Post by MoMo on Oct 8, 2011 14:00:40 GMT -6
A poltergeist is a paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity. Such manifestation typically includes inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises (such as impaired knocking, pounding or banging) and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the events.
While no conclusive scientific explanation of the events exists up to this day, poltergeists have traditionally been described in folklore as troublesome spirits or ghosts which haunt a particular person, hence the name (see etymology). Such alleged poltergeist manifestations have been reported in many cultures and countries including the United States, Japan, Brazil, Australia, and all European nations, and the earliest recorded cases date back to the 1st century.
SOURCES
Spirit
Allan Kardec believed that poltergeists were spirits associated with the elementsPoltergeist activity has often been believed to be the work of malicious ghosts. According to Alan Kardec, the founder of Spiritism, poltergeists are manifestations of disembodied spirits of low level, belonging to the sixth class of the third order. They are believed to be closely associated with the elements (fire, air, water, earth).
Psychokinesis
In parapsychology, Nandor Fodor proposed that poltergeist disturbances were caused by human agents suffering from some form of emotional stress or tension. William G. Roll studied 116 different poltergeist cases and found that the agents were often children or teenagers, and supposed that recurrent neuronal discharges resulting in epileptic symptoms may cause recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis (RSPK), which would affect the person's surroundings. The case of the Rosenheim Poltergeist, where none of the disturbances could be explained via physical means, was suggested to be caused by psychokinetic forces.
Others
Poltergeist disturbances that have not been traced to fraud have been attempted to be explained scientifically. David Turner, a retired physical chemist, suggested that ball lighting, another phenomenon, could cause inanimate objects to move erratically.[8] Some skeptics propose that poltergeist activity might be caused by simpler phenomena such as static electricity, electromagnetic fields, ultrasound, infrasound, or ionized air. Hallucinations, like the sounds of bells or footsteps, may be caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.
FAMOUS CASES
Lithobolia (1698)
Borley Rectory (1937)
Rosenheim, Germany (1967)
Drummer of Tedworth (1662).
A poltergeist in Japan (1740'), during the Edo period. Eizo Otake, a clerk of court, reported that after his father hired a girl from Ikejiri village, Setagaya, as a domestic servant, objects in the house and in the yard began moving by themselves. The phenomenon continued for several days until the girl was dismissed.
The "Wizard", Livingston, West Virginia (1797)
The Bell Witch of Tennessee (1817–1872)
The Haunting of The Fox sisters (1848) – arguably one of the most famous, because it started the Spiritualism movement.
The Great Amherst Mystery (1878–79)
Hopfgarten near Weimar (1921).
Eleonore Zugun – The Romanian 'Poltergeist Girl' (1926)
The Epworth Rectory
Gef the Talking Mongoose (1931)
The possession case of Robbie Mannheim (1949)
The Black Monk of Pontefract
The Enfield Poltergeist (1977)
The Thornton Road poltergeist of Birmingham (1981)
The case of Tina Resch (1984)
The Orland Hills, Illinois case located on 169th Street. (1988)
Contemporary Oklahoma 'talking poltergeist' case "The Stone-Throwing Spook of Little Dixie" (1995)
Stambovsky v. Ackley (1991)
The Mackenzie Poltergeist (1998) – Famed for haunting Greyfriars churchyard, Edinburgh.
The Canneto di Caronia fires poltergeist (2004–5)
The Miami Poltergeist (2008)
Barnsley near Sheffield in England (2009)
Easington Council in County Durham, UK paialf of a medium's exorcism fee to remove a poltergeist from council housing in Peterlee, deemed more cost effective than relocation of the tenant (2008)
"Jim", the Coventry poltergeist (2011). In a series of articles during March 2011, The Sun reported the story of Lisa Manning and her children. According to those articles:
The family observed pots and pans being thrown around the kitchen, blinds moving up and down, lights going on and off, doors locking themselves, chairs flying across the room, and cupboard doors opening and banging shut before being ripped off their hinges among other phenomena.
The strange occurrences started a couple of weeks after Manning and her children moved into the Coventry council house.
The disturbances became more malevolent when the poltergeist pushed the family's two dogs down the stairs, one being injured so seriously it had to be put down.
The housing association who owns the property sent a priest who blessed the house, and the phenomena temporarily abated for a couple of weeks before starting up again.
Renowned medium, Derek Acorah visited Manning's home, stating that he was able to communicate with the spirit, and that it was called "Jim" and had died from a heart attack at the age of 58 around 1900. Acorah then performed an exorcism ceremony, after which the paranormal activity ceased.
The Sun report also includes a video, which shows a closet door opening and a chair moving across the floor with no visible cause. Lisa Manning is quoted as having taken the video via hidden camera.
While no conclusive scientific explanation of the events exists up to this day, poltergeists have traditionally been described in folklore as troublesome spirits or ghosts which haunt a particular person, hence the name (see etymology). Such alleged poltergeist manifestations have been reported in many cultures and countries including the United States, Japan, Brazil, Australia, and all European nations, and the earliest recorded cases date back to the 1st century.
SOURCES
Spirit
Allan Kardec believed that poltergeists were spirits associated with the elementsPoltergeist activity has often been believed to be the work of malicious ghosts. According to Alan Kardec, the founder of Spiritism, poltergeists are manifestations of disembodied spirits of low level, belonging to the sixth class of the third order. They are believed to be closely associated with the elements (fire, air, water, earth).
Psychokinesis
In parapsychology, Nandor Fodor proposed that poltergeist disturbances were caused by human agents suffering from some form of emotional stress or tension. William G. Roll studied 116 different poltergeist cases and found that the agents were often children or teenagers, and supposed that recurrent neuronal discharges resulting in epileptic symptoms may cause recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis (RSPK), which would affect the person's surroundings. The case of the Rosenheim Poltergeist, where none of the disturbances could be explained via physical means, was suggested to be caused by psychokinetic forces.
Others
Poltergeist disturbances that have not been traced to fraud have been attempted to be explained scientifically. David Turner, a retired physical chemist, suggested that ball lighting, another phenomenon, could cause inanimate objects to move erratically.[8] Some skeptics propose that poltergeist activity might be caused by simpler phenomena such as static electricity, electromagnetic fields, ultrasound, infrasound, or ionized air. Hallucinations, like the sounds of bells or footsteps, may be caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.
FAMOUS CASES
Lithobolia (1698)
Borley Rectory (1937)
Rosenheim, Germany (1967)
Drummer of Tedworth (1662).
A poltergeist in Japan (1740'), during the Edo period. Eizo Otake, a clerk of court, reported that after his father hired a girl from Ikejiri village, Setagaya, as a domestic servant, objects in the house and in the yard began moving by themselves. The phenomenon continued for several days until the girl was dismissed.
The "Wizard", Livingston, West Virginia (1797)
The Bell Witch of Tennessee (1817–1872)
The Haunting of The Fox sisters (1848) – arguably one of the most famous, because it started the Spiritualism movement.
The Great Amherst Mystery (1878–79)
Hopfgarten near Weimar (1921).
Eleonore Zugun – The Romanian 'Poltergeist Girl' (1926)
The Epworth Rectory
Gef the Talking Mongoose (1931)
The possession case of Robbie Mannheim (1949)
The Black Monk of Pontefract
The Enfield Poltergeist (1977)
The Thornton Road poltergeist of Birmingham (1981)
The case of Tina Resch (1984)
The Orland Hills, Illinois case located on 169th Street. (1988)
Contemporary Oklahoma 'talking poltergeist' case "The Stone-Throwing Spook of Little Dixie" (1995)
Stambovsky v. Ackley (1991)
The Mackenzie Poltergeist (1998) – Famed for haunting Greyfriars churchyard, Edinburgh.
The Canneto di Caronia fires poltergeist (2004–5)
The Miami Poltergeist (2008)
Barnsley near Sheffield in England (2009)
Easington Council in County Durham, UK paialf of a medium's exorcism fee to remove a poltergeist from council housing in Peterlee, deemed more cost effective than relocation of the tenant (2008)
"Jim", the Coventry poltergeist (2011). In a series of articles during March 2011, The Sun reported the story of Lisa Manning and her children. According to those articles:
The family observed pots and pans being thrown around the kitchen, blinds moving up and down, lights going on and off, doors locking themselves, chairs flying across the room, and cupboard doors opening and banging shut before being ripped off their hinges among other phenomena.
The strange occurrences started a couple of weeks after Manning and her children moved into the Coventry council house.
The disturbances became more malevolent when the poltergeist pushed the family's two dogs down the stairs, one being injured so seriously it had to be put down.
The housing association who owns the property sent a priest who blessed the house, and the phenomena temporarily abated for a couple of weeks before starting up again.
Renowned medium, Derek Acorah visited Manning's home, stating that he was able to communicate with the spirit, and that it was called "Jim" and had died from a heart attack at the age of 58 around 1900. Acorah then performed an exorcism ceremony, after which the paranormal activity ceased.
The Sun report also includes a video, which shows a closet door opening and a chair moving across the floor with no visible cause. Lisa Manning is quoted as having taken the video via hidden camera.
