Though the cinematic genre of horror was not designated until the twentieth century, elements of this genre have appeared onstage since the time of the Greeks. Theatre history is rife with examples of theatrical ghosts and horrors, whose ever-changing representation indicates society's evolving relationship to and expectation for horror onstage. In 2019, Virginia Tech presented the installation Poe's Shadows, which combined elements of traditional theatre, original art, and innovative technology to present an immersive experience of Edgar Allan Poe's work. This production was a unique collaborative work that combined the creative labor of both faculty and students, while also invoking past horror theatre techniques and technologies. The properties of the Cube performance space allowed the Poe's Shadows creative team to imitate hand-cranked panoramas, magic lantern shows, and shadow plays, while also using sound effects and narration that combined elements of theatrical tradition and ghost shows. By studying the history of Poe's Shadows, as well as the reception of the installation, one can see how the theatre's evolving relationship with horror is effected by audience demand and expectation, as well as newly available technologies. / Master of Arts / Though the horror genre is most often associated with books and films, elements of the genre have been present onstage for thousands of years. Furthermore, studying these theatrical ghosts and ghouls—and how they were represented onstage— can help contemporary audiences understand historical anxieties and expectations. In 2019, Virginia Tech presented the installation Poe’s Shadows, which combined elements of traditional theatre, original art, and innovative technology to present an immersive experience of Edgar Allan Poe’s work. This production was a unique collaborative work that combined the creative labor of both faculty and students, while also invoking past horror theatre techniques such as hand-cranked panoramas, magic lantern shows, and shadow plays, accompanied by with sound effects and narration that combined elements of theatrical tradition and ghost shows. By studying the history of Poe’s Shadows, as well as the reception of the installation, one can see how the theatre’s evolving relationship with horror is effected by audience expectation and newly available technologies.

Dark tourism, understood as the type of tourism that relates to a visit to real or recreated places associated with death,suffering,misfortune or the apparently macabre, is not a new concept even from the touristic point of view. As a matter of fact,sites of war, disaster, death and atrocities have always cut the human eye and which made these sites a place curious enough for tourists to visit. As human beings, we have long been drawn either purposefully or if not towards places, attractions or circumstances that are connected in one way or another with death, suffering, violence and disaster. The idea about dark tourism has been designed and studied for the last decade and many were about understanding the motivations behind going or coming a dark tourist and the experiences the dark tourist seeks. But there is little research about the emotions that are involved in dark tourism from the tourist point of view when part-taking in ghost tourism and visiting places and sites that are said to be haunted. This Study focuses on exploring the emotions individuals and tourists seek to experience when they engage in special interest tourism like dark tourism and its experience by visiting haunted attractions. Using a case study of the Baron Palace which is a haunted attraction in Egypt. Studies on emotions are very limited in the tourism industry and talkless of dark tourism which is travelling to sites associated with death, suffering and atrocities.