Poltergeist is a compound German word, often translated as ‘noisy spirit’-Poltern ‘to make noises’ + Geist ‘ghost’.

It was first used by the German religious leader Martin Luther as a way of describing events attributed to spirits of the dead or the Devil.

The term is associated with disturbances such as noises, with no visible cause, objects being flung around by unseen hands, strange odours and physical assaults. Fires are sometimes started and water appears from no known source.

Poltergeist activity can be traced back to ancient Roman times. In Ab Urbe Condita Libri, the Roman historian, Titus Livius (59BC-AD17) wrote of a shower of stones that frightened the Roman army. It has been reported globally since then, appearing to have adapted to modern technology.

A census taken in 1935 by the International Institute for Psychical Research under the title Historic Poltergeists put on record 300 cases from AD530 to the 1930s.

Some still consider it a mischievous spirit, which is occasionally malevolent whilst others regard it as phenomena produced by subconscious psychokinesis - from the Greek psyche ‘mind’+ kinesis ‘movement’.

What is sure is that poltergeist activity tends to occur around a single person, called an agent or focus. It is often attributed to a pubescent female.

In ancient times it was blamed on the Devil, demons or witches.

 It is still considered a mystery by many. The parapsychologist and psychologist, Nandor Fodor who was one of the leading authorities on poltergeists said: “A first-year astronomer may be able to figure out the orbit of a planet, but who could figure out the orbit of a fly? Poltergeist disturbances are more erratic than the flight of flies. They do not happen under direct gaze, but always at the moment when attention is diverted.”

Between 1934-1938 Fodor was director of research for the International Institute for Psychical research and he investigated many poltergeist cases. He came to the conclusion that many of the manifestations were real but added, “I consider them, however, to be manifestations of major mental disorder.” He regarded the agents as suffering from repressed anger, hostility and sexual tension.

It is usual for poltergeist activity to start and stop abruptly. Generally the activity is short-lived, lasting from several hours to a few months but some have been known to last for several years.

The phenomena usually starts with scratching noises whish grow in strength to become bangings and rapping. At first they can sometimes appear to be coming from the outside of the building but as they progress, they seem to be on the inside.

It is common for poltergeists to mimic noises. It has been known for the sound of furniture being dragged around, pots and pans being thrown and crockery smashing to come from behind closed doors but on investigation everything in the room is in place and undamaged.

One of the most common events is spontaneous movement of objects. More often than not the objects aren’t seen as they start to move. They odd item can become damaged or broken but this can escalate into a house being totally vandalised and all in a matter of minutes. There is a 1981 account from Bournemouth where food and furniture were tossed around rooms. When photographs were taken they showed that hardly anything was left intact.

Stone throwing is another very common phenomena. Showers of pebbles and rocks have been known to fall both inside and outside buildings. It is not restricted to stone though. Garage owners in Nottingham reported ball bearings being thrown around.

What is curious about stone throwing and kindred disturbances is the seeming slowness of motion of the objects. They are often reported as moving at a much slower speed than they would have if they had been thrown. In many cases the objects take a curved path and can sometimes be warm or even hot to the touch.

Objects have been known to pass through windows or holes that appear too small to admit them and some have appeared through closed doors from empty rooms. Another frequently observed phenomena are objects falling from ceilings. Despite the many reports of so many objects being thrown it is rare for anyone to receive injuries. Some have been struck lightly but most not at all.

It is very rare (but not unknown) for people to be attacked and seriously hurt although it is quite common for minor scratches and bite marks to appear. Another common feature of poltergeists is the appearance and disappearance of objects such as coins, jewellery and even food. Poltergeist activity in a house in Cambridgeshire brought bread rolls. Tests confirmed they had been baked over a hundred years before. Fires have been widely reported as well as the appearance of water and other liquids. Less common than the so-called ‘core phenomena’ are apparitions, levitation and the spontaneous appearance of blood.

Poltergeist activity is wide ranging but the character of the phenomena is nearly always the same. Psychical research increased during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, confirming that poltergeist activity was genuine. The well-known British investigator of psychic phenomena, Herward Carrington said: “It appears incredible that such coincidental happenings could possibly have taken place in all ages and in all parts of the world, had there not been some genuine manifestations behind these reports.”

In a paper which Carrington contributed to the Fifth International Psychical Congress (Oslo, 1935) he said: “Were poltergeists merely due to trickery, on the one hand, and credulity, on the other, we should assuredly expect to find more in relatively uncivilized countries, or at least expect to find them in which the level of culture is not high. But an examination of the material shows that precisely the reverse of this is in fact the case-England, Germany, Italy and the United States having the greatest number.”

In the 1960s William G.Roll of the Psychical Research Foundation in Durham, North Carolina explored the psychological theory. He noted that the ‘agent’s or ‘focus’ are often experiencing repressed psychological tension or emotional problems. He studied historical reports of poltergeists activity and investigated 7. He named the phenomena ‘recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis (RSPK). Recurrent refers to the fact that the events are typically repeated and spontaneous because it has not been possible to discover any way to control or predict the occurrences. He noted that the agent is usually oblivious to the fact the he or she caused the disturbance but was, at the same time, secretly or openly pleased that they occurred.

Poltergeist activity has been described as ‘extrasomatic’, literally outside the body. An expression of psychological stress in the same way that an ulcer can be a psychosomatic expression of said stress.

Other researchers have disputed the psychological dysfunction theory and some claim that Roll’s case studies are too small and individual to begin applying widespread hypotheses to them. Thousands of people suffer psychological trauma but they don’t all become poltergeist agents.

In their book, Poltergeists Alan Gauld and Anthony D.Cornell list 500 cases. In the late 1970s they did a computer analysis of those collected since 1800. They identified 63 general characteristics, which include the following: 64 per cent involved the movement of small objects; 58 per cent were most active at night; 48 per cent featured raps; 36 per cent involved movement of large objects; 24 per cent last longer than one year; 16 per cent featured communication between the poltergeist and agent; 12 per cent involved the opening and shutting of doors and windows.

The Gauld-Cornell analysis found 9 per cent attributed to demons; 7 per cent to witches and 2 per cent to spirits of the dead. Most of the demons and witches attributions occurred in non-Western countries. There are hardly any reports of poltergeists from people who live alone. The majority occur in families, or where there is someone to share the experience. In contrast people living alone appear to be the most common victims of Spontaneous Human Combustion. In The Poltergeist Phenomenon John and Anne Spencer speculate that “Perhaps the energy that leaks from a person in frustration to cause a poltergeist, if not dispelled, can become a violent inner force. If there is no one to display frustration to, even in a seemingly absurd a manner as a poltergeist phenomena, perhaps the force turns inward and is self destructive.”

In the words of Hereward Carrington: “When all has been said and done, however, it must be acknowledged that the true nature of the poltergeist phenomena still remains a mystery-both to the character of the physical occurrences themselves, and also as to the nature of the ‘mind’ instigating them. If such phenomena were subject to any form of control we might have some hope that progress would be made towards their solution; but in the great majority of cases their occurrence is so spontaneous and sporadic that, seemingly, scant hope can be offered that such control conditions can be applied.”

 

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