catseye
Old lady trouser-smell with yesterday's knickers
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2010
- Messages
- 8,976
- Location
- York
I have said that numerous times on this forum. People forget that children's hearing is a lot more acute than adults, so adults thinking they are having a 'quiet, private conversation' downstairs, can be perfectly audible to kids, especially as the 'quiet, private' nature of the conversation they are trying to have is naturally going to attract the attention of curious kids.Also Grosse and Playfair were undoubtedly asking them leading questions that by their nature provided 'fuel' for the children's imaginations, e.g. something along the lines of. "Has the poltergeist spoken to you yet?"
I also remember that as a child myself and my siblings were much more aware of what was going on in our house than our parents ever gave us credit for, especially in terms of listening in on conversations downstairs. Would not surprise me if Janet and Margaret had listened in on Grosse and Playfair talking to mum about what a poltergeist was, how it might develop and the theory about polts and girls going through puberty (including menstruation).
Seems to be a good case that was too eagerly and intrusively investigated and thus the children felt under pressure to perform.
And I also think that, as in so many cases of the paranormal, something weird happens first, but then becomes elusive. The same thing happens with psychic/telepathy - a couple of instances of something unknowable happening and then it stops. So to those it has happened to, it is frustrating because nobody believes them. So they try to 'help things along' just so they are believed for the first, real, occurance.