Poltergeists Are Playful—But Not Much Fun

What are poltergeists? This is one supernatural question that most of us think we’re qualified to answer—after all, we’ve seen the movies. Therefore you likely already know that poltergeists are those most physical of disembodied spirits—that they are able to make noises, open and close doors, move furniture and other objects from one place to another, throw things, pull blankets off of beds, occasionally pinch, bruise, or even leave bite marks on people’s skin, and in other ways manipulate their surroundings in a playful, mischievous, or destructive manner. Of all the different kinds of ghosts, they’re probably the most worthy of worry—if you believe in them, that is—because they are capable of causing pain and property damage.

What most people might not know is that the term “poltergeist” was first used in print by Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther (1483-1546), who was a firm believer in the malicious activity of evil spirits.

Unlike other sorts of ghosts, poltergeists almost always remain invisible. According to a 19th century tract on ghosts quoted by Owen Davies in his 2007 book, The Haunted: A Social History of Ghosts, “A ghost’s power of making noise, and exerting what seems to be great physical energy, is often in inverse ratio to his power to make himself generally visible, or, at all events, to his inclination to do so.” [Read more…] about WHAT IS A POLTERGEIST?

Ghosts, Classified By Kind. Which One’s In Your Attic?

How many kinds or types of ghost are there? Until recently, we would have said one “regular” disembodied type, and a handful of “walking dead” variations. But then we read Roger Clarke’s book, Ghosts—A Natural History: 500 Years Of Searching For Proof—and learned how wrong we were.

Clarke is British, and it turns out that during the mid- to late 20th Century a small group of British ghost hunters threw the same level of passion into classifying ghosts that lepidopterists from Britain once invested in capturing and classifying the world’s butterflies. Except, there are a lot fewer species of ghosts: eight to be exact. Or is it nine? Or twelve?

In a chapter titled “A Taxonomy of Ghosts,” Clarke relies heavily on the work of ghost hunter and ghost-story collector Peter Underwood to describe each of eight types of apparition. He begins with the most primitive kind, which Underwood called an “Elemental.” Elementals are ghosts that move little if at all; instead they glare at passers-by from a single location—often from within an old burial ground. Underwood described them as “race-memory manifestations” in that they usually are dim reflections from the distant mythological past of the community in which they occur. According to Clarke, American ghost hunters might consider elementals to be demons rather than ghosts, as it is not clear whether they ever were human. [Read more…] about THE EIGHT TYPES OF GHOSTS

More Folks Than You Might Think Have Seen A Ghost

Personal encounters with the supernatural are surprisingly common among people in cultures around the world. In fact, an impressive portion of us have had a personal experience with a spook. In the majority of cases, the ghosts are those of departed loved ones, including pets. But a significant number of reported paranormal events involve the disembodied spirits of complete strangers.

In addition, according to a roundup of public polling results published in Psychology Today, belief in ghosts among Americans almost tripled between 1978 and 2005. [Read more…] about HOW MANY PEOPLE SEE GHOSTS?