New York, August 2019. All over the city, plumes of steam rise from the pavement like urban ectoplasms: vaporous, diffuse emissions from the city’s orifices. Physical, psychical, or fictional, ectoplasms are not inherent to New York, but they have dominated its portrayal for over a century in journals, scientific literature, novels, and films. Yet, what emerged at the turn of the century as evidence of communication with the afterlife is now little more than a hoax, a last resort that may catch the public’s eye, but lacks any radical, political, or scientific basis.
This text is the result of speculation on New York City’s leaks, fluids, bodies (and lack thereof) while watching Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman, 1984) and thinking about the relationship between New York City and ghosts.
[0:02:27] Ghostbusters credits: Columbia University seen from the Alma Mater. I find myself walking along the campus paths on screen towards the fictional Department of Paranormal Studies. For the past two years, I have been following a similar route towards Avery Library where I read about…