Poltergeist Phenomenon

By Louis Gonzalez

see also Poltergeist

The poltergeist phenomena is perhaps one of the most studied and least understood of all paranormal phenomena. As it relates to ghost study, there are differing opinions as to whether or not a poltergeist is related to ghostly activity at all. Firstly, let’s begin with a definition. The term poltergeist is a compound of the German verb polter – ‘to make a noise by knocking or tumbling about, to knock or rattle, to scold or blister’. The noun geist is ghost.

As the name implies, poltergeist disturbances usually feature (and may begin with) some kind of auditory phenomena, varying from tappings, knockings or scratching sounds to extremely loud blows, rumbling noises or detonations. Other typical noises include moans, shrieks, laughs giggles, and voices. The latter encompass a full range of human tones (gruff, shrill, and soft) and may involve the enunciation of isolated words – or sometimes elaborate speeches in direct response to questions from bystanders – in a variety of identifiable human languages.

Though the poltergeist seems to have been named after its auditory effects, more typical phenomena may include but not be limited to:

• House is plagued with a constant pelting of small rocks and stones, earth, mud, sticks, fruit, shells, etc. • Objects or furniture being rolled, moved, overturned or otherwise agitated. In particular, small items being thrown, levitated, caused to simulate rocking or “dancing” motion, or swept across a room in flights of complicated and sustained trajectory from which they descend either gradually or very abruptly. • The arrangement or neat stacking of objects into patterns. • Bedclothes, linen, garments and curtains molested, torn, slashed or otherwise damaged. • Asportations – object(s) disappearing from their original location, possibly sometimes never to be found, or on occasion teleported - turning up in an odd place. • Apportations – object(s) seemingly appear from nowhere. Some apports are assembled from invisible material matter; others are teleported from another often-distant location. • Manipulations suggestive of internal malfunction may affect electrical equipment later found to be in normal working order. Electrical appliances can often work of their own accord, even if not plugged into the main supply. • Telephones may ring or register calls when none have been made; plugs are removed and light bulbs smashed or wrenched from their sockets. • Mysterious pools of water and/or other liquids such as oil, tar and even on the occasion blood emitting from normally dry surfaces, e.g. wall, ceilings, etc.

Poltergeist Phenomenon

• The appearance of lights, luminosities, misty figures, phantasms, etc., including the phantasms of animals.
Poltergeist activity can be best described as mischievous, destructive, noisy, cruel, erratic, thievish, demonstrative, purposeless, cunning, unhelpful, malicious, audacious, teasing, ill-disposed, spiteful, ruthless, resourceful and much more. In all circumstances alleged ghosts usually prefer solitude whereas a poltergeist prefers company.

While most hauntings refer to haunted locations, poltergeists have been described as “haunted people”. At the center of most of the aforementioned phenomenon usually is a person paranormalists will refer to as the “agent” or “trigger”. The term focus is given to the person who is adversely affected by the presence of poltergeist activity and / or the individual that is often present when activity takes place. The focus is often thought of being directly or indirectly responsible for some, if not all poltergeist activity through the unconscious manipulation of physical objects in the house via (PK) psychokenisis (formerly known as Telekinesis and more commonly known as “mind over matter”- the ability to move things by energy created in the brain) abilities which are unconsciously used by the child. William Roll, project director of the Psychical Research Foundation in Durham, North Carolina, having studied over 116 written reports of poltergeist cases identified patterns that he labeled “Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinsesis” or RSPK, which are inexplicable, spontaneous physical effects.

In practically every authenticated case of poltergeist activity, an adolescent or child (more often a girl than a boy) is almost invariably present in the affected household, or closely associated with the house. Many of the young people involved are above average in intelligence, and usually healthy, although some are subject to hysterical outbursts. It is unknown why this energy seems to appear in females around the age of puberty, but documentation of its existence is starting to appear as more and more case studies have become public. It seems that when the activity begins to manifest, the agent is usually in the midst of some emotional stress or sexual turmoil. It should be noted that while most cases such as this manifest around young women, it is possible for puberty age boys (and even older adults) to show this same unknowing ability. As with the young women, the vast majority will have no idea that they are causing the activity and will be surprised to find there is even a possibility that strange things are happening because of them. The agents typically have no method of dealing with the stress on any normal level, so the subconscious takes advantage of the pychokinetic (mind over matter) ability we all have to blow off steam. Studies have also shown that people with epilepsy or epileptic-like ability in the brain are sometimes associated with poltergeist activity. This does not mean that everyone under stress or with epilepsy will be a poltergeist agent. In fact, the phenomenon is very uncommon, even though minor PK events may occur throughout someone’s lifetime. Even in the most severe cases of repressed stress or epilepsy, poltergeist activity rarely occurs.

Research undertaken both in this country and Europe since World War II indicate that poltergeists are not caused by spirits or demons but are creations released by the human mind. In the 1930’s the psychologist and pararpsychologist Nandor Fodor advanced the theory that some poltergeist disturbances were caused not by spirits but by human agents suffering from intense repressed anger, hostility, and sexual tension.
Thus, the current theory behind this Poltergeist-like phenomena is that the activity is caused by a person in the household, known as the "human agent" usually an adolescent girl and normally one that is troubled emotionally. It is believed that the agent unconsciously manipulates physical objects in the house by psychokinesis (PK), the power to move things by energy generated in the brain. This kinetic type of energy remains unexplained, but even some mainstream scientists are starting to explore the idea that it does exist.

The presence of the energy is almost always an unconscious one and it is rare when any of the agents actually realize that they are the reason that objects in the home have become displaced and are usually of the impression that a ghost (or some sort of other supernatural entity) is present instead. The bursts of PK come and go and most poltergeist-like cases will peak early and then slowly fade away.

Since poltergeist disturbances do not seem to occur when the focus is enjoying a normal sleep, it would appear as though the higher centers of the brain are in some way involved and though it seems likely that there is a psychological basis for poltergeist incidents, there have been cases where physical objects have undoubtedly moved under conditions which preclude many psychologists theories and it may be that an unusual combination of psychological tension, concentration and single-mindedness that may be at work.
The differences between poltergeist activity and a haunting can be at times, difficult to distinguish, especially in its earliest stages, as haunts and poltergeists do share basic aspects – noises, odors, moving or disappearing objects, etc. However, there are some characteristics that set poltergeist activity apart. Haunting activities are continuos over time, concentrating in the same area replaying over and over much like a tape recording, whereas poltergeist are usually linked directly to a specific person (target) or object. Furthermore, poltergeists can travel anywhere. The one comforting thought is that poltergeist disturbances do not usually last for very long.

With the exception of rare lengthy cases, poltergeist phenomena generally last from two to six weeks (short-term 1 week, long term about 18 months). Cases are nearly always reported in homes, offices or workplaces – wherever a dynamic of human interaction takes place. Poltergeist activity, with its connection to unresolved stress, appears to be a rare form of stress relief. Instead of the stress releasing itself in "normal" ways, the agent unconsciously "blows off steam" with the PK activity. Patterns found in the disturbances are generally symbolic and can give clues as to the identity of the agent and the nature of the unresolved stress. Often object and area focused activity occur whereby the disturbances tend to stay with certain forms of objects or in certain locations in the physical environment. The disturbances often appear as metaphors to the causes of stress. For example, sexual tension may be released through causing the bed to shake. Anger towards a certain person may be released by the agent causing items belonging to the target person to break.

The rare outbreak of small fires may be associated with a general release of anger, whereas water is more often associated with grief (as in tears not being physically shed). More unusual cases involving guilt have resulted in the agent actually giving him/herself a psychokinetic "self-beating" displayed by the spontaneous manifestation of bruises or other marks of physical punishment. Other very rare poltergeist cases have involved sightings of apparition-like forms. These are not thought to be true apparitions (or ghosts – a consciousness operating outside of or after the death of his or her physical body). Rather, they are thought to be unconscious projections from the mind of the agent that are "picked up" telepathically by people associated with the agent (and of course, by the agent as well).

These apparitional forms are often not human in appearance (in contrast to ghosts), and may even look like an archetypal "monster." As frightening as they may appear, these mental projections are harmless and are simply a reflection of the agent's inner psychological "monsters or demons." As with the physical activity, they are often a metaphor for the mental and emotional stress the agent is experiencing. More subtle forms of poltergeist activity involve micro-effects whereby the agent mentally, though unconsciously, affects the functioning of technology (these are effects that occur throughout our lives). It is now known that technology such as watches, computers, telephones, photocopiers, etc. are apparently susceptible to PK. Similar to the large scale poltergeist effects, these micro-effects appear to be a form of stress-relief or a reflection of the mood of the agent, and the type of effect is often a clue as to the nature of the stress.

Since poltergeist cases have psychological stress and emotional dynamics at their core, investigations involve detailed observation of the human interaction present in such cases. All family members or co-workers are interviewed separately and en masse in order to assess the nature of the disturbances and the emotional interplay. Many personal questions are asked, and in some cases, medical information may be requested. Patterns in the disturbances are noted and participants may be asked to re-enact scenes when the disturbances occurred. Because the investigation may alter the emotional dynamics, leading to difficulty in finding the agent, on some case the investigator(s) may request an extended stay on the premises in hopes that the dynamics return to their usual state. Throughout the study, "normal" disturbances are separated from those that may be "paranormal."

Often the participants believe the disturbances to be the result of a ghost or outside entity. Because stressful emotional dynamics are at the core of such cases, this "ghost" is used as a scapegoat for the occurrences and even for the events or issues that are causing the stress in the first place. In addition, people are often more sensitive to anything out of the ordinary in the environment during such situations. In many cases, participants may misinterpret overlooked physical occurrences with normal, though not obvious, normal explanations. Finally, because there is often a ghostly scapegoat to blame, there may be a mixture of real RSPK events with intentionally caused disturbances surreptitiously carried out by the agent and/or other participants.

A lot can be done in the name of stress relief when there's a ghost present to take the blame. In cases such as this, the intentional disturbances are not generally an attempt to dupe the investigator, but are rather directed at other members of the family or group as a more "normal" form of stress relief. Such non-malicious fraud can make a poltergeist investigation very challenging. At worst, such "mixed" cases may be dismissed as normal when paranormal elements are actually present. The stress inherent in a poltergeist case, as well as the stress caused by one, does make counseling very important. Not only the agent, but all participants can benefit from individual or group counseling. Poltergeist activity tends to stop when the stress is identified, addressed or released, or when the stressful situation itself is identified, altered or ended. Poltergeist activity also tends to stop when the agent realizes he or she is responsible for the phenomena (and especially if the agent accepts responsibility for it). Once the activity has ceased, follow-up therapeutic work may be crucial in order to help resolve the underlying causes of the poltergeist outbreak. Finally, for the poltergeist agent, there always exists the potential for learning to focus and apply this psychokinetic ability in positive ways.







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