Work

Material hauntings: The emotional residue of absent and lost music keepsakes

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This Short Communication paper presents two case studies of absent and lost music keepsakes and the emotional and spatial chasms they leave behind. Focusing on a misplaced watch and a lost Guinness can that once belonged to Irish blues musician Rory Gallagher, it examines how these objects endure as material hauntings, evoking Gallagher's aura and eliciting feelings of mystery and unease. It argues that their absence foregrounds their material qualities and shows how, even in loss, they function as heritage-as-praxis, accruing meaning through memory and storytelling. Ultimately, the paper reveals how such voids shape emotional landscapes and alternative music histories.

Source: Social Sciences & Humanities Open

DOI: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.101603

Author: Lauren Alex O'Hagan

Institutions: The Open University, Örebro University

Language: English

Topic: Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,180

OpenAlex ID: W4410531641

FWCI:

Cites: 27

Cited by:

Related to: 10