Ever heard someone calling you from upstairs when you know that they are not home?
Electronic
Voice Phenomenon: Sticking to voices, a few ghosts are able to
communicate directly through EVP recorders. And via other forms of
technology (like cell phones) without you hearing the voice in real
time.
Warping reality: This has very rarely been recorded. Such
ghosts can alter the rules of reality and give people superhuman speed,
endurance or strength. Uncommon abilities
With the belief that ghosts
come from the human spirit, most paranormal encounters that are
reported are harmless. However, sometimes there is the occasional ghost
story of a very peeved-off ghost that has abilities that go beyond the
norm.
Unique abilities include:
Possession: People who
experience sleep paralysis have reported becoming possessed by ghosts in
the same way demons would possess someone. It is very rare, but an
angry ghost would be able to possess someone who is unaware or unable to
move (like when they’re sleeping).
Creating ectoplasm: This only
happens on rare occasions when a ghost is incredibly angry. Mostly it
does not happen, not even by violent entities.
Biokineses: This is
the ability to inflict wounds or disease on humans and other animals. It
includes causing people to experience fear, anxiety and even
hallucinations.
Photokinetic: Some kindly ghosts can create light which acts as a calming aura to their loved ones.
Electro
kinesis: Most ghosts can interact with electronics in some way. A few
ghosts have been reported to generate a type of unexplainable
electricity themselves, giving them the ability to power up machinery.
Hydro kinesis: Ghosts who suffered a violent death through drowning can create or manipulate water.
Pyrokinesis: Similarly, ghosts who died through burning may be able to manipulate or create fire.
Mental
manipulation: Angry or vengeful spirits are able to manipulate the
minds of their victims. It can drive the person crazy or turn them
violent.
Voices: A rare ability that some evil ghosts possess is to
mimic other people’s voices. Ever heard your mother calling you from
upstairs when you know she isn’t home? Best not to go up there!
Electronic
Voice Phenomenon: Sticking to voices, a few ghosts are able to
communicate directly through EVP recorders. And via other forms of
technology (like cell phones) without you hearing the voice in real
time.
Warping reality: This has very rarely been recorded. Such
ghosts can alter the rules of reality and give people superhuman speed,
endurance or strength
When people think of a typical ghost,
it’s usually a strange figure of a deceased person who just vanishes
from sight. Some of us might think of shadow people who flit from place
to place. What we usually don’t think of, though, is a being that is
capable of throwing objects, banging on walls, or pushing others around.
And
yet, it is actually fairly common among a specific type of ghosts. A
ghost known for causing physical chaos in its area is known as a
poltergeist, the German word for “noisy ghost.’ Throughout history,
cultures of all kinds had stories of ghosts capable of lifting items,
pounding against walls, opening doors, and even attacking others.
This
unique type of ghost has been discussed around the world and even made
its way into pop culture via movies like Poltergeist and The Haunting.
That being said, there’s a lot more to poltergeists that just noise and
bangs. Here’s what every would-be ghost hunter needs to know…
What Are Poltergeists, Really?
These
“noisy ghosts” are a specific category of haunting that can interact
with matter and make noise by hitting or throwing objects nearby. For
the most part, poltergeists seem to be fairly cognizant and capable of
understanding that they’re interacting with people.
Unlike
typical ghosts, poltergeists generally appear to be malevolent, with the
intent of frightening or even harming people around them. Their actions
are generally not understood but tend to involve loud bangs, objects
being thrown, and similar behavior.
What Are Poltergeists Capable Of?
It’s
worth pointing out that poltergeists are really only known for moving
around objects and making noise. As far as other abilities go, things
are pretty variable. Poltergeists can vary greatly from one haunting to
another.
Poltergeists can be both weak and strong, and how they
rein in many cases, the bangs, crashes, and scratches poltergeists make
don’t actually involve any damage to the items in a home. Other times,
that racket is actually coming from things being flung off shelves.
Light
poltergeist activity might include things like pulling the sheets off
sleeping people, heavy footsteps in hallways, or making tapping noises
on doors. Heavy poltergeist activity involves things like pushing people
off stairs, pictures being ripped off walls, doors slamming shut, and
similar things
Another, stranger, aspect of poltergeist activity
involves missing items. Homes haunted by poltergeists have a strange
tendency of having items go missing. When (or if) they turn up they’re
often placed in a place where they couldn’t possibly be placed.
What Do Poltergeists Look Like?
Unlike
with other types of ghosts, poltergeist appearances are totally random.
Many poltergeists are totally invisible to people, but seem to be
noticeable by animals. Some poltergeists can also be visibly seen
walking through hallways just like a typical person would, while others
may appear like dark mists.
It all seems to depend on what kind
of power the ghost has. Stronger ghosts are more likely to be visible
than weaker ones. However, some of the most powerful poltergeists in the
world have never been seen.
What Causes Poltergeist Hauntings To Happen?
Poltergeists
are considered to be a different type of haunting than most others.
With most ghosts, there is an understanding that a person died and
what’s left is their spirit. This isn’t always the consensus when it
comes to poltergeist hauntings.
Believe it or not, there are
multiple schools of thought when it comes to the origins of
poltergeists. These below are the most common:
Angry Spirits
Much
like with many other haunts, one of the leading beliefs behind
poltergeist origins deals with a person who died and had unfinished
business on Earth. Many people believe that poltergeists are simply
ghosts of people who want to cause a little chaos or who want to let
their rage loose on the living.
Since most hauntings are ascribed
to the deceased, this concept makes a lot of sense. This is especially
true when you look at the types of places that tend to attract
poltergeist activity. Homes that are known for being places of violence
are especially prone to attacks.
The Enfield Poltergeist is an
excellent example of a poltergeist believed to be the spirit of an angry
soul. A home in Enfield, England became the focal point of a major
paranormal investigation after tenants saw chairs moving by themselves
and heard loud bangs echo through the walls. Many investigators believed
this to be a spirit who hadn’t passed on.
Demonic Activity
Many
Christians and religious groups believe that poltergeist activity,
particularly when it’s very intense, could be the work of demonic
entities that are trying to attack people. There’s a common belief that
human spirits can’t move objects or attack other people, which infers
that a non-human entity could be at fault.
Borley Rectory, once
known as “the most haunted house of England” was known for full-bodied
apparitions of nuns, spectral horses, and monks. Terrifying as the
phantoms were, the poltergeist activity was worse.
Rectors and
family members who stayed in the house were regularly attacked by unseen
forces, forced to watch in terror as cooking utensils flew across the
kitchen, and were repeatedly hit by levitating stones.
Multiple
exorcisms were performed at the rectory, but none were successful due to
priests being hit with heavy rocks as they recited passages from the
bible. The rectory eventually burned down, possibly sparked by the
demons themselves.
Psychic Phenomena
One of the stranger
aspects of poltergeist hauntings is its tendency to focus on children
and teenagers going through puberty, as well as people who lead very
troubled lives. In many cases, hauntings occur in locations where people
haven’t died and no history of violence occurs.
Parapsychologists
often believe that the poltergeist activity isn’t caused by a ghost.
Instead, they believe that a person who may be too stressed may unlock
paranormal abilities that they don’t have control of.
One of the
biggest proponents of this theory was psychologist Carl Jung, who blamed
a woman’s trance on a table and a knife suddenly splitting in two.
Natural Phenomena
Along
with psychic phenomena and ghosts, another subset of theories involve
natural phenomena. Scientists have suggested that underwater currents
might be the cause of some of the bangs and squeaks associated with
poltergeists.
Other suggestions that fit under the “natural
phenomena” umbrella include electrical interference, ball lightning, and
seismic activity. That being said, this explanation doesn’t explain the
intelligent behavior of poltergeist activity.
Poltergeist was
based on a true story about a haunting that took place in Long Island.
The haunting did include objects moving on their own, people being
attacked, and children seeing strange figures in the house.
However,
the “Hollywood effect” is very real and it was sensationalized to be a
more terrifying tale onscreen. So, while the real haunting may not have
involved children being dragged into voids, it was still fairly
terrifying for the people involved.
How Can You Get Rid Of A Poltergeist?
If
you are unlucky enough to end up with a poltergeist in your home, your
options are fairly limited on what you can do. Poltergeists are very
different from standard hauntings and are unpredictable when it comes to
dispelling them. Here’s what we know about them:
Some poltergeists will cease activity if asked politely. This is rare, but it does happen.
Doing
an exorcism or cleansing tends to help. This seems to put a kibosh on
most hauntings, including poltergeist activity. A house blessing, a
cleansing with sage, or even an exorcism can work.
Some won’t respond
to exorcisms. Though most poltergeists will cease behavior if an
exorcism is performed, not all do. The Bell Witch haunting, which
eventually culminated in the death of a person, was a poltergeist
haunting that didn’t respond to exorcisms. Borley Rectory’s ghosts, too,
are a good example.
Many suddenly stop acting out, or fade out their
activity over time. A common trend among poltergeists is to have their
energy decrease after major bursts. One might even say they “grow out of
it.”
Generally speaking, the best way to get rid of a poltergeist is to just get away from them, and hope they don’t follow you!