Monday, May 2, 2011

What is a Poltergeist?


One topic highly debated in the paranormal community is the existence of poltergeists. While the signs of poltergeist activity (loud noises, objects moving, physical harm) are pretty much universally acknowledged, people can’t seem to agree on exactly what causes it.

One theory is that poltergeist activity is simply the manifestation of a ghost or human spirit. The ghost is trying to interact with the world around it and the movement or activity is visible or audible to us.

Another popular theory is that poltergeist activity is actually caused by psychokinesis, the ability to move objects with the mind. In this case, the person responsible doesn’t realize they are causing the poltergeist to happen. It’s also the reason that many poltergeists are linked to young teenagers, because it’s thought that people who are emotional or undergoing major life changes are more likely to have the ability of pyschokinesis.

Others believe a poltergeist is caused by some sort of inhuman spirit, like a demon or elemental creature. Poltergeist activity is one of the common claims associated with demonic possession.

And there are the scientific explanations to objects moving such as shifts in electromagnetic fields, static electricity or people hallucinating due to chemicals in their environment.

So which one of these is it? Perhaps it’s a combination of some of them. We may never know. Do you think poltergeists are real? What do you think is responsible?

5 comments:

  1. I believe, if the people reporting the phenomenon are genuine in their reports, it has a number of causes.
    (You could talk for hours about inhuman spirits. Generally, they have heat with them where ghosts have cold. Trust me on it.)

    All of the above you mentioned can be the cause. You don't need a ghost around to see things moving around. There is a theory it happens more with children going through puberty...

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  2. Yeah, I agree it's probably a mixture of the different theories. :)

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  3. I really liked Poltergeist the movie. The sequels though weren't that great.

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  4. So interesting! Have you ever seen one?

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  5. Michael, I like that movie as well though I've never seen the sequels.

    Carrie,I've seen objects move on their own several times and have seen people get cut/scratched but I can't say for sure if it was a ghost or poltergeist.

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