by Dan Stannard

Created on: April 04, 2010   Last Updated: April 06, 2010

To me, both sides of the argument as to 'spirit or mind of troubled teen' is a tricky one. I say this, because there is not much evidential difference to either party - both can counter each other, and both have 'devout' followers, subscribers and believers, of which both groups will argue that they are right until they are blue in the face.

I will argue the 'spirit' side, only because spirits are my area of 'expertise' in comparison to telekinesis and teenage hormones. (Stephen King could write a novel about that... He could call it Connie, or something similar, and have a couple of hit films based on the book made for him. Maybe Sissy Spacek could star in an original... I digress...)

Since the beginning of Civilisation, there have been instances of people with the ability to See the Unseen, Hear the Unheard and Know the Unknown. Spirit Seers, psychics, shamans and the like. These people would attest to the existence of a spirit realm, and as such would argue the manifestation of some incorporeal being affecting the physical realm. Personally, I am inclined to agree.

Take the etymology of the word 'poltergeist'. Germain in origin, '-geist' means ghost. Another example of this form of etymology can be found in the germainc word - Zeitgeist - literally, Spirit of the Times. A Poltergeist, generally, is 'Noisy Ghost (or spirit). Not Noisy mental teenager. Not Noisy Demon. Not Noisy Neighbour. But Noisy GHOST. The German Language is highly accurate at its representations - I doubt they would say something like that willy-nilly. But that is just conjecture.

The point I should argue is that actually, while some would claim teenage hormones, what about people affected WITHOUT a prepubescent child, or a teenager in the middle of the house hold anywhere near them? They can still be affected by it... so explain that. What about long lasting poltergeist activity? Or activity linked to a specific building or household which has been documented for over a century, in some cases even longer than that? Is that the same hormonal child, causing things to fly off of walls and attack the local pub landlord, or to push dear Nanny Mavis down the stairs of some hotel in Devon? That to me, is evidence of spirit activity. Not telekinetics.

I have another question for you, if you are truly comparing the arguments between Spirit or Mind. What about situations in which the only teenager in the area is being attacked by their own supposed mind powers? You mean

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