night, a.f.g-s is the perfect place to tell the world about your experiences. In fact, if you've heard any ghost stories at all lately, feel welcome to post them here.

Of course, like all newsgroups, a.f.g-s has its share of frequently discussed topics. Thus, the alt.folklore.ghost-stories FAQ. I've tried to make the FAQ as comprehensive as possible, without getting too bogged down in useless rhetoric. It will probably be most useful to those new to the group, but hopefully there's something in it for even long-time readers.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please don't hesitate to send them to obiwan@ghosts.org (that's me!) or post them to the group. There's always room for improvement! And speaking of improvement, this FAQ would not have been the same without the advice, suggestions, and contributions of the following people:

Arthur Anderson (aca3@netaxs.com)
Brian Bethel (brianbet@innet.com)
Noah Broadwater (lseifer@usa.net)
David Chorley (chorley@vms.ocom.okstate.edu)
cjs (cjs@netcom.com)
Mike Czaplinski (mike.czaplinski@washingtondc.ncr.com)
David Fluker (davef@peoplepc.com)
Joel & Lynn GAzis-SAx (gazissax@best.com)
Jay Gitomer (jgitomer@metamosh.clubfed.sgi.com)
Thomas Grotenhuis (thmsgrtn@dordt.edu)
Jason Hoffman (Jason.Hoffman@nopc.jaxx.com)
Matt Hucke (hucke@sumter.cso.uiuc.edu)
Paul Johnson (paj@gec-mrc.co.uk)
Leesa Kern (lkern@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)
Lisa Korneluk (korneluk@eagle.navsses.navy.mil)
Mark Korven (Mark_Korven@goodmedia.com)
Roberto Labanti (labanti@iol.it)
Laura Little-Reynolds (u0ab9@wvnvm.wvnet.edu)
Susan Lynds (sel@noaacdc.colorado.edu)
Joseph W. Metcalf (regis@alpha2.csd.uwm.edu)
Prabal Nandy (nandy@u.arizona.edu)
Eugene Orlando (Ouija@ix.netcom.com)
Alan Peschke (alandp@flash.net)
Proserpina (proserp@duckmail.uoregon.edu)
Arturo Sanchez (arturo.sanchez@ericsson.com)
Nikki Taylor (taylorn@kenyon.edu)
Dave Wilton (dwilton@ix.netcom.com)

A very special thank you goes out to Susan Lynds. She wrote the section on the Wendigo and sent me oodles of info on will o' the wisps. She was also invaluable as a proofreader and constructive criticizer. In fact, a few of the sentences you'll read come directly from her. Many of the books you see in the Interesting Reference Material section were also sent to me by Susan. To sum it up, we should all bow down in deference to Susan for making this FAQ a better document to read.

A note on quotes: I have enclosed quotes from authors or people on the net in quotation marks ("). [These parts might be edited a bit for clarity or grammar.]

This FAQ is posted on the 20th of every month to alt.folklore.ghost- stories, alt.paranormal, alt.paranet.paranormal, alt.answers, and news.answers. This FAQ is also available via anon FTP at the following addresses:

ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/alt.folklore.ghost-stories/
ftp://ftp.ghosts.org/FAQ/

An enhanced version of the FAQ is also available via the World Wide Web:

http://www.ghosts.org/faq.html

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT: This FAQ may not be reproduced for profit, or in a published work that is sold for profit, without permission from the author (obiwan@ghosts.org). It may be distributed in NON-profit endeavors as long as the header information is kept intact.