Three professors explicitly examined how educational dialogue and narrative informed their students' reading and writing experiences. In three introductory courses (composition, sociology, and literature), each taught in a developmental education unit within a large research university, students wrote at least one story about “social ghosts,” the strong but usually unexamined forces that shape their everyday lives. The “ghost stories” and their telling were discussed as important indicators of students' educational histories. The power of these stories to actively shape student learning outcomes was explored.