Read this September 2005 Beliefnet.com article detailing apocalyptic theories about what Hurricane Katrina could have meant for society.

Alan Brown is a professor of English at the University of West Alabama and author of Haunted Places in the American South (University Press of Mississippi, 2002) He specializes in oral Southern ghost stories.

The American Ghost Society is a national network of ghost hunters, authors, ghost enthusiasts and psychical researchers who conduct investigations into the paranormal. They maintain a list of members and ghost hunters by state.

Read a New York Times review of Roadside Religion: Cross Country. Contact Beal.

Steven P. Brown is a professor of political science at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., where he specializes in religion and politics.

Bryan K. Fair is a professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, where his specialties include the First Amendment.

Ted Trost, University of Alabama American religions professor, has taught a course about religious themes and rituals in popular film.

Richard Friedman, executive director of the Birmingham, Ala., Jewish Federation, can discuss whether the connection to Israel is in any way unique for Jews in the Deep South.

The Pluralism Project at Harvard University offers a state-by-state search engine for religious communities.