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Beware of poltergeists
Skeptical Inquirer, Sept-Oct, 2005 by Massimo Polidoro
Poltergeist is a German word that literally means "noisy ghost." It is, in fact, believed that poltergeists make their presence known by throwing objects around, making rapping sounds, starting fires, or producing electrical disturbances.
The very first case I had a chance to investigate took place on January 22, 1989, right after the foundation of CICAP, the Italian skeptical organization. It was a case of a poltergeist.
The news media had devoted lots of time and space to the strange case of Marco, a twelve-year-old boy who lived in Milano with his parents, and who seemed to be at the center of some very mysterious happenings. Furniture would move around the house, pictures would fall off the walls, books would fly across the room, and so on. An exorcist was called, and also a psychic healer, a medium, and some parapsychologists, but no one had been able to bring peace back to the house. Since the birth of CICAP had attracted some media attention just a few weeks earlier, we were immediately called upon by journalists to investigate the case. However, it was only when the distressed family called on us that we decided to step in.
We knew from the previous experience of other skeptical groups and investigators like James Randi that most of the time, similar cases had revealed nothing paranormal. The phenomena usually had natural causes, like drafts of wind or tremors caused by the passage of heavy trucks. One of the most significant episodes we'd heard about was that involving the Resch family of Columbus, Ohio, where an adopted child, Tina, would cause strange phenomena, very similar to those in the Italian case we were going to investigate. A video camera left on inadvertently showed the girl in the act of throwing a lamp in the air and the case was closed.
A Broken Glass
We met with Marco's family on February 2 and decided on the following procedure: while a few members of the CICAP would talk with the parents, having them describe the whole story and trying to outline their psychological profile, I would spend time with Marco, while he played with his toys.
We spent three days with Marco and his family, and while nothing supernatural happened, several interesting facts came to light. First of all, the family appeared to be quite interested in psychic phenomena: there were several books on such subjects on their shelves, Marco had seen many movies that might have influenced him (Poltergeist, The Exorcist, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.) and the parents had attended seances and had consulted palm readers and other psychics in the past. Furthermore, there appeared to be some family tension because of the parents' demanding work schedules and their son's need for attention. What appeared to be most telling, however, was the fact that some members of the family had, more than once, caught Marco in the act of throwing things around.
"Oh, but that was nothing!" said the parents, explaining this revelation away. "Those times, he was only playing, but on every other occasion, the phenomena were real."
"What other occasions?" we asked. "Did anyone ever see a book take flight or a frame fall off the wall?"
Well, it appeared that nobody, except Marco, had ever seen any of the phenomena they reported occur from the beginning. At most, somebody had seen an object when it touched the ground, only because Marco had yelled to attract attention; however, usually the phenomena took place in the presence of only Marco, when he was alone in his room.
Those three days I spent with Marco showed me that he was an intelligent boy, with a good sense of humor but also very alert at watching all my movements. I was very careful never to leave him unobserved, and this resulted in no phenomena happening. The parents told us clearly that those were the first three days that had been devoid of phenomena and could not explain why that was so. "Had the poltergeist run its course?" they asked.
On the last day, however, something did happen. I wanted to see if, given the opportunity, Marco would seize it, and so I relaxed my attention on him. I let him play and frequently turned my back to him. At one point during the evening, while we were playing with a computer game, he suggested that I keep on playing while he prepared his books for school. "Oh, don't worry," I said. "I can help you."
"No, no! Please," he insisted, "keep on playing. I'll be done in a second."
"Okay," I said. I turned around but managed to keep an eye on him by watching his reflection in a window. I watched him put some books in his bag and glance frequently at me. Then, he took something out of his bag and, with a sudden move, threw it against a wall. It was a drinking glass, and it shattered with a loud crash. I immediately turned around and asked, "Why did you do that?"
He looked at me quite puzzled: "What? What do you mean?"
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