Comments on: Poltergeist Girls

By: Munnin

Munnin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:18:54 +0000

Wow, that’s a very interesting connection between poltergeists and the origins of fire insurance in the USA. Thanks for pointing that out, Mr. C.!

Spontaneous Human Combustion is one of those subjects, like Bigfoot or UFOs, which seems very polarizing. There are those who dismiss the concept absolutely, insisting that there is no physical evidence of alleged SHC which cannot be explained by other circumstances; and those who insist that the preponderance of evidence cannot be satisfactorily explained in any other way BUT spontaneous human combustion. There seem to be far fewer people whose view is somewhere between those extremes.

I once saw a TV program where Joe Nickell “demonstrated” the mundane nature of alleged SHC deaths by setting fire to the cadaver of a pig, wrapped in fabric which had been treated with gasoline. This was supposed to prove that SHC is actually the misidentified result of the “wick effect,” and that in all cases of SHC the victim’s clothing was accidentally ignited by some external source of heat. It was not at all convincing to me, and in my opinion it probably harmed Nickell’s case more than it helped. However, I’m certain he would not agree with my assessment.

I recently read a book on SHC by Michael Harrison called Fire From Heaven, which presented quite a number of historical reports of alleged SHC. In the 19th century it was widely believed, or at least proposed, that SHC was a real and possibly inevitable effect of the chronic consumption of alcohol. This was a convenient explanation for some authorities of the day, as it offered a “Scientific” explanation, while reinforcing the desirability of a temperate lifestyle. I have known a few practicing alcoholics in my day, but so far none of them have combusted, spontaneously or otherwise.

By: BugMO

BugMO — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:38:08 +0000

Interesting article, I highly enjoyed reading it. I haven’t read many poltergeist cases before. I’ve enjoyed the last few day’s articles it’s been nice to read some of your fortean writing. Keep up the great work!

By: shumway10973

shumway10973 — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:42:35 +0000

Almost all poltergeists seem to have someone as either an “agent” or “amplifier”? The correct word(s) aren’t always there for proper description. There seems to be someone that triggers these events. Many times, after hearing or reading about the event, I do wonder if there are any spirits involved at all. I know of one that there definitely is a spirit there in the building, and the only reason it is considered a poltergeist is because of the major moving of items. This one seems to be focused on the hatred of men and doesn’t seem to mind the women.
My basic outlook on this subject is this: There are too many accounts of ghosts that can be proven one way or another for there not to be something going on in the spiritual realm, but the total human ability is still unknown in its entirety which allows for a good number of these events to be nothing but some sort of human action. I believe there is a reason why we have been questioning the abilities humankind have. People wouldn’t be looking into magic if there wasn’t something there. There wouldn’t be stories of “fire starters” if nobody could start fires with their minds. The human brain has so many areas that hasn’t been studied (mainly because no one knows how to use that section) that there is no way to know everything that is possible for us to do. These cases mentioned above could simply be examples of fire starters. I would love to find out if the number of fire starters is greater in men or women. That could be interesting.

By: Unknown Primate

Unknown Primate — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:05:29 +0000

As I mentioned in “Who Are You? What Do You Want?”, I don’t mind at all when a little “paranormality” enters the equation. Poltergeist phenomena has always interested me, along with just about anything that is “above the norm”, including cryptids.

By: Endroren

Endroren — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:28:43 +0000

Great article! Thanks Loren.

Soooo – when will “Paramundo” be opening???

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:06:44 +0000

Well this is an interesting diversion from strictly cryptozoological things. I’ve always been pretty firmly rooted in biology and zoology, and never been really into ghost reports, but poltergeist activity is interesting because there is a chance it could represent any number of possible new phenomena that could be studied. Sometimes, seemingly paranormal occurrences can lead to the discovery and subsequent study of very real natural phenomena, such as ball lightning, or some geological or atmospheric phenomena causing things like the Taos Hum.

Unlike stories of the ghostly images of dead people prowling haunted castles, I look at some cases of poltergeist as insights into possible new processes of nature. For example, perhaps the fires could be evidence of some sort of previously unknown natural phenomena that has the possibility of being pinned down and studied in a scientific manner.

Or maybe they really are just angry spirits. In the end, who am I to say, really?