POLTERGEISTS

Growing up in a haunted house, you can imagine how things might have culminated for me on a ghostly level when I was about nine years old and watched the original Amityville Horror movie. I remember several things about that night: A few adults were watching it and I kind of hung around trying to see it until my mother exited me from the room; I was scared to death lying in my bedroom upstairs, hearing bits and pieces of the horror movie below, knowing full well what the ghosts we already had were capable of. One of the adults had to come up and sit with me or no sleep would have been had that night. A few years later, Poltergeist (the movie) came out. Again, people were watching it in my living room. A little older and slightly braver, I was one of them. To this day, I will not forget the most pivotal, hair-raising scene in that movie where all of the dining room chairs were inexplicably and suddenly piled on top of the table. It was unforgettable. I didn’t think of how it enhanced the horror and was a cool movie “trick”. I only thought, could that happen here in our house? To my knowledge it never did, but then again we had “regular” ghosts, not poltergeists.

Everyone has heard the term “poltergeist”, made popular over the years by famous books and movies.

The name is of German origin and refers to a “noisy ghost or spirit”.  They are different from “regular” ghosts in the following ways:

·        poltergeists have been known to bite, scratch and hit people

·        they can move, throw and levitate all sorts of objects and furniture

·        they can create a real cacophony of terrifying sounds

·        they have been known to set fires

·        they are malevolent in nature

·        generally invisible

They have been reported to exist around the world and as early as the first century. Researchers and experts believe poltergeists are supernatural manifestations or the emanation of an unknown energy surrounding a particular person. Either way, not a pleasant thing to have to deal with.

Their unpredictable behavior can continue for any length of time (days to years) and the chaos is often repetitive and violent.

You do not have to look far in Nova Scotia to discover the case of Esther Cox, a young girl from Amherst, who was besieged by one of these entities in 1878. Her experience has put Atlantic Canada on the paranormal map in this category.

It was August 1878. Esther was eighteen and lived with her sister’s family in their farmhouse. Following an attempted sexual assault by an acquaintance, Esther became rightfully distressed. Soon afterwards, poltergeist activity began in the house. It started with knocking and banging of unknown origin and items moving about on their own. Esther and her sister witnessed odd activity under their bed sheets and around their bedroom. Three nights into the unusual activity, Esther felt feverish and ill at bedtime. Her sister examined her and discovered Esther’s skin was red and swollen and she was struggling to breathe. A loud noise, again from beneath the bed, shook the room. This went on for several days. She also appeared to begin having seizures that contorted her entire body. The family fetched the local doctor and while examining her, he witnessed sheets and blankets moving by themselves across her bed and heard other-worldly noises coming from underneath the bed. Bewildered by the events, the doctor and others looked on in astonishment as the words,’ Esther Cox you are mine to kill’ appeared to be etched into the plaster wall above the bed by unseen hands.

The next day the doctor returned; things were getting worse. Food was flying about the house by itself, loud noises seemed to come from the roof now; fires erupted throughout the home, furniture moved around,  sewing pins were jabbed into Esther’s face and a small knife embedded in her back.

Esther tried to flee the entity. She tried to attend church and attempted to go her neighbor’s house. The torment continued no matter where she went. Fearing destruction of her sister’s rented house, she moved into a house nearby to work on a farm. The house soon caught on fire and burned to the ground. (Esther was actually arrested and convicted of arson in this case)

After her release from jail, a few more minor instances ensued and then eventually, it had seemed Esther had been released of her torment.

Many questions arise from her case.

Sixteen reliable witnesses have signed affidavits attesting to what they witnessed while investigating Esther’s poltergeist. A doctor, several ministers, family friends, community members and Nova Scotia citizens had witnessed some of the unexplained paranormal events, and no exact cause could be found.

This is the very short version of what Esther and her family experienced. There are many more articles and books written on the subject, which I recommend, should you want all of the creepy details.

Investigators have determined it was not a hoax or trickery on Esther’s part.

And then there was that time in Eastern Passage….

Eastern Passage is a beautiful picturesque community about a twenty-minute drive from Halifax. A family that lived there in the 1940’s had a serious poltergeist on their hands.

Strange knocking noises started one Christmas Eve, followed by household objects moving by themselves, including heavy appliances, such as their washing machine.  Tables upturned by themselves (while in use).

At their wit’s end, they called the Halifax police department and the local newspaper. The police were of little help; however, the newspaper journalists sent to investigate witnessed some freaky things going on. They saw a tea kettle leave the stove and land on the floor, scissors opening and closing by themselves, and saw several other items moving around without human intervention.

As time went on, so did the inexplicable events. At one point, the mother in the family had her shoe grabbed by the poltergeist, which sent her flying down the stairs causing a broken ankle.

To make things even weirder, a stray dog started coming by and would sit on the front door step and howl at the house.

Months later, a psychological researcher was sent to the home by an American magazine who had heard about the manifestations. The investigator had delved into many paranormal things in the past and had found some to be hoaxes.

After interviewing the family and nearly getting beaned in the head with a flying teapot, he determined   the incidents were not a hoax and also concluded that they focused around the daughter in the family (similar to the Esther Cox case).

And one more for good measure, in case you aren’t “quite” convinced that Nova Scotia is home to a few poltergeists……

In December 1941, a family in Bible Hill (near Truro) became aware that they too had a poltergeist on their hands. The first incident was when a closet door opened and a pair of shoes came walking out all by themselves.

Things escalated in the coming days: stove lids rattled, cutlery and clocks floated through the air and a visitor to the home was hit by a flying fireplace poker. Ouch.

The ladies of the house quietly told some friends and neighbors what was going on, as their husbands were overseas fighting in the war. The no-nonsense neighbors could not believe what they were hearing and wanted to see for themselves. So one evening, a few of the neighbors and a couple of reporters came over for a visit.  The turned out the lights and armed with flashlights throughout the house, were determined to see what was causing the shenanigans.

They heard a noise from another room and rushed in, expecting to find a trickster playing a prank. Instead, they saw an empty chair rocking back and forth. They looked around the chair for a string or some such item that would prove it was all a trick, but found nothing. They dared the ghost to rock the chair again, which it did, right on cue.

Back in the kitchen, they witnessed bottles and window blinds moving and a table being upturned, seemingly by itself. Drawers opened, silverware levitated and items were pushed off shelves.

The neighbors left in fear.

A few days later, two photographers and the local newspaper editor from Truro asked if they could investigate.  They, too, witnessed various items flying about the room. A heavy clothes iron had been sitting on the kitchen stove. The girl in the family started to back away from it as if she saw something terrifying. The photographers snapped pictures and after developing them, could clearly see they had captured a disembodied hand reaching for the iron.

Local skeptics laughed, saying the hand belonged to the young girl and that she was tricking everyone. But it was clearly an adult’s hand, not a twelve year old girl’s. No one laughed after that.

Skeptics will brush off poltergeist reports for a variety of reasons, citing anything from the wind to blatant trickery. They will also say the same thing for pretty much any other paranormal phenomenon. I agree that trying to understand anything out of the realm of normalcy takes a very open mind and some people just never really get to that point, until they experience something for themselves.

Paranormal events that have been discovered to be hoaxes also provide proof to the skeptics. While that is completely understandable, it does not mean or prove that every single report or experience is faked. Again, you could only be one hundred percent certain of the validity of such claims if something out of the ordinary happens to you personally.

Lastly, we would be remiss not to mention the Mary Ellen Macdonald Spook Farm near Antigonish, NS after their poltergeist experiences back in the earl 1900’s. We checked it out a few years ago. We had posted it to our other blog, in case you missed it:

Spook Farm

Nova Scotia Paranormal Events