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Harmful Poltergeists?

Mouldy13

Mouldy13

Ephemeral Spectre
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Messages
345
Most of the reading I've done on Poltergeist phenomena would seem to suggest that they fall into Colin Wilson's definition of them as "entities of relatively low intelligence possessing the same sort of humour found in adolescent boys" (paraphrased from memory)

So are there any instances of people being badly hurt by a polt? We have stone throwing, small fires which don't seem to spread and burn down dwellings, occasional scratches and bruises, but nothing to my knowledge actually genuinely dangerous.
 
I think there have been cases of people being pushed down stairs, but I don't believe there are cases of serious injury, or if there are then they are very rare. I have a decent collection of books on the topic and will take a look when I have time.
 
I've been through my books. No cases of serious physical harm are listed. Scratches, cuts, welts, bruises and bite marks, attempted strangulation etc. but never ending with serious injury. Sometimes the scratches and welts can vanish amazingly quickly... as in before the observer's eyes.

Having said that, the film The Entity was supposedly based on a real case, and that was repeated rape.
 
SimonBurchell said:
No cases of serious physical harm are listed.
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Do you think there is a possibility that incidents of real harm are classified differently? So that as soon as it happens it stops being reported as a poltergeist and so is found in the literature as something else.

And IF this happens, are there other ways in which the new thing differs from a poltergeist? Or is doesn't cause serious harm part of the core definition?
 
Frideswide said:
Do you think there is a possibility that incidents of real harm are classified differently? So that as soon as it happens it stops being reported as a poltergeist and so is found in the literature as something else.

And IF this happens, are there other ways in which the new thing differs from a poltergeist? Or is doesn't cause serious harm part of the core definition?
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Well, it makes you wonder about spontaneous human combustion...

Also, they do cause serious psychological harm. Perhaps they feed off the distress.
 
SimonBurchell said:
Well, it makes you wonder about spontaneous human combustion...
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YES! That's the sort of thing I was feeling towards.


SimonBurchell said:
Also, they do cause serious psychological harm. Perhaps they feed off the distress.
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Agreed. Although it's possibly only in recent decades that this would be taken into account. Parallels with laws, in the UK at least.
 
Mouldy13 said:
Most of the reading I've done on Poltergeist phenomena would seem to suggest that they fall into Colin Wilson's definition of them as "entities of relatively low intelligence possessing the same sort of humour found in adolescent boys" (paraphrased from memory)

So are there any instances of people being badly hurt by a polt? We have stone throwing, small fires which don't seem to spread and burn down dwellings, occasional scratches and bruises, but nothing to my knowledge actually genuinely dangerous.
Click to expand...

lf we proceed from the assumption that poltergeists exist, it would be difficult to strip out their efforts from the “background noise” of everyday deaths and injuries: A car swerves off the road for no apparent reason, hits a tree and the driver is killed - a moment’s inattention, or a polt grabbing the steering wheel? A fatal house fire: spontaneous combustion/faulty wiring or a malevolent spirit?

Perhaps there are skill levels in “polting”? Inept ones are banished by contempt for their poor efforts; adept ones escalate in stages from stone-throwing and cup-breaking, to factory explosions and plane crashes.

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
lf we proceed from the assumption that poltergeists exist, it would be difficult to strip out their efforts from the “background noise” of everyday deaths and injuries: A car swerves off the road for no apparent reason, hits a tree and the driver is killed - a moment’s inattention, or a polt grabbing the steering wheel? A fatal house fire: spontaneous combustion/faulty wiring or a malevolent spirit?

Perhaps there are skill levels in “polting”? Inept ones are banished by contempt for their poor efforts; adept ones escalate in stages from stone-throwing and cup-breaking, to factory explosions and plane crashes.

maximus otter
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I was proceeding from that assumption, but yes, it's only my assumption. I believe there is a body of evidence that would suggest their existence although that evidence is, as ever open to debate.
 
maximus otter said:
A car swerves off the road for no apparent reason, hits a tree and the driver is killed - a moment’s inattention, or a polt grabbing the steering wheel?
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Can't recall if it was Lethbridge or Tom Graves who suggested that there were road conditions that induced a light trance state and that passing a ghoul/ley line caused an involuntary muscle twitch (as dowsing is said to do) causing these kinds of incidents.
 
I've always likened poltergeists to "invisible, naughty children."

I've heard of many people being scratched, bitten, punched, pushed and so on but never anything long lasting. Unless you count The Bell Witch?
 
Are we including the Bell Witch as a poltergeist? Because that apparently did for the father in the case.
 
maximus otter said:
A car swerves off the road for no apparent reason, hits a tree and the driver is killed - a moment’s inattention, or a polt grabbing the steering wheel?

maximus otter
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Were The Hairy Hands of Dartmoor (which were reported to have caused some 'near misses') ever classified as poltergeist activity? Or just (!) straightforward ghosts?
 
catseye said:
Were The Hairy Hands of Dartmoor (which were reported to have caused some 'near misses') ever classified as poltergeist activity? Or just (!) straightforward ghosts?
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A manifestation..? Almost all accounts pre-date the adverse camber of the approach to the bridge being fixed and thus skeptics put it all down to a bad road and imagination.However, back in the 60s (?) follorist Theo Brown camped in her caravan close to the bridge and claimed the hairy hands appeared at her window. Nick Redfern also found a much more modern day account from a motorist this century (see his book 'Wildman!).

Have visited the site many times but alas nothing. What is really frustrating is that I can remember them being discussed on Radio Devon's breakfast show in 1980 or thereabouts and in connection with army truck drivers, the gist being that a lone driver or divers had encountered them*. However, I cannot find any corroborating evidence. If this was indeed the case then it puts a whole new perspective on the 'legend'

* there is a large Army camp on Dartmoor
 
Paul_Exeter said:
A manifestation..? Almost all accounts pre-date the adverse camber of the approach to the bridge being fixed and thus skeptics put it all down to a bad road and imagination.However, back in the 60s (?) follorist Theo Brown camped in her caravan close to the bridge and claimed the hairy hands appeared at her window. Nick Redfern also found a much more modern day account from a motorist this century (see his book 'Wildman!).

Have visited the site many times but alas nothing. What is really frustrating is that I can remember them being discussed on Radio Devon's breakfast show in 1980 or thereabouts and in connection with army truck drivers, the gist being that a lone driver or divers had encountered them*. However, I cannot find any corroborating evidence. If this was indeed the case then it puts a whole new perspective on the 'legend'

* there is a large Army camp on Dartmoor
Click to expand...
I was about to question why army drivers from Okehampton Camp would be on the road between Two Bridges and Moretonhampstead, but I guess if they were crossing between the Marine camp at Shaugh Prior and Okehampton it might be a logical route to take...
 
bugmum said:
I was about to question why army drivers from Okehampton Camp would be on the road between Two Bridges and Moretonhampstead, but I guess if they were crossing between the Marine camp at Shaugh Prior and Okehampton it might be a logical route to take...
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There are army training areas all over Dartmoor and you could run into squaddies practically anywhere if they're out on exercise.
 
bugmum said:
I was about to question why army drivers from Okehampton Camp would be on the road between Two Bridges and Moretonhampstead, but I guess if they were crossing between the Marine camp at Shaugh Prior and Okehampton it might be a logical route to take...
Click to expand...
The A30 wasn't built then, but I agree the old main road through Bow is the most direct route from Exeter and the road via Tavistock from Plymouth. But army truck drivers also helped out with the Junior Leaders (as was) for orientation exercises, for example. I once saw an army truck pull up in our Devon village square and it drew some attention as we were miles from any military bases. Eventually a dozen or so rather muddy Junior Leaders fetched up with their COs and piled in.
 
I just came across an interesting case, an 18th century case that has all the trappings of a typical poltergeist, that afflicted the family of the landlord of the Lamb Inn in Bristol (I found this in Haunted Bristol by Sue Le' Queux). The landlord, Richard Giles, became unexpected and mysteriously ill, and subsequently died, the poltergeist continued its activity after his death.
 
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