See also:

• POLTERGEIST (Ger. for " racketing spirit ")

POLTERGEIST (Ger. for " racketing spirit ")  , the See also:

• TERM

term applied to certain phenomena of an unexplained nature, such as movements of See also:

• OBJECTS

objects without any traceable cause, and noises equally untraced to their source; but in some cases exhibiting intelligence, as when raps See also:

• ANSWER (derived from and, against, and the same root as swear)

answer a question by a See also:

• CODE (Lat. codex)

code . In the word See also:

• POLTERGEIST (Ger. for " racketing spirit ")

Poltergeist, the phenomena are attributed to the See also:

• ACTION

action of a Geist, or spirit: of old the popular explanation of all residuary phenomena . The See also:

• HYPOTHESIS (from Gr. inrorcOivat, to put under; cf. Lat. suppositio, from sub-ponere)

hypothesis, in consequence of the See also:

• DIFFUSION (from the Lat. diffundere; dis-, asunder, and fundere, to pour out)

diffusion of See also:

• EDUCATION

education, has been superseded by that of " See also:

• ELECTRICITY

electricity "; while sceptics in all ages and countries have accounted for all the phenomena by the theory of imposture . The last is at least a very causa: imposture has often been detected; but it is not so certain that this theory accounts for all the circumstances . To the student of human nature the most interesting point in the See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character of poltergeist phenomena .is their See also:

• APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance in the earliest known stages of culture, their wide diffusion, and their astonishing uniformity . Almost all the beliefs usually styled " superstitious " are of See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early occurrence and of wide diffusion: the lowest savages believe in ghosts of the dead and in wraiths of the living . Such beliefs when found thriving in our own See also:

• CIVILIZATION

civilization might be explained as See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere survivals from savagery, memories of all " The superstitions idle-headed eld Received and did deliver to our See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age." But we have not to See also:

• DEAL

deal only with a belief that certain apparently impossible things may occur and have occurred in the past . We are met by the See also:

• EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence of sane and credible witnesses, often highly educated, who maintain that they themselves have heard and beheld the unexplained sounds and See also:

• SIGHTS

sights . It appears, therefore, that in considering the phenomena of the poltergeist we are engaged with facts of one sort or another; facts produced either by skilled imposture, or resting on hallucinations of the witnesses; or on a mixture of See also:

• FRAUD (Lat. fraus, deceit)

fraud and of See also:

• HALLUCINATION (from Lat. alucinari or allucinari, to wander in mind, Gr. a.)^i resty or hXvecv, from an, wandering)

hallucination caused by " See also:

• SUGGESTION

suggestion." There remains the See also:

• CHANCE (through the O. Fr. cheance, from the Late Lat. cadentia, things happening, from cadere, to fall out, happen; cf. " case ")

chance that some agency of an unexplored nature is, at least in certain cases, actually at See also:

• WORK

work . A See also:

• VOLUME

volume would be needed if we were to See also:

• ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt to See also:

• CHRONICLE (from Gr. Xpovos, time)

chronicle the phenomena of the poltergeist as believed in by savages and in See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient and See also:

• MEDIEVAL

medieval times . But among savages they are usually associated with the dead, or with the See also:

• MEDICINE

medicine-men of the tribes . These personages are professional " mediums," and like the mediums of See also:

• EUROPE

Europe and See also:

• AMERICA

America, may be said to have domesticated the poltergeist .

At their seances, See also:

• SAVAGE
• SAVAGE, MINOT JUDSON (1841– )
• SAVAGE, RICHARD (d. 1743)

savage or civilized, the phenomena are reported to occur—such as rappings and other noises, loud or See also:

• LOW, SETH (1850- )
• LOW, WILL HICOK (1853- )

low, and " movements of objects without See also:

• PHYSICAL

physical contact." (See, for a brief See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

account, A . See also:

• LANG, ANDREW (1844— )
• LANG, KARL HEINRICH, RITTER VON (1764-1835)

Lang, See also:

• COCK, EDWARD (1805-1892)

Cock See also:

• LANE, EDWARD WILLIAM (1801–1876)
• LANE, JAMES HENRY (1814–1866)

Lane and See also:

• COMMON

Common Sense, " Savage See also:

• SPIRITUALISM

Spiritualism "; and see the Jesuit Lettres edifiantes, See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

North America, 1620-1770, and See also:

• KOHL

Kohl's Kitchi Gami.) But " induced phenomena," where professional mediums and professional medical men are the agents, need not here be considered . The evidence, unless in the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case of See also:

• SIR

Sir See also:

• WILLIAM
• WILLIAM (1143-1214)
• WILLIAM (1227-1256)
• WILLIAM (1J33-1584)
• WILLIAM (A.S. Wilhelm, O. Norse Vilhidlmr; O. H. Ger. Willahelm, Willahalm, M. H. Ger. Willehelm, Willehalm, Mod.Ger. Wilhelm; Du. Willem; O. Fr. Villalme, Mod. Fr. Guillaume; from " will," Goth. vilja, and " helm," Goth. hilms, Old Norse hidlmr, meaning
• WILLIAM (c. 1130-C. 1190)
• WILLIAM, 13TH

William See also:

• CROOKES, SIR WILLIAM (1832– )

Crookes's experiments with See also:

• DANIEL
• DANIEL (DANIL)
• DANIEL, BOOK
• DANIEL, GABRIEL (1649-1728)

Daniel Dunglas See also:

• HOME
• HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS (1833-1886)
• HOME, EARLS OF

Home, is generally worthless, and the laborious investigations of the Society for Psychical See also:

• RESEARCH (O. Fr. recerche, from recercher, re- and cercer, mod. chercher, to search; Late Lat. circare, to go round in a circle, to explore)

Research resulted only in the detection of fraud as far as " physical " manifestations by paid mediums were concerned . The spontaneous poltergeist, where, at least, no professional is See also:

• PRESENT

present, and no seance is being held, is much more curious andinteresting than the See also:

• SIMPLE

simple tricks played in the dark by impudent charlatans . The phenomena are identical, as reported, literally " from See also:

• CHINA

China to See also:

• PERU
• PERU (apparently from Biru, a small river on the west coast of Colombia, where Pizarro landed)

Peru." The See also:

• CIEZA

Cieza de See also:

• LEON
• LEON, LUIS PONCE DE (1527-1591)
• LEON, MOSES BEN SI
• LEON, or LEON DE LAS ALDAMAS

Leon (1549) tells us that the cacique of Pirza, in Popyan, during his See also:

• CONVERSION (Lat. conversio, from convertere, to turn or ,change)

conversion to See also:

• CHRISTIANITY

Christianity, was troubled by stones falling mysteriously through the See also:

• AIR (from an Indo-European root meaning " breathe," " blow ")
• AIR, or ASBEN

air (the mysterious point was the question of whence they came, and what force urged them), while Christians saw at his table a See also:

• GLASS
• GLASS (O.E. glees, cf. Ger. Glas, perhaps derived from an old Teutonic root gla-, a variant of glo-, having the general sense of shining, cf. " glare," " glow ")
• GLASS, STAINED

glass of liquor raised in the air, by no visible See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, put down empty, and replenished ! Mr Dennys (Folk See also:

• LORE
• LORE, AMBROISE DE (1396-1446)

Lore of China, 1876,p . 79) speaks of a See also:

• CHINESE, JAPANESE AND

Chinese householder who was driven to take See also:

• REFUGE

refuge in a See also:

• TEMPLE
• TEMPLE, FREDERICK (1821-1902)
• TEMPLE, RICHARD
• TEMPLE, SIR RICHARD, BART
• TEMPLE, SIR WILLIAM, BART

temple by the usual phenomena —throwing about of crockery and sounds of heavy footfalls—after the decease of an aggrieved See also:

• MONKEY

monkey . This is only one of several Chinese cases of poltergeist; and the phenomena are described in Jesuit narratives of the 18th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, from See also:

• COCHIN
• COCHIN, DENYS MARIE PIERRE AUGUSTIN (1851L'Evolution de la vie (1895); Le Monde exterieur (1845); Contre les barbares (1899)

Cochin China . In these papers no explanation is suggested . There is a famous example in a nunnery, recorded (1528) by a notable See also:

• WITNESS
• WITNESS (from O. Eng. witan, to know)

witness, Adrien de See also:

• MONTALEMBERT, CHARLES FORBES RENE DE (1810-1870)
• MONTALEMBERT, MARC

Montalembert, See also:

• ALMONER (from Lat. eleemosynarius, through med. Lat. almosynarius, almonarius, and Fr. almosnier, aumosniea, &c., mod. Fr. aumonier)

almoner to See also:

• FRANCIS
• FRANCIS (FRarrcols) OF SALES, ST (1567-1622)
• FRANCIS (Lat. Franciscus, Ital. Francesco, Span. Francisco, Fr. Francois, Ger. Franz)
• FRANCIS, SIR PHILIP (174o-1818)

Francis I . The See also:

• AGENT (from Lat. agere, to act)

agent was supposed to be the spirit of a See also:

• SISTER

sister recently deceased . Among multitudes of old cases, that of the " Drummer of Tedworth " (1662–1663; see Glanvil, Sadducismus triumphatus, 1666); that at Rerrick, recorded by the Rev .

Mr Telfer in 1695; that of the See also:

• WESLEY (FAMILY)
• WESLEY, JOHN (1703-1791)
• WESLEY, SAMUEL (1766-1837)
• WESLEY, SAMUEL SEBASTIAN (1810–1876)

Wesley See also:

• HOUSEHOLD, ROYAL

household (1716–1717) chronicled in contemporary letters and diaries of the Wesley See also:

• FAMILY

family (See also:

• SOUTHEY, ROBERT (1774-1843)

Southey's See also:

• LIFE

Life of See also:

• JOHN
• JOHN (1167–1216)
• JOHN (1290-c. 1320)
• JOHN (1296-1346)
• JOHN (1371–1419)
• JOHN (1468-1532)
• JOHN (1801-1873)
• JOHN (Heb. llni')
• JOHN (ZAPOLYA) (1487-1540)
• JOHN, 4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (c. 1695-1762)
• JOHN, DON (1545-1578)
• JOHN, DON (1629–1679)
• JOHN, GOSPEL OF ST
• JOHN, or HAYS (1513–1571)
• JOHN, THE APOSTLE
• JOHN, THE EPISTLES OF

John Wesley); that of Cideville (1851), from the records of the See also:

• COURT
• COURT (from the O. Fr. court, Late Lat. cortis, curtis, a popular form of class. Lat. cohors, gen. cohortis; the mod. Fr. form tour is due to the influence of the Lat. curia, the word used in medieval documents to translate " court " in the feudal sense)
• COURT, ANTOINE (1696-176o)

court which tried the See also:

• LAW
• LAW (0. Eng. lagu, M. Eng. lawe; from an old Teutonic root lag, " lie," what lies fixed or evenly; cf. Lat. lex, Fr. loi)
• LAW, JOHN (1671—1729)
• LAW, WILLIAM (1686-1761)

law-suit arising out of the affair (Prot . See also:

• SOC

Soc . Psychical Research, xviii . 454–463); and the Alresford case, attested by the See also:

• GREAT

great See also:

• ADMIRAL

admiral, See also:

• LORD
• LORD (O. Eng. hldford, i.e. hldfweard, the warder or keeper of bread, hlIf, loaf; the word is not represented in any other Teutonic language)
• LORD, JOHN (1810-1894)

Lord St See also:

• VINCENT (or VINCENTIUS), ST
• VINCENT, GEORGE (1796-1831?)
• VINCENT, MARY ANN (1818-1887)

Vincent, are among the most remarkable . At Tedworth we have the evidence of Glanvil himself, though it does not amount to much; at Rerrick, Telfer was a See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good chronicler and gives most respectable signed vouchers for all the marvels: See also:

• SAMUEL

Samuel Wesley and his wife were See also:

• PEOPLE

people of sense, they were neither alarmed nor superstitious, merely puzzled; while the court which tried the Cideville case, only decided that " the cause of the events remains unknown." At Alresford, in See also:

• HAMPSHIRE (or COUNTY OF SOUTHAMPTON, abbreviated HANTS)

Hampshire, the phenomena attested by Lord St Vincent and his sister Mrs Ricketts, who occupied the See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

house, were peculiarly See also:

• STRANGE, SIR ROBERT (1721-1792)

strange and emphatic: the house was therefore pulled down . At Willington See also:

• MILL
• MILL (O. Eng. mylen, later myln, or miln, adapted from the late Lat. molina, cf. Fr. moulin, from Lat. mola, a mill, molere, to grind; from the same root, mol, is derived " meal;" the word appears in other Teutonic languages, cf. Du. molen, Ger. muhle)
• MILL, JAMES (1773-1836)
• MILL, JOHN (c. 1645–1707)
• MILL, JOHN STUART (1806-1873)

Mill, near See also:

• MORPETH

Morpeth (1831–1847), the phenomena are attested by the See also:

• JOURNAL
• JOURNAL (through Fr. from late Lat. diurnalis, daily)

journal of Mr See also:

• PROCTER, BRYAN WALLER (1787–1874)

Procter, the occupant, a Quaker, a " tee-totaller," and a See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man of great See also:

• RESOLUTION

resolution . He and his family endured unspeakable things for sixteen years, and could find no explanation of the sights and sounds, among which were phantasms of animals, as at Epworth, in the Wesley case . Of all these cases that of the Wesleys has attracted most See also:

• CRITICAL (in alphabetical order of authors)

critical See also:

• ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention . It was not, in itself, an extreme instance of poltergeist: at Alresford, at the See also:

• CLOSE
• CLOSE (from Lat. clausum, shut)
• CLOSE, MAXWELL HENRY (1822-1903)

close of the 18th century, and at Willington Mill in the See also:

• MIDDLE

middle of the 19th the disturbances were much more violent and persistent than at Epworth, while our evidence is, in all three examples, derived from the contemporary narratives, letters and See also:

• JOURNALS

journals of educated persons . The Wesleys, however, were people so celebrated and so active in See also:

• RELIGION
• RELIGION, FOLKLORE, CUSTOM

religion that many efforts have been made to explain their " old See also:

• JEFFREY, FRANCIS JEFFREY

Jeffrey," as they called the disturbing agency . These attempts at explanation have been fruitless . The poet See also:

• COLERIDGE, HARTLEY (1796-1849)
• COLERIDGE, JOHN DUKE COLERIDGE, 1ST BARON
• COLERIDGE, SAMUEL TAYLOR (1772-1834)
• COLERIDGE, SARA (1802–1852)
• COLERIDGE, SIR JOHN TAYLOR (1790-1876)

Coleridge, who said that he knew many cases, explained all by a theory of contagious epidemic hallucination of witnesses .

Dr See also:

• SALMON
• SALMON, GEORGE (1819-1904)

Salmon, of Trinity See also:

• COLLEGE (Collegium)

College, See also:

• DUBLIN

Dublin, set all down to imposture by Hetty Wesley, a vivacious girl (Fortnightly See also:

• REVIEW (Fr. revue, from revoir, to see again, Lat. re and videre)

Review, 1866) . The documents on which he relied, when closely studied, did not support his charges, for he made several important errors in See also:

• DATES

dates, and on these his See also:

• ARGUMENT

argument rested . F . Podmore, in several See also:

• WORKS

works (e.g . Studies in Psychical Research), adopted a theory of exaggerative memory in the narrators, as one See also:

• ELEMENT (Lat. elementum)

element, with a dose of imposture and of hallucination begotten of excited expectation . The Wesley letters and journals, written from See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day to day, do not permit of exaggerative memory, and when the records of 17.16-1717 are compared with the reminiscences collected from his family by John Wesley in 1726, the discrepancies are seen to be only such as occur in all human evidence about any sort of events, remote by nine or ten ' years . Thus, in 1726, Mrs Wesley mentioned a visionary See also:

• BADGER

badger seen by her . She did not write about it to her son Samuel in 1717, but her See also:

• HUSBAND

husband and her daughter did then describe it to Samuel, as an experience of his See also:

• MOTHER

mother at that date . The whole family, in 1717, became See also:

• FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar with the phenomena, and were tired of them and of Samuel's questions . (Mr Podmore's arguments are to be found in the Journal of the Studies of Psychical Research, ix . 40-45 . Some dates are misprinted.) The theory of hallucination cannot account for the uniformity of statements, in many countries and at many dates, to the effect that the objects mysteriously set in See also:

• MOTION (Lat. motio, from movere, to move)
• MOTION, LAWS OF

motion moved in soft curves and swerves, or " wobbled." Suppose that an adroit impostor is throwing them, suppose that the spectators are excited, why should their excitement every-where produce a See also:

• UNIFORM

uniform hallucination as to the mode of motion ?

It is better to confess See also:

• IGNORANCE (Lat. ignorantia, from ignorare, not to know); want of knowledge, a state of mind which in law has important consequences. A well-known legal maxim runs: ignorantia juris non excusat ("ignorance of the law does not excuse")

ignorance, and remain in doubt, than to invent such theories . A See also:

• MODERN

modern instance may be analysed, as the evidence was given contemporaneously with the events (Podmore, Proc . Soc . Psychical Research, xii . 45–58: " Poltergeists ") . On the 20th or 21st of See also:

• FEBRUARY

February 1883 a Mrs See also:

• WHITE
• WHITE, ANDREW DICKSON (1832– )
• WHITE, GILBERT (1720–1793)
• WHITE, HENRY KIRKE (1785-1806)
• WHITE, HUGH LAWSON (1773-1840)
• WHITE, JOSEPH BLANCO (1775-1841)
• WHITE, RICHARD GRANT (1822-1885)
• WHITE, ROBERT (1645-1704)
• WHITE, SIR GEORGE STUART (1835– )
• WHITE, SIR THOMAS (1492-1567)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM ARTHUR (1824--1891)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM HENRY (1845– )
• WHITE, THOMAS (1628-1698)
• WHITE, THOMAS (c. 1550-1624)

White, in a cottage at See also:

• WORKSOP

Worksop, was " washing up the See also:

• TEA (Chinese cha, Amoy dialect t€)

tea-things at the table," with two of her See also:

• CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children in the See also:

• ROOM

room, when " the table tilted up at a considerable See also:

• ANGLE (from the Lat. angulus, a corner, a diminutive, of which the primitive form, angus, does not occur in Latin; cognate are the Lat. angere, to compress into a bend or to strangle, and the Gr. ayKOS, a bend; both connected with the Aryan root ank-, to

angle," to her amazement . On the 26th of February, Mr White being from home, Mrs White extended hospitality to a girl, Eliza See also:

• ROSE
• ROSE (Rosa)
• ROSE, GEORGE (1744-1818)
• ROSE, HUGH JAMES (1795—1838)
• ROSE, WILLIAM STEWART (1775-1843)

Rose, " the See also:

• CHILD
• CHILD, FRANCIS JAMES (1825-1896)
• CHILD, L
• CHILD, LYDIA MARIA (1802-1880)
• CHILD, SIR FRANCIS (1642-1713)
• CHILD, SIR JOHN (d. 1690)
• CHILD, SIR JOSIAH (163o - 1699)

child of an See also:

• IMBECILE (through the French from Lat. imbecillus or imbecillis, weak, feeble; of unknown origin)

imbecile mother." Eliza is later described as " See also:

• HALF

half-witted," but no See also:

• PROOF (in M. Eng. preove, proeve, preve, &°c., from O. Fr . prueve, proeve, &c., mod. preuve, Late. Lat. proba, probate, to prove, to test the goodness of anything, probus, good)

proof of this is given . On the 1st of See also:

• MARCH
• MARCH (1) (from Fr. marcher, to walk; the earliest sense in French appears to be " to trample," and the origin has usually been found in the Lat. marcus, hammer; Low Lat. marcare, to hammer; hence to beat the road with the regular tread of a soldier: cf.
• MARCH, AUZIAS (c. "1395-1458)
• MARCH, EARLS OF
• MARCH, FRANCIS ANDREW (1825– )

March, White being from home, at about 11.30 p.m. a number of things " which had been in the See also:

• KITCHEN (O.E. cycene; this and other cognate forms, such as Dutch keuken, Ger. Kiuche, Dan. kokken, Fr. cuisine, are formed from the Low Lat. cucina, Lat. coquina, coquere, to cook)

kitchen a few minutes before " came tumbling down the kitchen stairs . Only Mrs White and Eliza Rose were then in the kitchen . Later some hot coals made an invasion . On the following See also:

• NIGHT

night, White being at home in the kitchen, with his wife and Eliza, a See also:

• MISCELLANEOUS

miscellaneous throng of objects came in, Mr White made vain research upstairs, where was his See also:

• BROTHER

brother Tom . On his return to the kitchen " a little china woman See also:

• LEFT

left the mantelpiece and flew into the corner." Being replaced, it repeated its See also:

• FLIGHT

flight, and was broken .

White sent his brother to fetch a See also:

• DOCTOR (Lat. for " teacher ")

doctor; there also came a policeman, named Higgs; and the doctor and policeman saw, among other things, a See also:

• BASIN, or BASON (the older form bacin is found in many of the Romanic languages, from the Late Lat. baccinus or bacchinus, probably derived from bacca, a bowl)
• BASIN, THOMAS (1412—1491)

basin and cream See also:

• JUG

jug rise up automatically, fall on the See also:

• FLOOR (from O. Eng. flor, a word common to many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch vloer, and Ger. Flur, a field, in the feminine, and a floor, masculine)

floor and break . Next See also:

• MORNING

morning, a See also:

• CLOCK

clock which had been silent for eighteen months struck; a See also:

• CRASH

crash was heard, and' the clock was found to have leapt over a See also:

• BED
• BED (a common Teutonic word, cf. German Bett, probably connected with the Indo-European root bhodh, seen in the Lat. fodere, to dig; so " a dug-out place " for safe resting, or in the same sense as a garden " bed ")

bed and fallen on the floor . All day many things kept flying about and breaking themselves, and Mr White sent See also:

• MISS

Miss Rose about her business . See also:

• PEACE
• PEACE, BREACH OF THE

Peace ensued . Mr Podmore, who visited the See also:

• SCENE (Fr. scene, Lat. scaena, Gr. oflvil, a tent or booth, a stage or scene)

scene on the 7th and 8th of See also:

• APRIL

April and collected depositions, says (See also:

• WRITING
• WRITING (the verbal noun of " to write," O. Eng. writan, to inscribe)

writing in 1883) : " It may be stated generally that there was nq possibility, in most cases, of the objects having been thrown by hand . . . . More-over it is hard to conceive by what See also:

• MECHANICAL

mechanical appliances, under the circumstances described, the movements could have been effected To suppose that these various objects were all moved by mechanical contrivances argues incredible stupidity, amounting almost to imbecility, on the See also:

• PART

part of all the persons present who were not in the See also:

• PLOT
• PLOT, ROBERT (164o-1696)

plot," whereas Higgs, Dr See also:

• LLOYD, EDWARD (1845— )
• LLOYD, WILLIAM (1627–1717)
• LLOYD, WILLIAM WATKISS (1813–1893)

Lloyd and a miner named Curass, all " certainly not wanting in intelligence," examined the objects and could find no explanation . White attested that fresh invasions of the kitchen by inanimate objects occurred as Eliza was picking up the earlier arrivals; and he saw a See also:

• SALT (a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch zout, Ger. Salz, Scand. salt; cognate with Gr. &Xs, Lat. sal)
• SALT, SIR TITUS, BART

salt-cellar See also:

• FLY (formed on the root of the supposed original Tent. fleugan, to fly)

fly from the table while Eliza was in another part of the room . The amount of things broken was valued by White at k9 . No one was in the room when the clock struck and See also:

• FELL
• FELL, JOHN (1625-1686)

fell . Higgs saw White shut the See also:

• CUPBOARD

cupboard doors, they instantly burst open, and a large glass See also:

• JAR

jar flew into the yard and See also:

• BROKE, or BROOKE, ARTHUR (d. 1563)
• BROKE, SIR PHILIP BOWES VERE, BART

broke . " The jar could not go in a straight See also:

• LINE

line from the cupboard out of the See also:

• DOOR (corresponding to the Gr. Bbpa,. Lat. fores or valvae; the English word, with other forms common in allied languages, comes from the same Indo-European stem as the Gr. Obpa and Lat. fares)

door; but it certainly did go " (Higgs) .

The depositions were signed by the witnesses (April 1883) . In 1896, Mr Podmore, after thirteen years of experience in examining reports of the poltergeist, produced his explana-tions . (1) The witnesses, though " honest, and fairly intelligent," were " imperfectly educated, not skilled in accurate observation of any See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind." (They described, like many others, in many lands, the " wobbling " See also:

• MOVEMENT

movement of objects in flight.) (2) Mr Podmore took the evidence five See also:

• WEEKS, EDWIN LORD (1849-1903)

weeks after date; there was See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time for exaggerated memories . (Mr Podmore did not consult, it seems, the contemporary evidence of Higgs in the See also:

• RETFORD (officially EAST RETFORD)

Retford and Gainsbarough Times, 9th of March 1883 . On examination it proves to See also:

• TALLY

tally as precisely as possible with the testimonies which he gave to Mr Podmore, except that in March he mentioned one or two miracles which he omitted five weeks later ! The evidence is published in Lang's The Making of Religion, 1898, p . 356.) (3) In the evidence given to Mr Podmore five weeks after date, there are discrepancies between Higgs and White as to the sequence of some events, and as to whether one Coulter was present when the clock fell: he asserts, Higgs and White deny it . (There is never evidence of several witnesses, five weeks after an event, without such discrepancies . If there were, the evidence would be suspected as " cooked." Higgs in April gave the same version as in March.) (4) As there are discrepancies, the statements that Eliza was not always present at the abnormal occurrences may be erroneous . " It is perhaps not unreasonable to conjecture that Eliza Rose herself, as the See also:

• INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

instrument of mysterious agencies, or simply as a half-witted girl gifted with abnormal cunning and love of See also:

• MISCHIEF

mischief, may have been directly responsible for all that took See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place." (How, if, as we have seen, the theory of mechanical appliances is abandoned, " under the circumstances described " ? We need to assume that all the circumstances are wrongly described . Yet events did occur, the breakages were lamentable, and we ask how could the most half-witted of girls damage so much See also:

• PROPERTY

property undetected, under the eyes of the owner, a policeman, a medical practitioner and others ?

How could she throw things from above into the room where she was picking up the things as they arrived ? Or is that a misdescription ? No evidence of Eliza's half-wittedness and abnormal cunning is adduced . If we See also:

• CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call her "the instrument of mysterious agencies," the name of these agencies is—poltergeist ! No later attempt to find and examine the abnormal girl is recorded.) The explanations are not ideally satisfactory, but they are the result, in Mr Podmore's mind, of examination of several later cases of poltergeist) . In one a girl, carefully observed, was detected throwing things, and evidence that the . phenomena occurred, in her See also:

• ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence, at another place and time, is discounted . In several other cases, exaggerations of memory, malobservation and trickery combined, are the explanations, and the conclusion is that there is " strong ground " for believing in trickery as the true explanation of all these eleven cases, including the Worksop affair . Mr Podmore asserts that, at Worksop, " the witnesses did not give their testimony until some weeks after the event." That is an erroneous statement as far as Higgs goes, the result apparently of malobservation of the See also:

• LOCAL

local See also:

• NEWS

news-See also:

• PAPER
• PAPER (Fr. papier, from Lat. papyrus)

paper . More or less of the evidence was printed in the See also:

• WEEK (from A.S. wicu, Germanic *wikon, probably=change, turn)

week when the events occurred . Something more than unconscious exaggeration, or malobservation, seems needed to explain the amazing statements made by Mr See also:

• NEWMAN, FRANCIS WILLIAM (1805-1897)
• NEWMAN, JOHN HENRY (1801-1890)

Newman, a gamekeeper of Lord Portman, on the 23rd of See also:

• JANUARY

January 1895, at Durmeston in another case . Among other things, he said that on the 18th of See also:

• DECEMBER (Lat. decent, ten)

December 1894, a See also:

• BOOT

boot flew out of a door . " I went and put my See also:

• FOOT

foot on the boot and said ` I defy anything to move this boot.' Just as I stepped off, it rose up behind me and knocked my See also:

• HAT

hat off .

There was nobody behind me." Gamekeepers are acute observers, and if the narrative be untrue, malobservation or defect of memory does not explain the fact . In this case, at Durmeston, the See also:

• RECTOR (Lat. for " ruler," " guide," &c., from regere, " rule ")

rector, Mr See also:

• ANDERSON
• ANDERSON, ADAM (1692—1765)
• ANDERSON, ALEXANDER (c. 1582-1620?)
• ANDERSON, ELIZABETH GARRETT (1836— )
• ANDERSON, JAMES (1662—1728)
• ANDERSON, JAMES (1739-1808)
• ANDERSON, JOHN (1726-1796)
• ANDERSON, MARY (1859– )
• ANDERSON, RICHARD HENRY (1821–1879)
• ANDERSON, ROBERT (1750–1830)
• ANDERSON, SIR EDMUND (1530-1605)

Anderson, gave an account of 1 The present writer criticized Mr Podmore's explanation in The Making of Religion . Mr Podmore replied (Proc . Soc . Psychical Research, xiv . 183, 136), pointing out an See also:

• ERROR (Lat. error, from errare, to wander, to err)

error in the critic's presentation of his meaning . He, in turn, said that the writer " champions the supernormal See also:

• INTERPRETATION (from Lat. interpretari, to expound, explain, inter pres, an agent, go-between, interpreter; inter, between, and the root pret-, possibly connected with that seen either in Greek 4 p4'ew, to speak, or irpa-rrecv, to do)

interpretation," which is not exact, as the writer has no theory on the subject, though he is not satisfied that " a naughty little girl " is a uniformly successful See also:

• SOLUTION (from Lat. solvere, to loosen, dissolve)

solution of the poltergeist problem . some of the See also:

• MINOR
• MINOR (Lat. for smaller, lesser)
• MINOR, ROBERT CRANNELL (1839-1904)

minor phenomena . . He could not explain them, and gave the best character to the See also:

• NONCONFORMIST

Nonconformist mother of the child with whom the events were associated . No trickery was discovered . The phenomena are frequently connected with a See also:

• PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person, often a child, suffering from See also:

• NERVOUS

nervous malady or See also:

• RECENT

recent nervous See also:

• SHOCK, or COLLAPSE

shock . No such person appears in the Alresford, Willington, Epworth and Tedworth cases, and it is not stated that Eliza Rose at Worksop was subjected to a medical examination .

In a curious case, given by Mrs See also:

• CREWE
• CREWE, ROBERT OFFLEY ASHBURTON

Crewe, in The Night See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

Side of Nature, the See also:

• YOUNG
• YOUNG, A
• YOUNG, ARTHUR (1741-1820)
• YOUNG, BRIGHAM (1801-1877)
• YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE (1777–1856)
• YOUNG, EDWARD (1683–1765)
• YOUNG, JAMES (1811-1883)
• YOUNG, THOMAS (1773-1829)

young person was the daughter of a See also:

• CAPTAIN (derived from Lat. ca put, head, through the Low Lat. capitanus)

Captain See also:

• MOLESWORTH, MARY LOUISA (1839- )
• MOLESWORTH, ROBERT MOLESWORTH, 1ST VISCOUNT (1656-1725)
• MOLESWORTH, SIR WILLIAM, BART

Molesworth . Her own See also:

• HEALTH

health was See also:

• BAD, BCD

bad, and she had been depressed by the See also:

• DEATH

death of a sister . Captain Molesworth occupied a semi-detached See also:

• VILLA

villa at Trinity, near See also:

• EDINBURGH

Edinburgh; his landlord lived next door . The phenomena set in: the captain bored holes in the See also:

• WALL (O. Eng. weal, weall, Mid. Eng. wal, wane, adapted from Lat. vallum, rampart; the original O. Eng. word for a wall was wag or tenth)
• WALL, RICHARD (1694-1778)

wall to discover a cause in trickery, and his landlord brought a suit against him in the See also:

• SHERIFF

sheriff's court at Edinburgh . The papers are preserved, but the writer found that to discover them would be a herculean labour . He saw, . how-ever, a number of documents in the See also:

• OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office of a See also:

• FIRM

firm of solicitors employed in the case . They proved the fact of the lawsuit but threw no other See also:

• LIGHT

light on the See also:

• MATTER

matter . We often find that the phenomena occur after a nervous shock to the person who may be called the See also:

• MEDIUM

medium . The shock is frequently consequent on a See also:

• THREAT

threat from a supposed See also:

• WITCH

witch or wizard . This was the case at Cideville in 1850-1851 . (See an abstract of the documents of the trial, Proceedings S.P.R. xviii . 454-463 .

The entire See also:

• REPORT (O.Fr. report or raport, modern rapport, from O.Fr. reporter, mod. rap porter, Lat. reportare, to bring back, in poetical use only, of bringing back an account, news, &c.)

report was sent to the writer.) In 1901 there was a case at Great See also:

• GRIMSBY, or GREAT GRIMSBY

Grimsby; the usual flying of stones and other objects occurred . The woman of the house had been threatened by a witch, after that the poltergeist See also:

• DEVELOPED

developed . No explanation was forthcoming . In Proc . S.P.R. xvii . 320 the Rev . Mr Deanley gives a curious parallel case with detection of imposture . In Miss O'See also:

• NEAL, DANIEL (1678–1743)
• NEAL, DAVID DALHOFF (1838– )

Neal's See also:

• DEVONSHIRE (DEvoN)
• DEVONSHIRE, EARLS AND DUKES OF

Devonshire Idylls is an excellent account of the phenomena which occurred after a Devonshire girl of the best character, well known to Miss O'Neal, had been threatened by a witch . In the famous instance of See also:

• CHRISTIAN
• CHRISTIAN, WILLIAM (1608-1663)

Christian See also:

• SHAW, GEORGE BERNARD (1856– )
• SHAW, HENRY WHEELER (1818–1885)
• SHAW, LEMUEL (1781–1861)
• SHAW, RICHARD NORMAN (1831– )

Shaw of Bargarran (1697) the child had been thrice formally cursed by a woman, who prayed to See also:

• GOD

God that her soul " might be hurled through See also:

• HELL (0. Eng. hel, a Teutonic word from a root meaning " to cover," cf. Ger. Holle, Dutch hel)

hell." Christian fell into a See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state which puzzled the medical See also:

• FACULTY (through the French, from the Lat. facultas, ability to do anything, from facilis, easy, facere, to do; another form of the word in Lat. facilitas, facility, ease, keeps the original meaning)

faculty (especially when she floated in the air), and doubtless she herself caused, in an hysterical state, many phenomena which, however, were not precisely poltergeistish . A very marked set of phenomena, in the way of movements of objects, recently occurred in the See also:

• HUDSON
• HUDSON, GEORGE (180o-1871)
• HUDSON, HENRY
• HUDSON, JOHN (1662–1719)

Hudson See also:

• BAY

Bay territory, after a half-breed girl had received a nervous shock from a flash of See also:

• LIGHTNING

lightning that struck near her . Heavy weights automatically " tobogganed," as Red See also:

• INDIAN

Indian spectators said, and there were the usual rappings in See also:

• TENT

tent and See also:

• WIGWAM

wigwam . If we accept trickery as the sufficient explanation, the uniformity of tricks played by hysterical patients is very singular .

Still more singular is a See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series, continued through several years, of the same occurrences where no hysterical patient is known to exist . In a very curious example, a See also:

• CARPENTER, LANT (1780-1840)
• CARPENTER, MIRY (1807-1877)
• CARPENTER, WILLIAM BENJAMIN (1813-1885)

carpenter's See also:

• SHOP

shop being the scene, there was concerned nobody of an hysterical temperament, no young boy or girl, and there was no explanation (Proc . S.P.R . Vii . 383-394) . The events went on during six weeks . An excellent case of hysterical fraud by a girl in See also:

• FRANCE
• FRANCE, ANATOLE (1844– )

France is given by Dr Grasset, See also:

• PROFESSOR (the Latin noun formed from the verb profiteri, to declare publicly, to acknowledge, profess)

professor of clinical medicine at See also:

• MONTPELLIER

Montpellier (Proc . S.P.R. xviii . 464-480) . But in this instance, though things were found in unusual places, nobody over eight years old saw them flying about; yet all concerned were deeply superstitious . On the whole, while fraud, especially hysterical fraud, is a very causa in some cases of poltergeist, it is not certain that the explanation fits all cases, and it is certain that detection of fraud has often been falsely asserted, as at Tedworth and Willington . No good chronic case, as at Alresford, Epworth, Spraiton (Bovet's Pandaemonium), Willington, and in other classical instances, has been for months sedulously observed by sceptics .

In See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short-lived cases, as at Worksop, See also:

• SCIENCE (Lat. scientia, from scire; to learn, know)

science appears on the scene long enough after date to make the theory of exaggeration of memory plausible . If we ask science to explainhow the more remarkable occurrences could be produced by a girl ex hypothese half-witted, the reply is that the occurrences never occurred, they were only " described as occurring " by untrained observers with " patent See also:

• DOUBLE
• DOUBLE (from the Mid. Eng. duble, the form which gives the present pronunciation, through the Old Er. duble, from Lat. duplus, twice as much)

double magnifying " memories; and with a capacity for being hallucinated in a uniform way all the See also:

• WORLD

world over . Yet great quantities of crockery and See also:

• FURNITURE (from " furnish," Fr. fournir)

furniture were broken, before the eyes of observers, in a house near Ballarmina, in North See also:

• IRELAND
• IRELAND, CHURCH
• IRELAND, CHURCH OF
• IRELAND, JOHN (1761-1842)
• IRELAND, JOHN (1838- )
• IRELAND, WILLIAM HENRY (1777-1835)

Ireland, in January 1907 . The experiment of exhibiting a girl who can break all the crockery without being detected, in the presence of a doctor and a policeman, and who can, at the same time, induce the spectators to believe that the flying objects waver, swerve and " wobble," has not. been attempted . An obvious difficulty in the See also:

• SEARCH, or VISIT AND SEARCH

search for See also:

• AUTHENTIC (from Gr. aOO 'rns, one who does a thing himself)

authentic See also:

• INFORMATION (from Lat. informare, to give shape or form to, to represent, describe)

information is the circumstance that the poor and imperfectly educated are much more numerous than the well-to-do and well educated . It is therefore certain that most of the disturbances will occur in the houses of the poor and See also:

• ILL

ill educated, and that their evidence will be rejected as insufficient . When an excellent case occurs in a See also:

• PALACE (Lat. Palatium, the name given by Augustus to his residence on the Palatine Hill)

palace, and is reported by the margravine of See also:

• BAYREUTH, or BAIREUTH

Bayreuth, sister of See also:

• FREDERICK
• FREDERICK (Mod. Ger. Friedrich; Ital. Federigo; Fr. Frederic and Federic; M.H.G. Friderich; O.H.G. Fridurih, " king or lord of peace," from O.H.G. fridu, A.S. frith, " peace," and rfh " rich," " a ruler," for derivation of which see HENRY)

Frederick the Great, in her See also:

• MEMOIRS

Memoirs, the objection is that her narrative was written long after the events . When we have contemporary journals and letters, or sworn evidence, as in the affairs of Sir See also:

• PHILIP
• PHILIP (Gr.'FiXtrsro , fond of horses, from dn)^eiv, to love, and limos, horse; Lat. Philip pus, whence e.g. M. H. Ger. Philippes, Dutch Filips, and, with dropping of the final s, It. Filippo, Fr. Philippe, Ger. Philipp, Sp. Felipe)
• PHILIP, JOHN (1775-1851)
• PHILIP, KING (c. 1639-1676)
• PHILIP, LANOGRAVE OF HESSE (1504-1567)

Philip Francis, Cideville and Willington, See also:

• CRITICISM
• CRITICISM (from the Gr. KpiTrlS, a judge, Kpivew, to decide, to give an authoritative opinion)

criticism can probably find some other good reasons for setting these testimonies aside . It is certain that the royal, the See also:

• RICH, BARNABE (c. 1540-1617)
• RICH, CLAUDIUS JAMES (1787-1821)
• RICH, JOHN (1692-1761)
• RICH, PENELOPE, LADY (c. 1562–1607)
• RICH, RICHARD, 1ST BARON RICH (1490?-1567)

rich and the well-educated observers tell, in many cases, precisely the same sort of stories about poltergeist phenomena as do the poor and the imperfectly instructed . On the theory that there exist " mysterious agencies " which now and then produce the phenomena, we may ask what these agencies can possibly be ? But no answer worthy of See also:

• CONSIDERATION (from Lat. considerare, to look at closely, examine, generally taken to be from con-, and the base seen in sidus, sideris, a star, the word being supposed to be originally an astrological or astronomical term)

consideration has ever been given to this question . The usual reply is that some unknown but intelligent force is disengaged from the See also:

• PERSONALITY (from Lat. persona, originally an actor's mask, from personare,1 to sound through)

personality of the apparent medium .

This apparent medium need not be present; he or she may be far away . The Highlanders attribute many poltergeist phenomena, inexplicable noises, sounds of viewless feet that pass, and so forth, to tdradh, an See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence exerted unconsciously by unduly strong wishes on the part of a person at a distance . The phrase falbh air fdrsaing (" going uncontrolled ") is also used (See also:

• CAMPBELL, ALEXANDER (1788–1866)
• CAMPBELL, BEATRICE STELLA (Mrs PATRICK CAMPBELL) (1865– )
• CAMPBELL, GEORGE (1719–1796)
• CAMPBELL, JOHN
• CAMPBELL, JOHN (1708-1775)
• CAMPBELL, JOHN CAMPBELL, BARON (1779-1861)
• CAMPBELL, JOHN FRANCIS
• CAMPBELL, LEWIS (1830-1908)
• CAMPBELL, REGINALD JOHN (1867— )
• CAMPBELL, THOMAS (1777—1844)

Campbell, See also:

• WITCHCRAFT

Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Scottish See also:

• HIGHLANDS, THE

Highlands, 1902, pp . 144-147) . The present writer is well acquainted with cases attributed to tdradh, in a house where he has often been a See also:

• GUEST (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Gast, and Swed. gust; cognate with Lat. hostis, originally a stranger, hence enemy; cf. " host " )
• GUEST, EDWIN (1800–188o)

guest . They excite no alarm, their cause being well understood . We may call this kind of thing telethoryby, a racket produced from a distance . A very marked case in See also:

• ILLINOIS

Illinois would have been attributed in the Highlands to the tdradh of the See also:

• LATE

late owner of the house, a dipsomaniac in another state . On his death the disturbances ceased (first-hand evidence from the disturbed See also:

• LADY (0. Eng. hlaefdige, Mid. Eng. ldfdi, lavedi; the first part of the word is hldf, loaf, bread, as in the corresponding hldford, lord; the second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, to knead, seen also in " dough "; the sense development fr

lady of the house, May 1907) . It may be See also:

• WORTH
• WORTH, CHARLES FREDERICK (1825-1895)

worth while to See also:

• NOTE
• NOTE (Lat. nota, mark, sign, from noscere, to know)

note that the phenomena are often regarded as death-warnings by popular belief . The early incidents at the Wesleys' house were thought to indicate the death of a kinsman; or to announce the approaching decease of Mr Wesley pere, who at first saw and heard nothing unusual . At Worksop the doctor was called in, because the phenomena were guessed to be " warnings " of the death of a sick child of the house .

The writer has first-hand evidence from a lady and her son (afterwards a See also:

• PRIEST (Ger. Priester, Fr. pretre)

priest) of very singular movements of untouched objects in their presence, which did coincide with the death of a relation at a distance . may be consulted, and Bovet's Pandaemonium (1684) is very rich in cases . The literature of the famous drummer of Tedworth (March 1662—April 1663) begins with an abstract of the sworn deposition of Mr Mompesson, whose house was the scene of the disturbances . The abstract is in the Mercurius publicus of April 1663, the evidence was given in a court of See also:

• JUSTICE (Lat. justitia)

justice on the 15th of April . There is also a ballad, a rhymed news-See also:

• SHEET

sheet of 1662 (See also:

• ANTHONY, SAINT
• ANTHONY, SUSAN BROWNELL (1820-1906)

Anthony See also:

• WOOD, ANTHONY A2 (1632-1695)
• WOOD, JOHN GEORGE (1827—1889)
• WOOD, MRS HENRY [ELLEN] (1814—1887)
• WOOD, SEARLES VALENTINE (1798—188o)

Wood's Collection 401 (193), Bodleian Library) . See also:

• PEPYS, SAMUEL (1633-1703)

Pepys mentions " books " about the affair in his See also:

• DIARY

Diary for See also:

• JUNE

June 1663 . Glanvil's first known version is in his Sadducismus triumphatus of 1666 . The sworn evidence of Mompesson proves at least that he was disturbed in an intolerable manner, certainly beyond any means at the disposal of his two daughters, aged nine and eleven or thereabouts . The agent may have been the taradh of the drummer whom Mompesson offended . Glanvil in 1666 confused the dates, and, See also:

• SAVE, or SAVA (Ger. Sau; Hungarian Szdva; Lat. Savus)

save for his own experiences, merely repeats the statements current in 166z—1663 . The ballad and Mompesson's deposition are given in Proc . S.P.R. xvii .

304—336, in a discussion between the writer and Mr Podmore . The dated and contemporary narrative of Procter in the Willington Mill case (1835—1847), is printed in the Journ . S.P.R . (Dec . 1892), with some contemporary letters on the subject . Mr Procter endured the disturbances for sixteen years before he retreated from the place . There was no naughty little girl in the affair; no nervous or hysterical patient . The See also:

• CELTIC

Celtic hypothesis of taradh, exercised by " the spirit of the living," includes visual See also:

• APPARITIONS

apparitions, and many a so-called " See also:

• GHOST (a word common to the W. Teutonic languages; O.E. vest, Dutch, 'geest, Ger. Geist)

ghost " of the dead may be merely the taradh of a living person . (A .