Poltergeist Debate

WeeBushy

There isn't (that I can find anyway!) a thread started where we can have a good 'ol debate on the existence of poltergeist.

I'll get it started with this: There is no reputable scientific papers written suggesting that poltergeist are a reality, despite centuries of interest in this field. All we have to prove their existence are eye witness accounts and anecdotes.
Not one shread of real evidence...

In my opinion; much like religion, you'll only see the traits of such a thing if you are willing to believe in it.


I've never had an experience with anything like this, because I don't believe in it. You'll be much more likely to be an 'eye-witness' if you want to be an eye-witness.


But in saying that, I'm not the most informed person when it comes to this kinda thing.

WeeBushy

My response to that would be you are only seeing what you want to see. Same way as if you are meeting a good friend on a crowded street you keep thinking you see them cuz you want to find them. Your mind tries to see what it wants to see.

But as you said you are also a sceptic so we are in agreement!

sambuka41

I dont know if i believe in the concept of an angry spirit but i think the "phenomena" cant be denied. There are documented cases where stuff is broken annd ppl are attacked. (i also know majority have been faked)

So I wouldnt say its soley down to ppl wanting this to happen or seeing what ever they want.

Maybe its more of a debate around what exactly causes the phenomena. Maybe telekenesis (sp?) that would explain how it happens to believers that they are having control over their environments rather than mearly interperting them.

WeeBushy

sambuka41 wrote: »

I dont know if i believe in the concept of an angry spirit but i think the "phenomena" cant be denied. There are documented cases where stuff is broken annd ppl are attacked. (i also know majority have been faked)

So I wouldnt say its soley down to ppl wanting this to happen or seeing what ever they want.

Maybe its more of a debate around what exactly causes the phenomena. Maybe telekenesis (sp?) that would explain how it happens to believers that they are having control over their environments rather than mearly interperting them.

Well it's not a debate as to what causes them, because that's not what the thread is about... And anyway, you would first need to prove they do exist before postulating as to their causes.

Either way though, it doesn't matter as every single one of those "documented cases" are either faked, as you say, or just not what they at first look like.
If you can show me one single video or case with real evidence contrary to this I will eat my hat.

The Guy who caught out Derick Acorah is a hardened skeptic but has been lucky enough to be on hand for 2 poltergeist cases. 2 cases in 20 years !
Both time he saw things move but he never saw them leave a surface. Saying that there was nobody else in the house. The second case he actually wore body armor. He managed to get an ash tray to the head. Luckely he was wearing a helmet.
Only last yeah a top scientific magazine had a story accepting that this type of activity is real. Cant find the source as its late but if you look around you will find it.

seanybiker

I think the idea of them is fairly cool.

I love telling americans about the "banshees" I have seen. It makes Ireland sound interesting and scary lol

iamhunted

In my opinion; much like religion, you'll only see the traits of such a thing if you are willing to believe in it.


I've never had an experience with anything like this, because I don't believe in it. You'll be much more likely to be an 'eye-witness' if you want to be an eye-witness.

the idea that you only witness these things if you *want* to is a tad bit simplistic and unrealistic. Ive never got VD but that doesnt mean other people havent ... the idea that just because you havent experienced something then it isnt real isn't really a runner.

I've had a poltergiest experience many years ago and I cant explain the cause. I do think mental pressure has something to do with it when you consider its traditionally linked to teenagers - I was a student with a house ful of people studying for exams so I tend to believe poltergiests are not ghosts as such, more something to do with the brain and mind. In saying that, there were aspects of the 'activity' that seemed seperate and intelligent, but sure who knows.

I also wouldnt use the 'Not one shread of real evidence' argument as thats not really an argument - just a statement. Theres plently of evidence nowadays for things there was no evidence of a few hundred years ago.

6th

To me a poltergeist isnt a "thing" but merely a description of a type of activity.

Oryx

6th wrote: »

To me a poltergeist isnt a "thing" but merely a description of a type of activity.

Agreed, and theres nothing the least bit ghostly about it, if it is real, its caused by us, not 'them'*.

*I have nothing to base that on but what Ive read and heard about it.

The Would You Believe crowd for RTE did a very interesting documentary on a house with poltergiest activity, they filmed a guy getting scratched in his kitchen, I spoke to the guys who produced the show, they said in their opinion it was not faked, they filmed it happen. Cant rem the name of the episode, unfortunately, I think I might have a copy of it somewhere.

iamhunted

i live in a house where a few years back tvs would turn on and off, radios would do the same, my alarm clock would be in a different part of the room (like weird places such as square centre plush against the inside of the bedroom door etc) in the morning and once i woke up to find the living room door off its hinges. I actually remember posting on here about that at the time.

None that happens anymore so I still havent worked out if poltergiests is mainly the work on our own minds or if sometimes 'spirits' use the same methods to try and communicate.

DANNY22XX

Poltergeists: Three Famous Cases
Some of the best-documented, frightening, and controversial poltergeist cases of the last 30 years.

CHAIRS MOVE ABOUT by themselves. Walls shake from loud, unexplained banging. Water drips from a ceiling. Hairbrushes disappear for days, only to reappear in their place on the dresser. These are some of the classic symptoms of a poltergeist haunting. From the German for “noisy ghost,” a poltergeist refers to phenomena usually credited to mischievous spirits or ghosts and are characterized by psychokinesis or other physical manifestations.

Cases have been cited almost since the beginning of recorded history. Three famous cases have taken place in this century, gaining notoriety, perhaps, because they have been extensively investigated, reported, and in some cases even photographed and videotaped.

read more click here

Stoner

I have to say that classifications really annoy me. They seem to be a way of showing how much an individual knows about the paranormal. I think that accounts are so varied and we can prove so little that classification of peoples experiences is too difficult to attempt in the detail many claim to know about.

"Ever catch a demonic, or a poltergesit or an elemental, I saw the boogeyman"
Having said that at least poltergeists are described in their own name, but I'm sure that if ghosts exist that not all noisy ones are poltergeists.

Oryx

Oryx wrote: »

Agreed, and theres nothing the least bit ghostly about it, if it is real, its caused by us, not 'them'*.

*I have nothing to base that on but what Ive read and heard about it.

The Would You Believe crowd for RTE did a very interesting documentary on a house with poltergiest activity, they filmed a guy getting scratched in his kitchen, I spoke to the guys who produced the show, they said in their opinion it was not faked, they filmed it happen. Cant rem the name of the episode, unfortunately, I think I might have a copy of it somewhere.

I saw this too. There was also an eye drawn on the wall !

Miskatonic

iamhunted wrote: »

i live in a house where a few years back tvs would turn on and off, radios would do the same, my alarm clock would be in a different part of the room (like weird places such as square centre plush against the inside of the bedroom door etc) in the morning and once i woke up to find the living room door off its hinges. I actually remember posting on here about that at the time.

None that happens anymore so I still havent worked out if poltergiests is mainly the work on our own minds or if sometimes 'spirits' use the same methods to try and communicate.

It seems that this sort of phenomena eventually stop altogether after going through a period of intense activity. Makes you wonder what the factors are that combine in just the right way to cause it? Were you going through a stressful time when it was happening? I think it's somehow caused by emotions etc that externalise into outside events, no idea how that could happen though!

I read about the Enfield poltergeist case when I was a kid and for some reason it scared the crap out of me far more than any other scary things I read! Here is a recent documentary on it from channel 4

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/interview-with-a-poltergeist

Oryx

Deleted User wrote: »

I saw this too. There was also an eye drawn on the wall !

Yeah, the main activity was stuff written on the wall in what looked like soot.

Ostrom

I remember reading an interesting paper about similarities between the symptoms of prolonged low-level domestic carbon monoxide poisoning and reported poltergeist activity, ill see if I can find the reference again.