Poltergeist

Poltergeist is a term is applied to a variety of invisible entities which manifest in an unruly and disturbing manner, often involving unexplained noises, the moving or throwing of objects, vile smells, strange shrieks, as well as such curious phenomena asapports.

Historically, malicious spirits were blamed for poltergeist activity. According to Allan Kardec, the founder of Spiritism, poltergeists are manifestations of disembodied spirits of low level, belonging to the sixth class of the third order. Under this explanation, they are believed to be closely associated with the elements (fire, air, water, earth).

In Finland, somewhat famous are the case of the "Makkyla Ghost" in 1946, which received attention in the press at the time, and the "Devils of Martin" in Ylojarvi in the late 19th century, for which affidavits were obtained in court. Samuli Paulaharju has also recorded a memoir of a typical poltergeist, the case of "Salkko-Niila", from the south of Lake Inari in his book Memoirs of Lapland (Lapin muisteluksia). The story has also been published in the collection of Mythical Stories (Myytillisia tarinoita) edited by Lauri Simonsuuri.

Psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung was interested in the concept of poltergeists and the occult in general. Jung believed that a female cousin's trance states were responsible for a dining table splitting in two and his later discovery of a broken bread knife Jung also believed that when a bookcase gave an explosive cracking sound during a meeting with Sigmund Freud in 1909, he correctly predicted there would be a second sound, speculating that such phenomena were caused by the 'exteriorization' of the subconscious mind. Freud disagreed, and concluded there was some natural cause such as the wood of the bookcase contracting as it dried out.

Some occurrences may involve actual spirits or ghosts, but the disturbances may also derive from subconscious psychokinesis on the part of an individual.

Poltergeist phenomena have been reported around the world throughout history. Before the nineteenth century, these occurrences were blamed on the Devil, demons and witches. In the 1930s the psychologist and psychic researcher Nandor Fodor suggested that poltergeist disturbances were caused, not by spirits, but by individuals suffering intense repressed anger, sexual frustration, and hostility. This psychological dysfunction theory has been supported by other research indicating that in a significant number of reported disturbances, the agent was a child or teenager possibly unconsciously unleashing hostility without fear of punishment.

Psychological profiles of agents show that mental and emotional stress, personality disorders, phobias, obsessive behavior and schizophrenia are linked to supposed poltergeist phenomena, and in some cases psychotherapy has eliminated the poltergeist disturbances.

poltergeist (noun) from German from poltern "make noise, rattle" from root bhel "to sound, ring, roar;" + geist "ghost"