Post by bluefedish on Jan 10, 2008 17:45:59 GMT -5
The term, compounded from the German poltern, 'to knock', and geist, 'spirit', is applied to a variety of invisible entities which manifest in an unruly and disturbing manner, often involving unexplained noises, the moving or throwing of objects, bile smells, strange shrieks, as well as such curious phenomena as apports (an object that supposedly materializes out of nothing in the presence of a medium or psychic). While some occurrences may appear to involve actual spirits or ghosts, the disturbances may also derive from subconscious psychokinesis on the part of an individual.
Poltergeist phenomena have been reported around the world throughout history. Before the 19th century, these occurrences were blamed on the Devil, demons and witches. In the 1930s the psychologist and psychic researcher Nandor Fodor suggested the theory that poltergeist disturbances were caused not by spirits but by individuals suffering intense repressed anger, sexual frustrations, and hostility. This psychological dystunction theory has been supported by other research indicating that in a significant number of reported disturbances, the agent was a child or teenager possibly unconsciously unleashing hostility without fear of punishment. Psychological profiles of agents show that mental and emotional stress, personality disorders, phobias, obsessive behavior and schizophrenia are linked to supposed poltergeist phenomena, and in some cases psycholtherapy has eliminated the poltergeist disturbances.
Examples
William Roll, Hans Bender, and Harry Price are perhaps three of the most famous poltergeist investigators in the annals of parapsychology. Harry Price investigated Borley Rectory which is often called "the most haunted house in England."
In the Rosenheim case of 1967, Dr. Friedbert Karger was one of two physicists from the Max Planck Institute who helped to investigate perhaps the most validated poltergeist case in recorded history. Annemarie Schneider, a 19-year-old secretary in a law firm in Rosenheim (a small town in southern Germany) was seemingly the unwitting cause of much chaos in the firm, including disruption of electricity and telephone lines, the rotation of a picture, swinging lamps which were captured on video (which was one of the first times any poltergeist activity has been captured on film), and strange sounds that sounded electrical in origin were recorded. Fraud was not proven despite intensive investigation by the physicists, journalists, and the police. The effects moved with the young woman when she changed jobs until they finally faded out.
Friedbert Karger's whole perspective on physics changed after investigating the events. "These experiments were really a challenge to physics," Karger says today. "What we saw in the Rosenheim case could be 100 per cent shown not to be explainable by known physics." The phenomena were witnessed by Hans Bender, the police force, the CID, reporters, and the physicists. The claims were aired in a documentary in 1975 in a series called "Leap in the Dark."
Famous Poltergeist Infestations
Although poltergeist stories date back to the first century, most evidence to support the existence of poltergeists is anecdotal, which is hardly surprising as the nature of the pneomenon is unpredictable and sporadic. Indeed, many of the stories below have several versions and/or inconsistencies; however there are a few that do not, for example, the Miami poltergeist has event records signed by all witnesses as to the way things happened. These witnesses include police officers, a skeptical magician, and workers at the warehouse. The Rosenheim case is another, with multiple witnesses and unexplained electric and telephonic phenomena.
* An "evil spirit" threw stones and made the walls shake in a small farmhouse. this was the first recorded poltergeist case (858).
* Austin Davis reportedly raped 15 women with wine bottles in 17th century Spain.
* Drummer of Tedworth (1661).
* The "Wizard", Livingston, West Virginia (1797).
* The Bell Witch (1817).
* The Haunting of The Fox sisters (1848) - arguably one of the most famous, because it started the Spiritualism movement.
* Hopfgarten near Weimar (1921).
* Eleonore Zugun - The Romanian 'Poltergeist Girl' (1926).
* The Borley Rectory phenomena (1929).
* The Rosenheim Poltergeist (1967).
* The Black Monk of Pontefract.
* The Enfield Poltergeist (1977).
* The Miami Poltergeist, a poltergeist witnessed by police and a skeptical magician who didn't believe it was a ghost, but admitted he witnessed phenomena he couldn't explain. Many others witnessed phenomena including reporters, parapsychologists, and workers at the warehouse.
* The Mackenzie Poltergeist (fairly recent) - Famed for haunting Greyfriars church yard, Edinburgh, UK.
* The Canneto di caronia fires poltergeist (fairly recent 2004-2005) - Famed for defying all attempts at a scientific explanation, Sicily, Italy.
* The Entity Case allegedly involved a single mother of 3 named Carla Moran who was being repeatedly raped by an invisible entity and its 2 helpers over the course of several years.
* The case of Tina Resch, widely reported in the media in 1984.
* A recent case in Barnsley near Sheffield in England, where poltergeist effects were witnessed by the police force.
* In Denver, Colorado there have been several reports of unknown forces positioning toys, furniture, and objects in patterns and strange positions.
* The Thornton Road poltergeist of Birmingham (1981).
Although some parapsychologists suggest that poltergeists could be a form of recurrent PK, there is very little evidence for PK recorded on film or witnessed by objective parties. There are famous poltergeist cases where the activity was seen by objective parties and even skeptics.
Selected Sources:
www.occultopedia.com/p/poltergeist.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poltergeist
Poltergeist phenomena have been reported around the world throughout history. Before the 19th century, these occurrences were blamed on the Devil, demons and witches. In the 1930s the psychologist and psychic researcher Nandor Fodor suggested the theory that poltergeist disturbances were caused not by spirits but by individuals suffering intense repressed anger, sexual frustrations, and hostility. This psychological dystunction theory has been supported by other research indicating that in a significant number of reported disturbances, the agent was a child or teenager possibly unconsciously unleashing hostility without fear of punishment. Psychological profiles of agents show that mental and emotional stress, personality disorders, phobias, obsessive behavior and schizophrenia are linked to supposed poltergeist phenomena, and in some cases psycholtherapy has eliminated the poltergeist disturbances.
Examples
William Roll, Hans Bender, and Harry Price are perhaps three of the most famous poltergeist investigators in the annals of parapsychology. Harry Price investigated Borley Rectory which is often called "the most haunted house in England."
In the Rosenheim case of 1967, Dr. Friedbert Karger was one of two physicists from the Max Planck Institute who helped to investigate perhaps the most validated poltergeist case in recorded history. Annemarie Schneider, a 19-year-old secretary in a law firm in Rosenheim (a small town in southern Germany) was seemingly the unwitting cause of much chaos in the firm, including disruption of electricity and telephone lines, the rotation of a picture, swinging lamps which were captured on video (which was one of the first times any poltergeist activity has been captured on film), and strange sounds that sounded electrical in origin were recorded. Fraud was not proven despite intensive investigation by the physicists, journalists, and the police. The effects moved with the young woman when she changed jobs until they finally faded out.
Friedbert Karger's whole perspective on physics changed after investigating the events. "These experiments were really a challenge to physics," Karger says today. "What we saw in the Rosenheim case could be 100 per cent shown not to be explainable by known physics." The phenomena were witnessed by Hans Bender, the police force, the CID, reporters, and the physicists. The claims were aired in a documentary in 1975 in a series called "Leap in the Dark."
Famous Poltergeist Infestations
Although poltergeist stories date back to the first century, most evidence to support the existence of poltergeists is anecdotal, which is hardly surprising as the nature of the pneomenon is unpredictable and sporadic. Indeed, many of the stories below have several versions and/or inconsistencies; however there are a few that do not, for example, the Miami poltergeist has event records signed by all witnesses as to the way things happened. These witnesses include police officers, a skeptical magician, and workers at the warehouse. The Rosenheim case is another, with multiple witnesses and unexplained electric and telephonic phenomena.
* An "evil spirit" threw stones and made the walls shake in a small farmhouse. this was the first recorded poltergeist case (858).
* Austin Davis reportedly raped 15 women with wine bottles in 17th century Spain.
* Drummer of Tedworth (1661).
* The "Wizard", Livingston, West Virginia (1797).
* The Bell Witch (1817).
* The Haunting of The Fox sisters (1848) - arguably one of the most famous, because it started the Spiritualism movement.
* Hopfgarten near Weimar (1921).
* Eleonore Zugun - The Romanian 'Poltergeist Girl' (1926).
* The Borley Rectory phenomena (1929).
* The Rosenheim Poltergeist (1967).
* The Black Monk of Pontefract.
* The Enfield Poltergeist (1977).
* The Miami Poltergeist, a poltergeist witnessed by police and a skeptical magician who didn't believe it was a ghost, but admitted he witnessed phenomena he couldn't explain. Many others witnessed phenomena including reporters, parapsychologists, and workers at the warehouse.
* The Mackenzie Poltergeist (fairly recent) - Famed for haunting Greyfriars church yard, Edinburgh, UK.
* The Canneto di caronia fires poltergeist (fairly recent 2004-2005) - Famed for defying all attempts at a scientific explanation, Sicily, Italy.
* The Entity Case allegedly involved a single mother of 3 named Carla Moran who was being repeatedly raped by an invisible entity and its 2 helpers over the course of several years.
* The case of Tina Resch, widely reported in the media in 1984.
* A recent case in Barnsley near Sheffield in England, where poltergeist effects were witnessed by the police force.
* In Denver, Colorado there have been several reports of unknown forces positioning toys, furniture, and objects in patterns and strange positions.
* The Thornton Road poltergeist of Birmingham (1981).
Although some parapsychologists suggest that poltergeists could be a form of recurrent PK, there is very little evidence for PK recorded on film or witnessed by objective parties. There are famous poltergeist cases where the activity was seen by objective parties and even skeptics.
Selected Sources:
www.occultopedia.com/p/poltergeist.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poltergeist
