Transcript Document 7421887

Haunting
in
Germany
• What is Poltergeist?
• What is poltergeist activity?
• What causes it?
• First documented poltergeist activity
• More documented cases of poltergeist activity
• Comes from the German word “Poltern”
meaning ‘to make noise’, and “Geist”
meaning ‘Spirit’.
• Literally means
“noisy spirit”
• Inanimate objects
being moved or
thrown across a
room
• Unexplainable
noises
• Knocking or banging
• Beds shaking or
furniture moving
• In rare cases violence has been known to
occur. Small fires, objects actually hitting
people, and scratches and bruises.
• Even rarer cases have been noted where
‘contact’ has been made.
• In the form of a ‘ghost’ or ‘apparition’ or
unexplained sounds or voices
In the mid-1970s, an organization conducted a computer study of
recorded poltergeist activity, and found this pattern:
64%
58%
48%
36%
24%
16%
12%
15%
11%
5%
• For hundreds of years poltergeists were thought
to be ‘ghosts’ or ‘Demons’ or the curse of a
‘witch’
– Mainly because of strong religious influences
• Another theory is that Poltergeists are created by
the violent or angry death of a person.
• This creates a ‘mark’ on the area where the death
happened.
• The energy created by the ‘mark’ supposedly
replays through supernatural activity over and
over.
Psychokinesis
• The recent belief that Poltergeist activity is the unexplained
manifestation of a persons strong emotions or severe
stress.
• William G Roll - studied around 116 documented cases and
discovered that the main cause of the activity was often
children or teenagers
• He also theorized that recurrent neuronal discharges
resulting in epileptic symptoms may cause Recurrent
Spontaneous Psychokinesis (RSPK), which would affect the
person's surroundings.
• In the case of the Rosenheim Poltergeist, none of the
disturbances could be explained through fraudulent means
and it was suggested to be caused by psychokinetic forces.
• Most cases of Poltergeist activity though, is found to be fraud.
First recorded poltergeist
activity occurred around
~858 AD~
A Germanic home had an
“invisible force” throwing
stones them, banging and
knocking on the walls all
day and night, and
knocking over beds
causing the sleeping
inhabitants to be thrown
on the floor
Hopfgarten Poltergeist
• Occurred in Hopfgarten, near Weimar, Germany
• Minna Sauerbrey, 1919
• Sick, invalid, bed ridden second wife of Ernst Sauerbrey.
– She suffered from, which was only described as, “an incurable
internal complaint of long standing”
– She laid for over a year on the couch (her makeshift bed) and
was to weak to even raise an arm.
– This occurred for over a year
• Was visited by her step-son, Clock maker and exhibitions in
hypnotism, Otto Sauerbrey, on the 10th of February
– He proceeded to hypnotize her, though police testimonials have
him denying this fact despite multiple witnesses.
– 12th of February he left
• Second day after Otto left, unexplained knocking
started to occure.
– Happened for almost two days in a row, all day and
night
• Ernst and his daughter, Frieda Pappe, Claimed it
sounded like a fist banging on the walls and doors
of the room, and on various pieces of furniture
– This was repeated night after night from the 13th to
the 28th of February
There is also evidence of unexplained moving
objects, a jug and water basin.
• During this time Minna’s mental and physical
health began to greatly decline.
• She became obsessed with the thought that her
step-son, Otto, was actually there and had
control over her.
• There was a day when her condition grew
considerably worse, the 17th of February, and it
was noted that day at around 11 pm the knocking
on the walls grew ‘unusually loud.
• That night Minna confided in Frieda how afraid of
Otto she was, And how she “Saw his eyes on her
every night’.
.
• February 27th Weimar Police were called.
– They witnessed the unexplained rapping and saw
Objects move with no one near them.
• Februrary 28th Police called in “nervespecialist” Dr. kalhe.
– He proceeded to “counter the hypnoses” and cure
her.
• She is said to have yelled out “I Am Free!”
From that moment on the occurrences stopped and
never happened again.
On March 27th 1921
Minna Died due to her
“Internal complaint”.
Rosenheim Poltergeist
• Occurred in the offices of Sigmund Adam in Rosenheim
Southern Bavaria.
• 1967 – Adams office started receiving phone calls with no
answer.
– Disconnected phone lines
– Phones still making calls, at least 6 a minute (45 every 15 minutes) to a
‘time clock’
•
A feat that was impossible with the phone system in the 70’s
Oct. 1967 – lights would swing on their fixtures for no reason,
turn on and off, and light bulbs would rotate 90% in their
sockets.
When light bulbs were replaced with lower voltage one
they simply exploded.
Hans Bender of Freiburb’s Institute of
Paranormal Research came to help
• Discovered phenomenon only occurred at certain times.
– When a Young employee, 19 year old Anne-Marie Schneide started her
office hours the incidents would start,
– As soon as she went home everything stopped.
– Further Investigation showed the was a “High Strung teen” with a lot of
“emotional turmoil” and repressed anger
– Two Physicists F. Karger and G. Zicha Made a
study on this phemenon later
Rosenheim continued
• Dec. 1967 – Jan. 1968
Calendars flew off walls,
Paintings turned on their
hooks, and drawers opened.
• Large 400 pound book shelf
was seen to move a few feet
away from the wall on its own.
Rosenheim
bookshelf
said to have
moved on its
own
The phenomena were witnessed by Hans
Bender, the police force, the CID, reporters, and
the physicists, F. Karger and G. Zicha.
• Middle of Jan – Anne-Marie
Lost her job, everything
stopped.
– Several other jobs in
which she held
experienced the same
strange ‘electrical
phenomenon’
• Last know Anne-Maries’
Boyfriend broke up with her
due to a scoreboard dying
during a game of bowling
• She is said to have gotten
married in 69’ and the
incidents surrounding her
stopped.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1LjrnsH144
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5
PK_tFaDY8A
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http://www.elfmanworld.com/spookyarchive/poltergeist.html
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http://monkeywah.typepad.com/randis_prize/hopfgarten-poltergeist.html
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http://monkeywah.typepad.com/randis_prize/poltergeists.html
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http://paranormal.wikia.com/wiki/Poltergeist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poltergeist
http://www.ghosttheory.com/2008/12/24/rosenheim-poltergeist-lookingback-at-the-most-documented-haunting
• Haunting and Poltergeists , Multidisciplinary Perspectives – Edited
by James Houran and Rense Lange