• Miss. Vrushali Wanaskar
• Mr. Bhupendra Shinde

Dark tourism is tourism which centres on locations that are associated with death, tragedy, or the supernatural. Well known for the beaches, the pulsating night life and the Portuguese architecture, Goa also has its scarier face that tells tales of possession and the paranormal. The present research investigates dark tourism in Goa and the cultural–historical and supernatural stories associated with its haunted sites. To that end, the paper analyses various haunted sites like the Three Kings Church, the abandoned Ghost Hotel, Jakni Bandh and the Saligao Church with a view to understanding their past and the myths associated with them. The psychology of tourists that visit paranormal areas is examined in this research and is demonstrated to be a mixture of curiosity, thrill seeking, and cultural tourists. Phenomenal tourism in the state of Goa is therefore an enjoyable event and concurrently a potential way of hosting the visitors with historical and cultural complexities of the place. For many visitors, these places share with them the darker, lesser-known side of Goa, which, in contrast to smooth tourist narratives, is at least as interesting and, in many ways, more authentic than mainstream historical and cultural tourist experiences. However, some limitations concerning the research as far as Paranoiac Legacy is concerned include social prejudices attached to paranormal beliefs, issues to do with over-commercialization of sites and lack of access to infrastructure in many sites. All these factors combine to put a brake on the development of dark tourism as a segment in the Goa’s Tourism Industry. Coping with these issues, paranormal tourism being relevant for the community involvement, ethical adverting, and application of sustainable development perspectives can become an interesting complement to the Goan Tourism product that combine cultural and historical values with new opportunities for creating value. Finally, this research highlights that respect should be given towards cultural storying even as the tourism of the paranormal is managed responsibly for sustainable development in Goa’s strategic tourism plan.

Dark tourism, Paranormal tourism, Goa tourism, Sustainable tourism, Thrill-seeking, Thanatourism

"Dark Tourism: A Study on Paranormal Places in Goa", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 12, page no.c226-c239, December-2024, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2412223.pdf

"Dark Tourism: A Study on Paranormal Places in Goa", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 12, page no. ppc226-c239, December-2024, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2412223.pdf