Poltergeist (help· info) (from German poltern, meaning to rumble or make noise, and Geist, meaning "ghost", "spirit", or "embodiment") denotes a spirit or ghost that manifests itself by moving and influencing objects. The Poltergeist movies are a trilogy of horror films produced in the 1980s. ... Laserdisc cover of the first Poltergeist film. ... Poltergeist: The Legacy is a 1996 Canadian/American horror television series. ... Image File history File links De-poltergeist. ... Geist - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... For other uses, see Ghost (disambiguation). ... The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus (breath). // The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning breath (compare spiritus asper), but also soul, courage, vigor, ultimately from a PIE root *(s)peis- (to blow). In the Vulgate, the Latin word translates Greek (πνευμα), pneuma (Hebrew (רוח) ruah), as... For other uses, see Soul (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Ghost (disambiguation). ...

Hypotheses

Historically, several different hypotheses have been put forward to explain the poltergeist phenomenon.

Mischievous spirits

A pamphlet printed in London in 1698 by Mr. Ricard Chamberlain provides an account of a poltergeist-type haunting that had occurred some years before. Two copies of the pamphlet exist in the British Museum called: "Lithobolia, or stone throwing Devil. Being an Exact and True account (by way of Journal) of the various actions of infernal Spirits or (Devils Incarnate) Witches or both: and the great Disturbance and Amazement they gave to George Walton's family at a place called Great Island in the province of New Hampshire in New England, chiefly in throwing about (by an Invisible hand) Stones, Bricks, and Brick-Bats of all sizes, with several other things, as Hammers, Mauls, Iron-Crows, Spits, and other Utensils, as came into their Hellish minds, and this for space of a quarter of a year...." The British Museum in London, England is a museum of human history and culture. ... A pamphlet printed in London 1698 by Mr. ... For other uses, see New Hampshire (disambiguation). ... This article is about the region in the United States of America. ...

Poltergeist activity originates with agents

Poltergeist activity tends to occur around a single person called an agent or a focus.^[1] Foci are often, but not limited to, pubescent children. Almost seventy years of research by the Rhine Research Center in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, has led to the hypothesis among parapsychologists that the "poltergeist effect" is a form of psychokinesis generated by a living human mind (that of the agent). According to researchers at the Rhine Center, the "poltergeist effect" is the outward manifestation of psychological trauma. ^{[citation needed]} Pubescent has several meanings: A pubescent person is a young individual who is undergoing the physical and mental changes associated with puberty. ... The Rhine Research Center Institute for Parasychology (successor to the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina) is a parapsychology research unit that aims to improve the human condition by creating a scientific understanding of those abilities and sensitivities that appear to transcend the ordinary limits of space... Raleigh-Durham is not a single city, but rather two separate ones in the U.S. state of North Carolina. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Largest metro area Charlotte metro area Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (900 km)  - % water 9. ... Look up Hypothesis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The term psychokinesis (from the Greek ψυχή, psyche, meaning mind, soul, or breath; and κίνησις, kinesis, meaning motion; literally movement from the mind)[1][2] or PK, also known as telekinesis[3] (Greek + , literally distant-movement referring to telekinesis) or TK, denotes the paranormal ability of the mind to influence matter, time...

Separate existences

Poltergeists might simply exist, like the "elementals" described by occultists. This article is about elementals in alchemy. ... List of notable occultists and mystics. ...

Another version posits that poltergeists originate after a person dies in a powerful rage at the time of death. According to yet another opinion, ghosts and poltergeists are "recordings." When there is a powerful emotion, sometimes at death and sometimes not, a recording is believed to be "embedded" in a place or, somehow, in the "fabric of time" itself. This recording will continue to play over and over again until the energy embedded disperses. For other uses, see Ghost (disambiguation). ...

However some poltergeists have had the ability to articulate themselves and to have distinct personalities, which suggests some sort of self-awareness and intent. Practitioners of astral projection have reported the existence of unfriendly astral life forms, which Robert Bruce called "negs" (whom we might also identify with elementals). If they exist, these may well have the ability to affect the physical world. ^{[citation needed]} This article is about the paranormal concept. ... Robert Bruce (b. ...

See also:

• Mischievous fairies
• Undead
• The Ju-on curse

by Sophie Anderson A fairy, or faery, is a creature from stories and mythology, often portrayed in art and literature as a minuscule humanoid with wings. ... Undead is a collective name for mythological beings that are deceased yet behave as if alive. ... Promotional posters for The Grudge in Japan retained the original series title prefix of Ju-on. ...

Caused by physical forces

Some scientists and skeptics propose that all poltergeist activity that they can't trace to fraud has a physical explanation such as static electricity, electromagnetic fields, ultra-, and infrasound and/or ionized air. In some cases, such as the Rosenheim poltergeist case, the physicist F. Karger from the Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik and G. Zicha from the Technical University of Munich found none of these effects present and psi proponents claim that no evidence of fraud was ever found, even after a sustained investigation from the police force and CID, though criminologist Herbert Schäfer quotes an unnamed detective watching the agent pushing a lamp when she thought nobody was looking. However, whether this is true or not, police officers did sign statements that they had witnessed the phenomena. Electrostatics (also known as static electricity) is the branch of physics that deals with the phenomena arising from what seem to be stationary electric charges. ... Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field: a field which exerts a force on particles that possess the property of electric charge, and is in turn affected by the presence and motion of those particles. ... For other uses, see Ultrasound (disambiguation). ... Infrasound is sound with a frequency too low to be detected by the human ear. ... For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ... In parapsychology, psi is defined as the active agent by which mind influences matter and is able to receive ESP impressions. ... ... Criminology is the scientific study of crime as an individual and social phenomenon. ...

John Hutchinson has claimed that he has created poltergeist effects in his laboratory. Also worth noting is that scientist David Turner proposes that poltergeists and ball lightning may be linked phenomena. ^[2] Some scientists go as far as calling them pseudo-psychic phenomena and claim that under some circumstances they are caused by obscure physical effects.^[3] Parapsychologists William G. Roll and Dean Radin, physicist Hal Puthoff and head of electrical engineering at Duke University who specializes in electromagnetic field phenomena, claim that poltergeist phenomena [the movement of objects at least] could be caused by anomalies in the zero-point field, ^[4] this is outlined in the above article and in Roll's book Unleashed and mention is made of it in a chapter of Dean Radin's book Entangled Minds. The basic theory is that poltergeist movements are repulsive versions of the casimir effect that can put pressures on objects. Thus, anomalies in this field could conceivably move objects. This theory has also been mentioned in the current book on paranormal phenomena Science by Marie D. Jones.^[5] The Hutchison effect is a name given to a collection of alleged natural phenomena that John Hutchison claims to have discovered in 1979. ... For other uses, see Ball lightning (disambiguation). ... Dean Radin is a researcher in parapsychology. ... Not to be confused with physician, a person who practices medicine. ... Harold E. Puthoff, PhD, is an American physicist. ... Electrical Engineers design power systems… … and complex electronic circuits. ... Duke University is a private coeducational research university located in Durham, North Carolina, USA. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. ...

The theory is not complete, however, because it accounts for the movement of objects but not for the strange voices, seeming personality, and strange electrical effects displayed in some cases.

See also:

• Hutchinson effect

The Hutchison effect is a name given to a collection of alleged natural phenomena that John Hutchison claims to have discovered in 1979. ...

Self-delusion and hoaxes

Skeptics think that the phenomena are hoaxes perpetrated by the agent. Indeed, some poltergeist agents have been caught by investigators in the act of throwing objects. A few of them later confessed to faking. ^{[citation needed]}

Skeptics maintain that parapsychologists are especially easy to fool when they think that many occurrences are real and discount the hoax hypothesis from the outset. Even after witnessing first hand an agent throwing objects, psi-believing parapsychologists rationalize the fact away by assuming that the agents are only cheating when caught cheating, and when you do not catch them, the phenomenon is genuine. One reason given is that the agents often fake phenomena when the investigation coincides with a period of time where there appears to be little or no 'genuine' phenomena occurring. Another stated reason is that some of the phenomena witnessed would be hard to fake, even for magicians when under the watch of many people, let alone untrained children and non-magicians. ^{[citation needed]}

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." William G. Roll (born July 6, 1926) is a parapsychology professor currently teaching at Lund University in Sweden and author of four books: The Poltergeist (1972), Theory and Experiment in Psychical Research (1975), Psychic Connections (1995, co-author Lois Duncan), and Unleashed (2004, co-author Valerie Storey). ... Hans Bender (1907-1991) was a lecturer on the subject of parapsychology, who was also responsible for establishing the parapsychological institute Instituts für Grenzgebiete der Psychologie und Psychohygiene in Freiburg. ... This article is about the psychic researcher. ... Borley Rectory, in the village of Borley, Essex, United Kingdom, had the reputation of being the most haunted house in England and, possibly, the world. ...

In the Rosenheim case of 1967 ^[6], 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. The Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. ... Rosenheim-Poltergeist is one of the best documented Poltergeist-infestations in Germany. ...

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." [2]. 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. 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.

• An "evil spirit" threw stones and made the walls shake in a small farmhouse. This was the first recorded poltergeist case. (858)

• 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). [3] (German and most extensive).

[4] [5] The Drummer of Tedworth is a famous supernatural story told by Joseph Glanvill in his Sadducismus Triumphatus. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Reputed ghost of a monk. ... The Fox Sisters Sisters Catherine (1838–92), Leah (1814–90) and Margaretta (1836–93) Fox played an important role in the creation of Spiritualism. ... // By 1853, when the popular song Spirit Rappings was published, Spiritualism was an object of intense curiosity. ... For other uses, see Weimar (disambiguation). ... Borley Rectory, in the village of Borley, Essex, United Kingdom, had the reputation of being the most haunted house in England and, possibly, the world. ... Rosenheim-Poltergeist is one of the best documented Poltergeist-infestations in Germany. ...

• The Black Monk of Pontefract [6]
• The Enfield Poltergeist (1977).
• The Miami Poltergeist, a poltergeist witnessed by police and a skeptical magician who did not believe it was a ghost, but admitted he witnessed phenomena he could not 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 [7].
• The Entity Case allegedly involved a single mother of three named Carla Moran who was being repeatedly raped by an invisible entity and its two 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. [8]
• 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. Pontefract Castle in the early 17th Century Pontefract is a town in the county of West Yorkshire, England, near the A1 (or Great North Road), the M62 motorway, and Castleford. ... The Enfield Poltergeist was a period of apparent poltergeist activity in England between August 1977 and September 1978, with an added outburst in August 1980. ... Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh (1636–1691), known as Bluidy Mackenzie, was a Scottish lawyer and legal writer. ... [de:Canneto di Caronia] Starting sometime in January of 2004, unusual fires were reported in the Sicilian town of Caronia, on the northern coast. ... Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ... An entity is something that has a distinct, separate existence, though it need not be a material existence. ... Tina Resch (born October 23, 1969) achieved some fame during what the media called the Columbus Poltergeist case. ... Curiositykc 15:34, 9 September 2007 (UTC) For other uses, see Barnsley (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Sheffield (disambiguation). ... Nickname: Location of Denver in Colorado Location of Colorado in the United States Coordinates: , Country State Founded [1] November 22, 1858 Incorporated November 7, 1861 Government  - Type Strong Mayor/Weak Council  - Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) Area [1]  - City & County  154. ... Thornton Road Poltergeist is a well documented Poltergeist phenomenon that underwent official investigation. ... This article is about the British city. ...

Poltergeists in fiction

Both the name and concept of the poltergeist became famous to modern audiences in the Poltergeist movies and the subsequent TV series Poltergeist: The Legacy. The first Poltergeist movie actually gave an excellent depiction (during the first half of the film) of a "typical" poltergeist infestation, right down to the depiction of the focus as a prepubescent girl. The Poltergeist movies are a trilogy of horror films produced in the 1980s. ... Poltergeist: The Legacy is a 1996 Canadian/American horror television series. ...

A parody on the word Poltergiest, and moreover the movie titles of the Poltergiest series, were Poultrygiest and Poultrygiest Too. The names of two levels in Earthworm Jim 3D This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Earthworm Jim 3D is to date the last console game in the Earthworm Jim series. ...

Poltergeist is Monster in My Pocket #117. It resembles the long-limbed, yellow creature outside the hall door glimpsed briefly in the 1982 film. Monster in My Pocket was a toy line developed by Morrison Entertainment Group, headed by Joe Morrison and John Weems, and released by Matchbox in 1990 consisting of small, soft plastic monsters from religion and mythology, literary fantasy, and unexplained phenomena. ...

Poltergeists are the subject of some episodes of The X-Files. The X-Files is an American Peabody and Emmy Award-winning science fiction television series created by Chris Carter, which first aired on September 10, 1993, and ended on May 19, 2002. ...

Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas encounters many poltergeists in his adventures. Most notably, the ghost of a killer, Odd, was tracking and a nameless ghost with a buzz cut who wrecks the Panamint Casino when Datura verbally abuses and belittles the ghost of an Indian waitress. Odd Thomas is a thriller novel by American writer Dean Koontz, published in 2003. ... A male buzz cut A buzz cut (sometimes known as a wiffle or crew cut) is the American name for a type of haircut named after the sound of the electric razor, which is used to shear the hair very closely to the scalp. ...

There is a poltergeist named Peeves in the Harry Potter books. Peeves, however, does not conform to the classic definition of a poltergeist. The fact that he manifests visually would seem to indicate that he is something similar to a ghost, though J.K. Rowling has stated that a poltergeist is not the ghost of any person who has ever lived. Perhaps she intended Peeves to be more of a literal translation of the word poltergeist, because Peeves is quite noisy and mischievous. However, it is also possible that Harry and other students can perceive Peeves because they are wizards, and that he would be still invisible to Muggles. It is also interesting to note that Peeves appears in colour, where the other ghosts at the school appear as white, misty figures. Peeves is a fictional poltergeist who haunts the wizarding school Hogwarts in the novel series of Harry Potter written by British Author JK Rowling. ... This article is about the Harry Potter series of novels. ... Joanne Rowling OBE (born July 31, 1965 in Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire), commonly known as J.K. Rowling (pronunciation: roll-ing; her former students used to joke with her name calling her the Rolling Stone), is a British fiction writer. ... Harry James Potter is a fictional character and the main protagonist of J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter series of fantasy books. ... Hogwarts, a wizarding school. ... Muggle is the only word used in the Harry Potter series of books by J. K. Rowling to refer to a normal person who lacks any sort of magical ability. ...

The Terry Pratchett Discworld novel A Hat Full of Sky features an "ondageist" named Oswald, belonging to Ms. Level, the witch that Tiffany is staying with. This is the opposite of a poltergeist: a spirit obsessed with cleaning and tidying. Terence David John Pratchett, OBE (born 28 April 1948) is a British fantasy and science fiction author, best known for his Discworld series. ... This article is about the novels. ... A Hat Full of Sky is a novel written by Terry Pratchett set on the Discworld, written with younger readers in mind. ...

On October 20, 1942, the old-time radio show Lights Out featured a story called "Poltergeist" in which a trio of girls experience horrific, unexplained assaults from flying stones after one walks over a grave. Before television, radio was the dominant home entertainment medium. ... Wyllis Cooper Lights Out was an American old-time radio program featuring tales of the supernatural and the supernormal. ...

In the board game Atmosfear, a playable character is Hellin the poltergeist. Nightmare is a video board game released in 1991 by A Couple A Cowboys PTY LTD. Packaged with a sixty minute video cassete, the game required 3-6 players (often referred to as maggots or harbingers) to attempt to collect keys while trying to beat the clock included on the...

On Tuesday, November 15th, 2005, Supernatural aired an episode involving a multiple haunting in the old house of Dean and Sam. The owner of the house would claim there were rats in the house. She only heard scratching and rustling noises, but didn't actually see them. The poltergeist in the house threw knives, opened baby cribs and refrigerators, and claims the hand of a repairman trying to fix the garbage disposal. Also, in another episode, Phantom Traveler, a person mentions that Dean rescued him and his family from a poltergeist with his father. For other uses, see Supernatural (disambiguation). ...

Some Castlevania games feature a few poltergeist phenomena. For example, certain furniture may suddenly spring to life and attack (some of the furniture are named Ouija Table). Another case is the enemy Alastor, where a giant sword floats around in the air, wielded by an occasionally visible, invulnerable spirit. In some disputed game canon, it is said that a yet-unseen character called the Poltergeist King takes charge of the Belmont family weapons between quests. For the photographer, see Weegee. ... This article is about the entire video game series. ...

The popular Ju-on series of horror films in Japan and the Americanized version The Grudge, feature poltergeist elements including the replaying of the tragedy and the violent nature of the ghosts. This article is about the movie. ...

The comic Fetus-X includes a fork-throwing poltergeist cheerleader and attempts to bring her back from the dead. Fetus-X is a controversial weekly romantic horror comic strip written and drawn by award-winning American cartoonist Eric Millikin, which has been published in newspapers, books, and as a webcomic since late 1999. ...

The 2002 novel, The Bishop in the West Wing, written by Catholic priest and author Andrew M. Greeley, includes a poltergeist as a central feature of the story. The Rev. ...

The Touhou Project danmaku game Perfect Cherry Blossom features three poltergeist, the Prismriver Sisters, who play on musical instruments without even touching them. Touhou redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... An example of bullet hell in Perfect Cherry Blossom. ... This is a list of the characters that belong to the Touhou Project, a series of games by ZUN from Team Shanghai Alice. ...

In 2006 the TV show Family Guy had an episode named Petergeist, where Peter's house becomes the center for a poltergeist. Family Guy is an Emmy Award-winning American animated television series about a dysfunctional family in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. ... “Petergeist” is an episode from season four of FOX animated television series Family Guy. ...

Released in October 2006, a comedy French film called Poltergay was inspired by poltergeist phenomena. The film features the story of a couple of young lovers moving into a mansion in the vicinity of Paris which used to be a gay night club. The club was shut down after a fire broke out killing a group of club patrons whose spirits live in the mansion to present time and naughtily haunt the male lover , leading him to be insecured about his sexual preference. Poltergay is a French film directed by Éric Lavaine, based on an idea by Héctor Cabello Reyes. ...

A The Far Side strip describes Poultrygeists, poltergeist-like activity in chickens. Similarly, a Dilbert strip features Upholsterygeists, furniture possessing spirits that can only be expelled with work-out tapes (exercists). This article is about the comic strip. ... Dilbert (first published April 16, 1989) is an American comic strip written and drawn by Scott Adams. ...

See also

(In alphabetical order)

• Books on haunted locations
• Ghost hunting
• Stigmatized property

Haunted locations are places that are allegedly inhabited by ghosts. ... Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations said to be haunted. ... Stigmatized property is a term used in the real estate business which describes possible detrimental features of a property or home, all the result of unfortunate occurrences. ...

References

Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Andrew Lang, The Poltergeist and his explainers, The Making of Religion, (Appendix B), Longmans, Green, and C°, London, New York and Bombay, 1900, pp. 324-339.
• Haunted Ontario - Founded in 1996 by Bob Milne, Haunted Ontario chronicles the ghosts, spirits, spooks, and poltergeists said to haunt Canada's most populated province.
• Poltergeist: The Legacy Website
• Dehaunting Techniques
• International Journal of Parapsychology
• Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research
• Skeptic's Dictionary
• [9] The Entity Case
• 1926 silent short film of the Eleonora Zugun poltergeist case On YouTube, with German title cards.