Poltergeists

Poltergeists – the word is from the German for ‘noisy spirit’ – are often thought to be the ghosts of children.

IN GERMAN, THE WORD ‘poltergeist’ means ‘noisy ghost’. It is an apt title, because of all paranormal activity, poltergeists are the most physical, forceful and frightening. They can make objects fly across the room, items shake, and strange and loud noises be heard. Often they are dangerous, and can leave people in a state of trauma. The most intriguing aspect of poltergeists is that they are actually caused by human predicaments and mental powers. In fact, they are such a well-studied and established phenomenon that science actually takes an active and interested role in researching them. A haunting, and our traditional concept of a ghost, usually involves the lost soul of a deceased person who is spiritually still in the same place where they lived or died. It is as if they have not realised their time has passed, and they are indiscriminate to whom they appear. Indeed, it is generally perceived that ghosts do not even realise the modern world is happening around them. Poltergeists, on the other hand, do react, disruptively, with their environment. Their disturbances can begin and end abruptly, and they have a very real, intrusive relationship with the people close by. Also, unlike traditional hauntings, it is believed they actually need a human to be the catalyst, or agent, for their activity. This agent is crucial for poltergeist occurrences. Indeed, experts believe the agent is actually the root cause. It is understood that any type of person can be an agent, but there seems to be a particular susceptibility to poltergeist activity with young women. Although many agents are stable, balanced individuals with no control over the poltergeist, it is widely recognised that some agents have some deep-seated mental difficulties. It has been discovered that extreme states of anxiety, depression, hysteria, anger, schizophrenia and emotional fatigue are all powerful catalysts for poltergeist activity. Similarly, highly stressed individuals, or those with epilepsy, are regularly found to be poltergeist agents. The resultant events only serve to heighten any problems the agent has.

The symptoms of poltergeist disturbances are initially banging or knocking noises, awful smells, inexplicable lights, flying or moving objects and electrical equipment failures. As time passes by, if the cause is not sorted, the activity becomes more and more extreme. Experts are sincere when they believe poltergeists are dangerous both physically and mentally. They say that a person cannot run or move to escape from the poltergeist, that because the agent is responsible for its disturbances, it follows them. More advanced poltergeist activity involves unexplained dripping water, random fires igniting and vague apparitions appearing. Poltergeist activity is noticed and experienced by everyone in the room, and the disturbance is genuine physical activity, not imagined events. As poltergeists have been studied for decades, scientists and experts have reached some conclusions. Many believe these strange events are caused by the agent releasing psychokinetic energy in an attempt to relieve stress. Psychokenisis is the idea of ‘mind over matter’ energy, and people are understood to expel huge amounts of it when under pressure. The actual activity that occurs is also symbolic of the problem. For example, some agents who feel intense guilt inspire a poltergeist to beat them and end up physically bruised all over. If an agent is incredibly angry with someone, then it will be their property that is thrown across the room and smashed by psychokinetic power. In almost all cases, the agent is as scared as everyone else, and does not realise that they are causing these events. Experts agree that poltergeist activity is possible to solve, and many strongly suggest that those who experience it should seek help immediately. Whether the help comes from a priest or a psychologist, it is clear that poltergeist agents have an incredible power running loose that needs to be tamed. Once the cause is addressed, or even simply when the agent realises that they are the root of the disturbances, activity often stops. As with many paranormal experiences, the horror of poltergeists is not created by some unseen beast or phantom, but by the inexplicable power of the human mind.