Tourists’ Immersive Experiences at Dark Tourism Destinations: The Role of the Spiritualist Medium

Abstract

While immersive experience and dark tourism are established fields, little research has examined how spiritualist mediums shape belief-led, emotionally resonant encounters at historically charged sites. This thesis addresses that gap by investigating how mediums influence emotional engagement, interpretive depth, and perceptions of authenticity. Centred on Bodmin Jail’s After Dark Event, the study adopts a sequential mixed-methods design and integrates quantitative patterns with qualitative mechanisms through joint QUAN–QUAL displays. Findings show that mediumship helps convert arousal into reflective meaning through ritual participation, atmospheric design, and interpretive trust. Anticipated theatricality heightened arousal and “staging” attributions, yet felt authenticity was sustained when the medium was perceived as accurate and respectful. Small-group intimacy and location-specific practices fostered co-creation and emotional synchrony, while an ethically sensitive stance strengthened visitors’ sense of place. Conceptually, the thesis introduces Transcendental Authenticity—a belief-led, emotionally co-produced form of authenticity enabled through ritual, spatial affect, and symbolic trust—and defines Spiritualist Medium Tourism (SMT) as a distinct interpretive niche. Methodologically, it offers a replicable mixed-methods template for studying affective immersion in dark tourism. Practically, it highlights actionable levers—group size and facilitation, expectation framing, and ethical briefing/debriefing—for designing spiritually informed, emotionally engaging encounters in sensitive heritage settings.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Plymouth
Supervisor	Sheela Agarwal (Director of Studies (First Supervisor)), Zoe Roberts (Other Supervisor) & Derek Shepherd (Other Supervisor)