Introduction to Poltergeist Activity

by: Kady Harrington

The word 'Poltergeist" is frequently said to be a translation of German words meaning "noisy ghost". Close. Actually while geist does translate to spirit or ghost, Polter is said to come from poltern (knocking/rap) or polterer (something like a bully). Either way it gets the point across.

The most commonly associate phenomenon with poltergeist activity is the movement of objects (moved, launched or thrown and at times broken) both small and large (such as furniture); noises such as rapping, thumping, moans and cries; interference with household objects such as radios, televisions,phones, and appliances. Additionally reports of falling objects (such as stones) from nowhere, appearance of objects not part of the household, appearance of water, physical contact, apparitions and spontaneous outbreaks of fires have been made.

It is almost always associated with a single person (or 'agent') rather than a location. The activity happens near a particular person or when that person is present in the home. When the agent leaves the activity ceases. There is a limited duration - from days to years, though typically it is very short term of weeks or months. But there is a definitive and usually sudden beginning and end to the activity.

Prior the 1900's, poltergeist activity (as was much of any unexplained happenings of the time) was blamed on everything from the dead to the devil. Current studies however feel it is best explained by psychokinesis (or affecting physical objects mentally - mind over matter). Psychologically, the agent is often adolescent (a tumultuous age). Other possible psychological ties are repressed anger or other frustrations (such as an extremely unhappy wife, unable to verbally express her emotions for example) either unable or unwilling to identify their frustration, unable to express it or even afraid to express it. The agent is generally unaware they are the cause of the activity and often unaware they are even the focus. In any case they are not able to control it, although if made aware of the connection and convinced of it's accuracy and/or relieved of the emotional stress or outside condition that sparked it, the activity may then come to a halt.

DR William Roll's continued research in the 1960's confirm much of this. His findings were of Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis. Often a child or teenager, through RSPK they were expressing pent up hostility or frustrations without fear of retribution. They were not usually aware they were the cause of the activity, though he found they were often pleased at the result!

In addition to these theories, keep in mind that the human body contains electric current. During such phases as adolescence with hormones going every which way, it would not be surprising that the electric impulses also spike and fall outside of 'normal' variances. Suppressed emotions, sporadic and widely variable changes in the body and a periodic 'lashing out' of the overload via PK could cause a lamp to fall, a series of thumps, a radio to suddenly change stations.

Interestingly, rarely is anyone seriously injured. Reports of being hit by small objects or physically touched or assaulted do occur, but fires always seem to start just in time to be found, large objects miss nearby people and thrown smaller objects often go 'right by' someone. Other activity such as appliance disturbance, appearance of items, noises, etc. aren't typically harmful.

Skeptics claim that poltergeist activity is a hoax... that human hands throw or break objects for example, and point to cases where exactly this has happened to prove it. It is necessary to look for such happenings. However it is not unusual in many cases where someone - especially a child - does 'add to' the genuine phenomenon by creating a little of his own chaos. And to a child's mind, why not when there's someone else to take the blame? Another case is of an agent, tired of the constant and sudden attention from researchers, media and others deliberately gets "caught" pulling a cord or pushing an item over to bring an end to the additional stress brought on by the onslaught of attention. While complete hoaxes are certainly possible and should be carefully eliminated, don't write off genuine cases because of this.