Introduction
The word 'poltergeist' is German for "noisy spirit". Some examples of phenomena as has been reported in connection with poltergeists are the throwing of stones into the windows of houses and levitation of objects. An interesting documentary called 'Poltergeists' which focuses on the topic, is available on DVD by The History Channel, with case examples of the phenomenon and the explanations. So if a witness reportedly saw a mug levitating in the air, could this be because of a resident ghost? Or could there be alternative explanations for it, such as psychokinesis (PK)?
Seriously spooky!
Here is an example of one case of poltergeist phenomenon, from Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers, p.34: "In the winter of 1967, chaos descended upon a respectable lawyer's office in the town of Rosenheim in southern Germany. The first sign that something odd was happening had come in the summer when the practice's telephones began to play up. Sometimes they would all ring at once, although no one turned out to be on the line, and conversations were frequently disrupted by irritating clicking sounds. The office manager complained to the telephone company; some engineers were sent to put things right. It should have been a simple task, but they were totally unable to pinpoint any fault. In fact, their investigations convinced them that the mechanism was in perfect working order."
After weeks of meticulous tests "...the men from the telephone company gave up in bewilderment and, since the trouble seemed to be growing worse, a team of experts from the Post Office moved in. They installed a meter to monitor every call; it did nothing to sort out the problem, in fact the mystery deepened, for the meter showed that dozens of calls were being registered from telephones which the office staff swore an oath were not being used at the times shown on the print-out. Some numbers were being dialled with astonishing speed and frequency, and one particular day the meter showed that 0119, the number of the Speaking Clock, had been rung 46 times in 15 minutes. As usual, none of the staff had been spotted making any of the calls."
More poltergeist activity!
As if the telephones acting up wasn't bad enough, other equipment in the office began to act strangely, too: "Fluroescent tubes repeatedly twisted themselves out of their sockets, light bulbs exploded, drawers shot out of desks, pictures rotated on the walls and developing fluid gushed from the photocopiers. The electricity supply fluctuated alarmingly. The place was in uproar. Yet the experts - telephone engineers, electritions and a team of eminent physicists - were forced to admit defeat after intensive investigations."
So there seemed to be no obvious problems that could account for any of the phenomena that was experienced. Over 40 trustworthy people had witnessed the poltergeist phenomena. Finally "...Germany's most respected parapsychologist, Dr Hans Bender, was summoned to the beleagured office. Unlike the other experts, Bender and his colleagues were immediately able to diagnose the cause of the trouble. They had come across cases like this one many times before."
Whilst at Rosenheim, Hans Bender "...picked out the haunted person with little difficulty, for he noticed that the phenomena seemed to flourish in the presence of a 19-year-old clerk called Annemarie Schneider. Every time she was away from office there was peace; but when she was there, the strange events began again. For example, lamps would swing when she walked under them; pictures on the walls rotated like propellers, to the amazement of the lawyer's clients; and cigarette money flew out of the cashbox in which it was kept."
Interestingly, when Annemarie Schneider left the office staff, the laywer's practice "...returned to its peaceful routine that the girl's arrival had so violently disrupted." When poltergeist phenomena seem to to occur in the presence of a person, the person is referred to as the poltergeist 'agent'.
Startling psychokinesis!
So, what is the explanation for the poltergeist phenomena as illustrated in the above example? One such explanation is psychokinesis. However, that is assuming that none of the poltergeist reports are frauds, or cases in which the witness or agent is not deluded and that the account cannot be explained with more mundane explanations.
In The World of the Paranormal, p.87, the 'great Amherst mystery', which is an account of "the poltergeist haunting that astonished the inhabitants of Nova Scotia, Canada, in the autumn of 1978". It was "...centred on 18-year-old Esther Cox. 'Esther Fox you are mine to kill', said writing that mysteriously appeared on the wall of the girl's bedroom. The haunting featured just about every type of poltergeist activity, from outbreaks of fire and stone-throwing to Esther's stomach swelling to enormous size. This last effect was presumably the result of swallowing air, or some internal fermentation, for she riveted to her normal shapeliness after 'a loud report, like a clap of thunder but without any characteristic rumble'. This must have been one of the noisiest bangs ever, for Esther's mother leapt to the conclusion that her home had been struck by a meteorite and rushed to the bedroom of her youngest children to see if all was well with them. She found them sleep peacefully and the house undamaged."
Furthermore these "allegedly paranormal happening were almost certainly triggered by an experience undergone by Esther on 28 August 1878, exactly eight days before the supposed poltergeist first manifested itself. It involved Esther's boyfriend, a certain Bob McNeal. It is probably that for some time Bob had been making overt sexual advances to Ether; for on the night of 27 August, she had a nightmare, replete with Freudian symbolism, clearly expressing the girl's fear of male sexuality. In this dream, all Esther's relatives had been magically tranformed into huge bears with red eyes. When she opened the front door of her home, she was horrified to see hundreds of black bulls, blood dripping from their muzzles, converging on the house. She slammed the door shut and bolted it, but the bulls continued in their advance, butting their huge horns against the house.The building shook under the concerted assault, and then Esther awoke."
Then "On the evening of the day following this ominous dream, Bob McNeal took Esther for a drive in a two-seater buggy, which he had borrowed or hired. They drove together into the surrounding wooded countryside. Bob reined in the horse and began to make amorous advances to Esther, urging her to walk in the woods with him. When she consistently refused - it would seem that she was preparing to indulge in a little light petting in the buggy but nothing more - McNeal lost his temper. He pulled out a pistol, pointed it at the girl's head, and ordered her to accompany him into the woods. She still refused, and for a moment it seemed that McNeal would shoot her dead. Fortunately, however, another vehicle approached, the alarmed McNeal pocketed his pistol, snatched up the horse's reins, and drove Esther back to her home. That night, he left Amherst, presumably in fear of being charged with attempted rape, and was never heard of again."
Such a terrifying experience would have left Esther utterly traumatised. And, furthermore, "In a sense, however, he remained with Esther for many years. The sexual cravings and fears that McNeal had aroused seem to have built up in Esther a pressure of psychic energy - a sort of impending libidinal thunderstorm. Failing to find an outlet in the ecstasy of orgasm, it is thought to have powered the spontaneous combustions, levitations and other psychic wonders that astonished the citizens of Amherst."
However when Hereward Carrington, the psychical investigator, traced and interviewed Esther, by then married and living in the United States many years later, Esther "...made a most significant admission. From the day of her wedding, she said, the 'power' had left her; she was again a stranger to the paranormal."
In The World of the Paranormal, p.87, the 'great Amherst mystery', which is an account of "the poltergeist haunting that astonished the inhabitants of Nova Scotia, Canada, in the autumn of 1978". It was "...centred on 18-year-old Esther Cox. 'Esther Fox you are mine to kill', said writing that mysteriously appeared on the wall of the girl's bedroom. The haunting featured just about every type of poltergeist activity, from outbreaks of fire and stone-throwing to Esther's stomach swelling to enormous size. This last effect was presumably the result of swallowing air, or some internal fermentation, for she riveted to her normal shapeliness after 'a loud report, like a clap of thunder but without any characteristic rumble'. This must have been one of the noisiest bangs ever, for Esther's mother leapt to the conclusion that her home had been struck by a meteorite and rushed to the bedroom of her youngest children to see if all was well with them. She found them sleep peacefully and the house undamaged."
Furthermore these "allegedly paranormal happening were almost certainly triggered by an experience undergone by Esther on 28 August 1878, exactly eight days before the supposed poltergeist first manifested itself. It involved Esther's boyfriend, a certain Bob McNeal. It is probably that for some time Bob had been making overt sexual advances to Ether; for on the night of 27 August, she had a nightmare, replete with Freudian symbolism, clearly expressing the girl's fear of male sexuality. In this dream, all Esther's relatives had been magically tranformed into huge bears with red eyes. When she opened the front door of her home, she was horrified to see hundreds of black bulls, blood dripping from their muzzles, converging on the house. She slammed the door shut and bolted it, but the bulls continued in their advance, butting their huge horns against the house.The building shook under the concerted assault, and then Esther awoke."
Then "On the evening of the day following this ominous dream, Bob McNeal took Esther for a drive in a two-seater buggy, which he had borrowed or hired. They drove together into the surrounding wooded countryside. Bob reined in the horse and began to make amorous advances to Esther, urging her to walk in the woods with him. When she consistently refused - it would seem that she was preparing to indulge in a little light petting in the buggy but nothing more - McNeal lost his temper. He pulled out a pistol, pointed it at the girl's head, and ordered her to accompany him into the woods. She still refused, and for a moment it seemed that McNeal would shoot her dead. Fortunately, however, another vehicle approached, the alarmed McNeal pocketed his pistol, snatched up the horse's reins, and drove Esther back to her home. That night, he left Amherst, presumably in fear of being charged with attempted rape, and was never heard of again."
Such a terrifying experience would have left Esther utterly traumatised. And, furthermore, "In a sense, however, he remained with Esther for many years. The sexual cravings and fears that McNeal had aroused seem to have built up in Esther a pressure of psychic energy - a sort of impending libidinal thunderstorm. Failing to find an outlet in the ecstasy of orgasm, it is thought to have powered the spontaneous combustions, levitations and other psychic wonders that astonished the citizens of Amherst."
However when Hereward Carrington, the psychical investigator, traced and interviewed Esther, by then married and living in the United States many years later, Esther "...made a most significant admission. From the day of her wedding, she said, the 'power' had left her; she was again a stranger to the paranormal."
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