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Poltergeist - Wikipedia
Poltergeist - Wikipedia
Poltergeist - Wikipedia
These manifestations have been recorded in many cultures and countries, including Brazil,
Australia, the United States, Japan and most European nations. The first recorded cases date
back to the 1st century.
Etymology
The word poltergeist comes from the German language words poltern 'to make sound, to rumble'
and Geist 'ghost, spirit' and the term itself translates as 'noisy ghost', 'rumble-ghost' or a 'loud
spirit'. A synonym coined by René Sudre is thorybism, from the Ancient Greek θορυβείν
(thorubeín) 'to make noise or uproar, to throw into confusion'.
Suggested explanations
Hoax
Many claims have been made that poltergeist activity explains strange events (including those
by modern self-styled ghost hunters), however their evidence has so far not stood up to
scrutiny.[2] Many claimed poltergeist events have been proven upon investigation to be hoaxes.[3]
Psychical researcher Frank Podmore proposed the 'naughty little girl' theory for poltergeist cases
(many of which have seemed to centre on an adolescent, usually a girl).[4] He found that the
centre of the disturbance was often a child who was throwing objects around to fool or scare
people for attention.[4][5] Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell says that claimed poltergeist
incidents typically originate from "an individual who is motivated to cause mischief".[6] According
to Nickell:
Unsubstantiated claims:
Psychological
A claim of activity at Caledonia Mills (1899–1922) was investigated by Walter Franklin Prince,
research officer for the American Society for Psychical Research in 1922. Prince concluded that
the mysterious fires and alleged poltergeist phenomena were because of a psychological state
of dissociation.[10]
Nandor Fodor investigated the Thornton Heath poltergeist claim (1938). His conclusion of the
case were a psychoanalytical explanation and in a subsequent publication: "The poltergeist is
not a ghost. It is a bundle of projected repressions,".[11]
Psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung was interested in the concept of poltergeists and the occult in
general. Jung believed that a female cousin's trance states were responsible for a dining table
splitting in two and his later discovery of a broken bread knife.[15]
Jung also believed that when a bookcase gave an explosive cracking sound during a meeting
with Sigmund Freud in 1909, he correctly predicted there would be a second sound, speculating
that such phenomena were caused by 'exteriorization' of his subconscious mind. Freud
disagreed, and concluded there was some natural cause. Freud biographers maintain the
sounds were likely caused by the wood of the bookcase contracting as it dried out.[16][17]
In the 1950s, Guy William Lambert proposed that reported poltergeist phenomena could be
explained by the movement of underground water causing stress on houses.[19] He suggested
that water turbulence could cause strange sounds or structural movement of the property,
possibly causing the house to vibrate and move objects. Later researchers, such as Alan Gauld
and Tony Cornell, tested Lambert's hypothesis by placing specific objects in different rooms and
subjecting the house to strong mechanical vibrations.[19] They discovered that although the
structure of the building had been damaged, only a few of the objects moved a very short
distance. The skeptic Trevor H. Hall criticized the hypothesis claiming if it was true "the building
would almost certainly fall into ruins."[20] According to Richard Wiseman the hypothesis has not
held up to scrutiny.[19]
Michael Persinger has theorized that seismic activity could cause poltergeist phenomena.[21]
However, Persinger's claims regarding the effects of environmental geomagnetic activity on
paranormal experiences have not been independently replicated and, like his findings regarding
the God helmet, may simply be explained by the suggestibility of participants.[22][23]
David Turner, a retired physical chemist, suggested that ball lightning might cause the "spooky
movement of objects blamed on poltergeists."[24]
Paranormal
Parapsychologists Nandor Fodor and William G. Roll suggested that poltergeist activity can be
explained by psychokinesis.[26][27]
Historically, actual malicious spirits were blamed for apparent poltergeist-type activity, such as
objects moving seemingly of their own accord.[28] According to Allan Kardec, the founder of
Spiritism, poltergeists are manifestations of disembodied spirits of low level, belonging to the
sixth class of the third order. Under this explanation, they are believed to be closely associated
with the elements (fire, air, water, earth).[29] In Finland, somewhat famous are the case of the
"Mäkkylä Ghost" in 1946, which received attention in the press at the time,[30] and the "Devils of
Martin" in Ylöjärvi in the late 19th century, for which affidavits were obtained in court.[31] Samuli
Paulaharju has also recorded a memoir of a typical poltergeist — the case of "Salkko-Niila" —
from the south of Lake Inari in his book Memoirs of Lapland (Lapin muisteluksia). The story has
also been published in the collection of Mythical Stories (Myytillisiä tarinoita) edited by Lauri
Simonsuuri.[32]
Famous cases
See also
Apparitional experience
Ghost
Ghost hunting
Parapsychology topics (list)
List of topics characterized as
pseudoscience
Lithobolia
Mischievous fairies
Spiritism
Stigmatized property
References
Further reading
External links