Creation

by Margaret Bartlett

Created on: January 25, 2010

Parapsychologists and ghost hunters the world over have attempted to unravel the mystery of Poltergeists for decades. Named for the German word of ‘noisy spirit’, the poltergeist lives up to its reputation.

Thousands of homes around the world have had their peace and quiet shattered by bangs and crashes, mysterious pools of water, furniture moved, damaged and in some cases completely destroyed by acts of fire, and on the odd occasion ghostly images and glowing eyes have been known to manifest.

Poltergeists are perhaps the scariest known occurrence within the supernatural realm. Very rarely does a person unfamiliar with the phenomena realise what is occurring when the incidences first start. In most cases scratching noises are first to be heard, followed by rapping or knocking. Electrical appliances can be blown or interfered with. The cause of this can often times be attributed to the natural workings of electrical surges or atmospheric temperature changes. Both are known to interfere with appliances and electrics and temperature adjustments can account for creaks and groans through floor boards and walls.

One of the first Poltergeist chasers Mr Harry Price, spent many years observing traits of the Poltergeist phenomena. Studies of Borley Rectory, one of England’s most haunted locations, provided a large number of photographic evidence and recordings in the field.

Hans Holzer, another great man of the paranormal spent many years studying the Amityville house. A house that has made it’s way into Hollywood stardom for the atrocities and supernatural happenings that have occurred there.

Perhaps the most recognisable version of a poltergeist comes from the 1980’s Hollywood movie, ‘Poltergeist’, turned into a series of movies shows the mischief and mayhem that can be caused. The Poltergeists in the movie are said to be the ghosts of a cemetery unhappy with the new housing estate placed over them, it does also show that one of the main characters possesses preternatural powers that enable the spirits to tap into the real world and wreak their havoc.

Scientist John Hutchinson claims to have been able to reproduce the effects of a Poltergeist in his own laboratory. Others have also made this claim as well as present evidence that certain atmospheric conditions such as ball lightning are known to create “activity”.

In the documentary “Interview with a Poltergeist”, parapsychologist Maurice Grosse presents evidence of Poltergeist activity and the torments it caused to an average family. Like most cases it was noted that a young girl was present in the home of puberty age. It has been seen before that boys have also been present in situations but it is more likely to be females. Studies of these children have shown that they generally possess powers of telekinesis and psychic powers. In many cases when the phenomenon begins there is evidence of unusually high stress levels in the prepubescent teen.

A well documented case involved Annemarie Schneider, a young girl of 19 who worked as a secretary in a law firm in Rosenheim, a southern town in Germany. Strange noises, electrical interferences, swinging lights, moving pictures, and disruptions to the phone lines were all seen and noticed by members of the company. Rigid testing and exploration by scientists failed to answer the riddle, however it is also well known that once the girl in question moved on so too did the activity. Many believe that Annemarie was a conduit for energy that was getting trapped and then being released with such force that it was able to move objects and interfere with the day to day running of the office. Also noted was Annemarie’s dislike of her work place. Was she able to project her anger or dislike into the real world? Or was she merely a pawn in an evil entities plan at chaos?

So far, science has not been able to back the claims of naughty spirits running mad through the land of the living like hooning spectres, it can however show that powers of psychokinesis and telekinesis can be tapped into whether knowingly or unknowingly. Personally until such day comes that I get tapped on the shoulder by a spirit stepping forward to claim responsibility for poltergeist activity my mind will only be capable of accepting scientific reasoning.

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