BOISTEROUS "GHOST'S."

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20076, 13 October 1928, Page 2 (Supplement)

BOISTEROUS "GHOST'S."

moving without contact.

CROCKERY THROWN DOWN.

MISCHIEVOUS TRICKS PLAYED

Recent reports from Wales concerning tho visit of a poltergeist or " rackety ghost." have caused th'o Rev. Herbert Thurston to writo to tho Evening News, London, concerning somo previously roported visitations. Mr. Thurston says:— The German word " poltergeist," which means no moro thau a noisy, racketing spirit lias acquired a technical signification in English psychic research and is applied to tho type of ghost which for tho most part does not show itself, but makes its presenco manifest by noises and tho movement of objects. These manifestations nearly always occur in tho neighbourhood of somo young person, often a child; and a particularly favourito diversion of tho poltergeist is to torment this innocent medium while ho or she is lying in bed. Tho bed begins to move across tho room, and is sometimes overturned. Tho bedclothes are slowly but irresistibly pulled off, and —most disconcerting of all—tho unfortunate victim may bo pinched or bitten, or pricked with pins which como from no ono knows where, but are left behind sticking in tho flesh.

One would pay little attention to these seemingly incredible stories, though they belong to all periods and are reported from all parts of tho, world, wero it not for tho fact that tho same curious details, regarding, for example the unnatural manner of progression of moving objects, recur again and again. As a specimen of good evidence let me appeal to an article in the Atlantic Monthly for August, 1868. The writer makes "it plain that he has no spiritualistic sympathies, but was an eye-witness ot certain strange happenings centring round a young Irish maid-servant. Tho poltergeist visitation began with a prolonged and inexplicable ringing of bells. No watchfulness could detect the cause. Then came a period of loud rappings on the walls and doors of tho room where tlie girl was nt work. This was followed by three weeks of an intermittent racket, during which hardly a day was free from some astounding incident. Chairs were upset, crockeryware thrown down, tables lifted and moved, and various kitchen utensils hurled about the room. 'J'ho burlesque devastation of china executed by the Stockwell ghost in .1772 was analogous in kind; but, for a recent case, minutely described and illustrated with plans, we may turn to Naval-Com-mander Kogelnik's account of bis ser-vant-maid, "Hannie," aged 15. at Braunau. Austria, in 1922. Endless mischievous tricks were played, and articles of personal attire hidden or misplaced.

" Tlio climax camo on May 8. We were awakened by cracking noises coming from the kitchen, where it was found that keys, pot-lids, forks, spoons, cups, ladles—in a word, all movoablo objects—wero flying about intermittently." As for vagaries of movement, we learn that in a poltergeist outbreak at Milwaukeo in 1874, Mrs. Gid-lings was sitting in her kitchen when " an egg camo at her out of iho pantry." Sho seemed in a safe position around a corner and clear of the direct lino of lire, but [' tho egg came shying around on a curved line. When Constablo Higgs, described as " a man of good intelligence and believed to bo entirely honest," went to investigate a poltergeist at Worksop in 1883, " a cupboard door flew open and ft largo glass jar camo out and past mo and pitched in tho yard outside, smashing itself. . . . , Tho jar couldn't go in a straight lino from tho cupboard out of tho door; but it certainly did go." In tho Jtesati case, which camo before tho magistrates at Bliesendorf in 1899, Dr. Midler, a rospccted Lutheran pastor, gavo evidoncc that besides a shower of potatoes, a knuckle-bono of ham-came sailing to.ward him out of,a cupboard.