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Locative media makers in Bellingham, Washington.

‘Ghostwalk, A Creative Haunting of Sehome Hill’ is a locative media piece that celebrates the return of student voices to the Western Washington University campus. This piece showcases student works of audio art and spoken word that explore themes of haunting, place, and (im)permanence. 

To create this piece, students in creative writing and audio engineering worked together to create a series of "ghosts" in the form of audio recordings of poems, short stories, songs, and radio plays that are tried to specific GPS coordinates.

Use the map to find the Ghosts. Tap “Transcript” to read the words of the ghost as text. Please keep to the footpaths while passing through the arboretum. 

This piece was launched on October 27th, 2022 and is intended as a permanent installation. It was created as a collaboration between the students of S. Hayley Steele’s ENG 460 “MultiGenre Writing” class and Ezra Anisman’s FAIR 370I “Introduction to Pro Tools” audio engineering course. To our knowledge, it is the first piece of literary locative media in Bellingham, WA. It is housed on the locative media app, Gesso.fm. 

Please be advised that some of the student works showcased within this piece explore adult themes.

Ghost process:
To create each ghost, creative writing students picked a location to “haunt” and developed an idea for a ghost located there. Over the days and weeks that followed, students developed a poem, short story, song, or radioplay inspired by the ghost. Then they worked with an audio engineering student to record the ghost and fully realize the pieces through sound. Then, using locative media software, each “ghost” recording was bound to the GPS coordinates of the location that inspired it.

INSTRUCTIONS
- Download the Gesso app onto your phone. 
- Then use a browser to go to this link: https://gesso.fm/collections/ghost-walk. 
- Click the button that says: “Open in App.” 

TRAVEL
If you are traveling from off campus, we suggest using the bus to reach this piece. The closest bus stop to the starting point is the Viking Union stop.

PREPARATIONS
Be prepared for a walk of 2-3 hours, including on hiking trails. It is advised that you wear good walking shoes, and pack snacks or a picnic. You may also wish to bring a mobile charger for your phone. You might bring a notebook or a musical instrument and make a ghost of your own.

ENTERING THE OUTBACK FARM
To reach locations for the Ghosts in the Outback Farm, you will need to enter some gates. Be sure to close the gates behind you so the deer don’t get in. 

MOBILITY ACCOMMODATIONS
For those who have a hard time accessing hiking trails, we have extended the trigger points for Ghosts 19 and 20 to allow them to be accessed from paved roads and footpaths. Ghost 19 may now be accessed from E College Way, while Ghost 20 may be accessed from the corner of Indian Terrace [sic] and Ivy. 

CONTENT WARNING
This piece is similar to an “open mic” event, and the works offered within explore many topics. Some of the works deal with animal death (fish and cats), death of a small child, suicide, dispair, stalking, and human extinction. 

The Land Acknowledgement in the first track was read by S. Hayley Steele and recorded by Ezra Anisman.


Ghosts:

“The Ghost of your Absence,” written by Finn Petrak, produced by Nathan Masepohl, directed by Finn Petrak & Nathan Masepohl
“Fish Ghosts,” written by Megan O'Byrne, produced by Ezra Anisman, directed by Megan & Ezra Anisman
“Palm,” written by Fiona M Martinez, produced by Juliet Diballa, directed by Fiona M Martinez & Juliet Diballa
“A Coiling,” written by Jacob Windbigler, produced by Juliet Diballa, directed by Jacob Windbigler &  Juliet Diballa
“Ghostly Sabers at the Fountain,” written by Shanaé Miller-Ashton, produced by Alex Nelson, directed by Shanaé Miller-Ashton & Alex Nelson
“Ridgeway Rooftop Diver,” written and performed by Bennett O’Loughlin, produced by Kyle McCollum
“Just Visiting,” written by Mary Sawyer, produced by Ezra Anisman, directed by Mary Sawyer & Ezra Anisman 
“Waiting in the Wings,” written by S. Roshon, produced by Aedan Humphreys, directed by S. Roshon & Aedan Humphreys
“Grounded,” written by Lee Adair, produced by Nathan Masepohl, directed by Lee Adair & Nathan Masepohl
“ghosts in the stones,” written by Hannah Durland, produced by Alex Etchells, directed by Hannah Durland & Alex Etchells
“Voices and the Walls,” written by Nathan R. Choi, produced by Carter Norris, directed by Nathan R. Choi & Carter Norris
“Soul In Stone,” written by C.B. Raffaelli, produced by Alex Etchells, directed by C.B. Raffaelli & Alex Etchells
“A Local Labyrinth,” written by Ryan Culpeper, produced by Nick Dideon, directed by Ryan Culpeper & Nick Dideon
“Waiting For You,” written by Benjamin Harrel, produced by Hattie Bakke, directed by Benjamin Harrel & Hattie Bakke
“Stack 9 - Stairwell Anomaly,” written by Chris Barrett, produced by Carly Bauman, performed by Scott McKinney & Sophia Andersen, directed by Chris Barrett & Carly Bauman
“Quivering Through the White,” written by Scotty McKinney, produced by Carter Norris
“The Monument,” written by A.J. Deford, produced by Hattie Bakke, directed by A.J. Deford & Hattie Bakke
“It was like she was too scared to be helped,” written by Rosie R., produced by Nick Dideon, directed by Rosie R. & Nick Dideon
“love turned cold in the moping girl,” written by Lia Sage, produced by Alex Nelson, directed by Lia Sage & Alex Nelson
“Dead Air,” written by Jose Anthony-Bennett, produced by Aedan Humphreys, directed by Jose Anthony-Bennett & Aedan Humphreys

Created by S. Hayley Steele and Ezra Anisman
Locative Media Curation by Rosie Reynolds  

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Ghostwalk is dedicated to the memory of Jeremy Hight (1969-2022), whose work shaped locative media.


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