Monstrous

Ghosts, Poltergeists & Apparitions => Ghostly Encounters => Topic started by: oldbill4823 on October 24, 2010, 02:59:53 AM

Title: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: oldbill4823 on October 24, 2010, 02:59:53 AM
A friend contacted me a few days ago. It seems he has what you might term poltergeist activity.

His wife has noticed objects outside her vision being moved around the house. Some of these have strangely fallen and broken.
Perhaps more interesting is that her 7 year old son has reported objects floating across the room in front of him.

This family is not religious, or even spiritual. They live in an old French farmhouse next to a large church in the Vendee region of France.

So my questions to any readers is this, if you were a paranormal investigator called on to help with this what would you do and why?

In fact if you have any questions i can put them to the family.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: Anaya on October 24, 2010, 05:58:49 AM
If investigating on my own

*EMF base reading if I have the equipment. I would be sure to pick the highest activity place and set up digital recording devices in the directions I cannot see (three camera's minimum, four preferred) for either set up in the corners of the room or beside me facing outward. If possible, still camera's in every room. Begin asking questions, and approach it with a technology first. Two digital recording devices, one with me and one away from me. I would do this for all the rooms with claims of activities.
*After that, I'd do a walk of the house, using my sensitivity to see if I could get anything. Maybe, just for kicks, take one of the cameras and do a pendulum reading of simple yes or no questions. After this was done, review 'evidence' to see if there was something there or not. Do some light background research if time permits.
*If they are looking to dismiss it, that brings up a different routine of actions.

If investigating with a crew

*Basically the same thing, save different people in the house at different times, people in pairs, and two doing research on the background of the place. Lots of EVP work, and two cameras per group that goes in. The sensitives would not go in with each other though, cause if one believes and begins to project energy with the other around, that can screw everything up. (Reason why me and the second in command with the investigation group always split up even when it's just poking around creepy places). Wasn't stated previously but see if the furniture is at a slight slant or something. Test for trimmers that would cause slight movement in objects (there was a house that was investigated by a group of people that ended up being trimmers and high EMF that had caused everything.)
*Review and release to the family our scientific approach to speculations. If we personally feel there is something there, tell them but be sure to explain that it's just a feeling. It could very well just be a creepy house.
*Again, if they are looking for tactics to remove whatever is there, that is different entirely.



Now, questions for the family:



And that's all that comes to mind 10 minutes or so after waking up.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: Loki on October 24, 2010, 09:17:55 AM
Oldbill I assume you can go there and make an onsite investigation ...

Or maybe they can just install a web video camera in their dining room so we can check if there is anything ghostly happening?
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: oldbill4823 on October 24, 2010, 10:04:48 AM
They are about 2 hours drive from me. I will be staying there for a few weeks in November though.

I can ask about webcams and such but it is somewhat an invasion of privacy to allow complete strangers visual access to their private life. I can and will ask though.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: oldbill4823 on October 24, 2010, 10:40:52 AM
I can answer this straight away. Nothing of major significance. There are some money worries in the house, a new baby 18 months ago, a few family problems on the mothers side between mother and grandmother, but nothing of any real significance.

The previous occupants were a youngish family who restored much of the house to its current condition. The marriage was heading towards divorce last i heard but no major psychic or spiritual trauma there either.

In fact there is no known major event or history attatched to the house that stands out, other than the latest reports from the family themselves.

The eldest male child that reported objects flying across the room is quite level headed and not of obvious nervous disposition. The middle child although quite a 'character' is also very down to earth and normal. The mother is a former school teacher the father works in sales. Its all very normal except for the reports of strange events in the house.

They are keen not to make a big deal of it in front of the children, but it has certainly caused a few strange conversations in the household.

Interesting isnt it?
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: Anaya on October 24, 2010, 01:38:46 PM
Has anyone tampered in things like Ouija boards or had friends who tamper in that over for like, a weekend or something? Past or present?
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: oldbill4823 on October 25, 2010, 04:04:50 AM
No ouija boards or anything related. They are just not into anything like that. They are straight straight straight.
The only person they know who tampers with anything like that is me. I never talk to them about that sort of thing though. Havent visited them for several months and certainly have not done or felt anything in the house. In fact I tend to turn off when around straight people, i just dont mix those sides of my life .
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: Anaya on October 25, 2010, 05:49:46 AM
:/ Ok, that made it severely odd for me to try to figure things out as the 'why' for something being there. I wish I was close enough to be in the investigation. GA fails at being close by to anyone.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: oldbill4823 on February 23, 2011, 01:39:06 PM
I have just returned from visiting the house in question and events are definately ongoing.
Yesterday evening i had ringside seat for some of the experiences myself.
I will write these up tomorrow because they are quite fascinating.
For now though i enclose a few details of other typical strange phenomena.

One incident included  doors opening a closing on their own.  When investigated by my friend to see if this was due to air current or someone in the room behind he discovered he was alone in this part of the house. This was odd enough but wht really baffled him was immediately following this the door handle moved slowly up and down about four times under its own volition. He was so surprised he checked to see there was no one on the other side of the door playing games with him. Their wasn't.
My friend is highly sceptical of anything occult or newage, but this definately baffled him.

Sounds of footsteps and people moving around the house when occupants are in fact alone.

One dog left in the room where most of the activity is centered turned aggressive and developed a habit of biting children without reason. The dog has now been given to the local hunt where apparantly it is much happier.


The house has been the centre of huge amount of psychological turmoil recently due to builders ripping the owners off. A certain Irish individual staying at this house was actually hunted down by a group of local villagers, badly assaulted and forcibly persuaded not to return back. Stress levels of the occupants have been severly tested.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: Countess on February 23, 2011, 06:04:19 PM
You mentioned a new baby, a marriage on the rocks with the previous owners, stress between mother & grandmother. Since the main person reporting the activity or at least the initial activity seems to be the mother from your posts, this is important. She has a toddler who is adjusting to sharing mom & dad, the stress of a new baby, problems with the grandmother could all be leading to an overload of stress, anxiety, anger, sadness which could be manifesting this way. Add to that the possibility of her picking up on residual bad energy from the previous owners & it's almost a perfect setting for a person based psychic poltergeist. The main question to ask to eliminate her as the source is "do things only happen when she is in the home?" I say "in the home" because if the energy is strong enough she could be on the other side of the house & cause activity at the other. When you visit spend time alone in the house, see if anything happens.

I would like to know the circumstances of the toddler's experience & how the rest of the family came to know about it. While children may not intentionally lie, they can have imaginations & if they hear mom or dad mentioning it, even casually, the child can build a very convincing story. If possible see if you can do a "play interview" with him & see if he can tell you what happened with each toy without his parents in the room.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: ravinclaw on February 24, 2011, 07:45:26 AM
I would say Countess is probably right. Try geting them out of the house for a few days, while someone that dosnt live there stays to moniter posible activity at the home.  Why was the Irish guy attacked, did the villagers give a reason?
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: oldbill4823 on February 24, 2011, 12:09:14 PM
They have no desire to leave their house. It is a novel curiosity for them and not much more. They are not paniced or overly scared. They are a mature married couple,  have busy lives and as such have little time to dwell on supernatural occurrences. I only write about this here because i find it interesting. I find it more interesting than they do. I am not there in any official investigation capacity, they just happen to be old family friend who ask me to work for them sometimes, that is all.

The irish guy was attacked because he was a liar, caused lots of trouble between people, ripped many people off to the tune of thousands of Euros.  Again i wrote about this because it is coincidental to what has been happening at the house. Same with the dog. It is just circumstantial events that may or may not contribute to the supernatural phenomena occurring at the house.

Re the mother, effects are not dependent on her being present or even in the house. She is perhaps more sensitive to this type of thing than the others in her family, but she would not openly know this, nor even know how to begin to talk about such a subject.

Her husband is about as unsensitive as they come and even he has witnessed this stuff when alone. His only concern was wondering how much people might pay to come and stay there and how to advertise it along with his numerous other business ventures.

They have been very very very careful not to talk about this within earshot of the children. The mother is a former teacher, she is sensible and pragmatic. This is a stable normal family. The sort you never expect to  report any of these type of experiences.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: Countess on February 24, 2011, 05:23:55 PM
Well, not to be rude but, the husband is a twit. Opening the house as a curiosity for payment would be a horrible idea. Not only is the activity not constant but the strain of that would be a huge issue for the marriage & the kids. If they don't mind it, cool, let them live with it although I get the feeling the wife is going to want answers at some point.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: oldbill4823 on February 24, 2011, 07:36:32 PM
I promised to write up details of something i experienced myself at the house in question.

I arrived at the house quite late, 9pm in the evening. The parents were still up and a builder was still working painting in part of the house trying to finish up. I sat and drank tea with the owners chatting briefly about some of the things that had happened recently in the way of bad building works and their plans for the farmhouse over the next year.
It was whilst talking to them i started to observe some visual disturbances just beyond the normal physical range. To me it appeared like a strange mirrage of lights that shimmered and superimposed over the material layer. This is not unusual for me. I often start to see things like this especally when my attention wanders or turns even partially towards anything spiritual or unusual.

We left the kitchen and then entered the living room the subject of supernatural activity came up quite briefly. I simply asked them if they had experienced any more strange activity in the house since i last spoke to them. The husband related some of his encounters that had happened in the kitchen area. I questioned them briefly on it and informed that quite casually that i had seen something strange in the kitchen that evening. They were both a little surprised but i informed them this was quite normal for me, especially in old places. 
It was at this point that the husband started questioning wether he could advertise this in some way to draw in extra paying guests to stay at their farm. The idea was quickly squashed by the mother as she looked appalled at the idea of wierd people doing all sorts of strange things around her young children. The husband reluctantly agreed it would not be a good idea despite making a few jokes about the idea. The conversation then returned back to the subject of builders and poorly executed works.

Shortly after this the mother left the room and went upstairs to the bedroom. I sat in the living room with the husband and started watching a film on dvd, 'The social network', which i soon got fully engrossed with. I could see i was finding the film much more interesting that my friend and i suspected that he would fall asleep at any minute.

About 30 minutes into the film i heard what sounded like someone letting all the bath water go from a bath directly over head slightly in front of me.. The ceilings of this house are only one board thick of simple old wooden floorboards, there is no sound insulation or carpet between the levels at this part. Because of this the sound from above does travel very easily. The sound of a lot of water rushing was very loud, so loud that it caused me to really look up from the film to the area it appeared to be coming from. It seemed to be coming from high up on the ceiling which was strange i thought because there really is no water or plumbing in this part of the house. It is simply corridoor. Also the sound seemed to be coming from inside the room. It was certainly strange but lasted only for about 8-9 seconds. My friend did not look up and still seemed to be half awake so i did not even say anything. It did cross my mind for a second that it might be a strange occurrence but because he did not even regeister it at all i took it to be normal. Moments later i was engaged in the film again, the former strange sound forgotten.

Approximately 15 minute later i was interrupted from the film by the very loud sound of something behind me to my left. I initially thought this was outside the living room door and it sounded like someone dragging a very large polythene sheet through an opening. It was however too loud to be coming from outside the door so i remember turning my head towards it. It was creating so much noise i could not really hear the film over  the din.  At this point i realised it was originating from inside the room despite there being nothing there to generate the sound. As the sound continued i realised that it may in fact be something supernatural and this idea amused me slightly  then this reaction changed as the sound started to resemble a hissing cat issuing what sounded like an aggressive warning. At this point my body started to experience what is shall describe as an automatic animal reaction of fear at this sound. The sound lasted for about 8-9 seconds again. I looked over towards my friend and saw that he was fully asleep. A little unnerved i continued to watch the rest of the film, albeit a little warily lest anything else untoward happen .

Other than some strange dreams the rest of the night passed uneventfully for me.
I was however still quites surprised at the level of physicality of the manifestations i had experienced at the house.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: AWBrielle on February 25, 2011, 10:46:04 AM
Hmm... and we're sure this is a poltergeist problem, not a traditional haunting, yes? This is strange. Can't seem to pin it down on any one member of the family from this info.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: oldbill4823 on February 25, 2011, 12:38:15 PM
Im not really saying it is anything. I am only recounting the events circumstances and experiences as they present themselves.
As such, it is what it is.
I tend to find that if things are presented as they are  they often dont fit into cosy ideas we have. It is literally the unknown that we encounter.

So you think that the evidence presented so far fits your idea of a traditional haunting?
Personally i have no idea of what a traditional haunting is. Thats why i hate labelling things as typical or traditional anything.
To experience very loud sounds eminating from thin air is neither traditional or typical. Its downright wierd and quite unsettling. That is my experience.

Just to throw another potential red herring into the equation recent ground works in the courtyard of the farm unearthed a few large bones. They are quite possibly human from the church the farm is situated next to. They were quickly covered back in lest the local authorities order  a complete halt to works whilst possible remains are moved. Then again they may have been animal bones. No one really wanted to find out what they were. They were all more concerned with practical issues of completing drainage channels and getting paid.


There is so much circumstantial evidence here that you could formulate a theory about just about anything you wanted. Spirits of dead, psychic mother, etc etc etc. But all these are just theories. What remains after all theories are stripped away is the simple evidence of what has happened and what people have experienced.
In my experience real supernatural experiences are not neat. They are never like an episode of x files. They are haunting in the very truest sense of the word, and often leave us with far more questions than answers. Such is the case again here.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: AWBrielle on February 25, 2011, 01:49:18 PM
Im not really saying it is anything. I am only recounting the events circumstances and experiences as they present themselves.
As such, it is what it is.
I tend to find that if things are presented as they are  they often dont fit into cosy ideas we have. It is literally the unknown that we encounter.

So you think that the evidence presented so far fits your idea of a traditional haunting?
Personally i have no idea of what a traditional haunting is. Thats why i hate labelling things as typical or traditional anything.
To experience very loud sounds eminating from thin air is neither traditional or typical. Its downright wierd and quite unsettling. That is my experience.

I'm not saying it's my particular idea of a traditional haunting - as the things that you mentioned make this situation very hard to classify. Going off of what you've said so far, with all the experiences (strange noises, et al), I do agree with you in that it's strange. I personally don't know if it's a poltergeist situation, because of some of the things you've mentioned, or if it's some other haunting. Hell, it may even be a mix. I asked about poltergeist versus other due to the topic title itself, not for any other reason.

And yes, as we're going off of experiences relayed to us, all we can formulate is theories. I'm just trying to get a better grasp of the situation as you've explained it.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: ravinclaw on February 26, 2011, 08:04:36 AM
The word poltergeist is realy just a German term meening noisy ghost. We in the States have taken the word and turned it into a label for a haunting where things are thrown, stacked, ect. A "traditional poltergeist" usualy stems from pent up emotions turned into telicenetic power. Usualy with children, usualy with a young girl.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: oldbill4823 on February 26, 2011, 10:45:11 AM
The long and the short of this is that it is just not practical that they leave for a few days

However.............
assuming i could find a way of engineering a situation where they left for a few days, what would you propose, and why?
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: ravinclaw on February 26, 2011, 12:38:26 PM
Yeah, if they leave and the acitivity continues, you know its conected with the location and not the family. Sometimes these things can be stoped, sometimes they cant but step one is to try to find the cause. In my opinion anyway.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: AWBrielle on February 26, 2011, 04:04:32 PM
Yeah, if they leave and the acitivity continues, you know its conected with the location and not the family. Sometimes these things can be stoped, sometimes they cant but step one is to try to find the cause. In my opinion anyway.

Always a good first step.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: oldbill4823 on February 27, 2011, 01:35:16 AM
I am not totally adverse to your idea but I just don’t see how moving the family out for a few days proves or disproves anything. 

In the case I have written about here effects have included objects flying across room, spontaneous movement of objects, sounds produced in thin air in direct presence, sounds produced in neighbouring rooms. These have been witnessed by four different persons in a variety of settings.

If you hold with the idea that these are the responsibility of an individual then they are effects that are produced outside their body, and taking into account the fact that 4 people have now reported them, possibly produced by persons who are not even in the same room. 

If they are the responsibility of an individual then that individual does not even need to be present in the same environment in order that effects occur, moving people any distance away from the house is an inconclusive test. Effects could be produced seemingly at any distance as per ideas of astral projection where distance is not an issue.
(One apparant constant that I have found  is that they have been experienced individually, never witnessed by more than one person at a time, even when other witnesses were capable of perceiving them too.)


Also if the family did leave and no-one observed any supranormal experience this is by no means proof of any sort that the strange effects are dependent on certain family members being there. It simply proves that no strange effects were experienced by anyone for the days in question.

If you consider  that strange effects are not reported everyday, the given chance of an event happening any any given day is perhaps currently 10%.
Assuming supranormal activity can even be modelled according to any mathematical probabilities you would have to ask the family to move out for at least a fortnight whilst simultaneously monitoring the house 24/7, to even start to prove or disprove this idea. 
Any conclusions based on this test would be frought with potential distortions of data such as statistical anomalies, events being strangely related to qualities of witnesess etc. Results from such a test would in my reasoning be unclear and inconclusive.

Lastly for practical reasons the family will not perform this test. I am just playing devils advocate for ideas presented so far.

Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: ravinclaw on February 27, 2011, 11:51:13 AM
Im starting to lean toward the posability that this may be an intelegent entity. Able to interact, make decisions...that sort of thing. If it was pchychic phenominon it would just do its own thing. Seems like this thing is targeting certain people at certain times.  This is a very interesting case.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: AWBrielle on March 18, 2011, 01:06:47 PM
Just because this is an interesting thread, I figured it ought to be resuscitated. @OldBill - are there any updates?
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: oldbill4823 on March 18, 2011, 02:44:34 PM
I havnt spoken to them for a while but will need to speak soon re building work at their house.

When i do I will raise the subject again with them regarding their latest experiences.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: ravinclaw on March 21, 2011, 07:55:05 PM
I will also admit that to me it is a very interesting case. Just being able to trust the person relaying the facts is emensly important.Which I do, and think we all should.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: oldbill4823 on April 06, 2011, 01:59:31 PM
I spoke to one of the owners on the phone a few days back. I asked briefly about any other strange activity. He said the house had been normal for quite a while now.

Strangely though sinice the last disasterous experience with the nightmare builder they had another terrible builder that they rapidly asked to leave the premises.
It turned out the new artisan had a history of mental illness and had been hospitalised for some time previously. He was seen wandering the site armed with a hammer repeatedly saying 'You never mess with a dutchman with a hammer'. It was at this point he was asked to leave. I swear you could not make this up even if you tried. Real life is just plain bizzarre at times.

It makes me wonder if there is a connection between the type of people they have attracted recently and the supernatural experiences from before. It is possible that this is just another external symptom of something much deeper.  I dont know the answer to this, it just makes me wonder that reality is just a mandala and this is just another effect of a deeper pattern at work.
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: Nina on April 06, 2011, 03:12:16 PM
Hm, an old farmhouse near the church.... gives me a few ideas. Id first check the history of the house. What was it used for in all periods. Second, id use the time when the couple is on vacation, with their knowledge of course, and set up all the gadgets, emf, camera, microphone and tape it for at least a week. Third, getting a verified medium to feel the house wouldnt hurt either, but these days its sooo hard to find one ;)
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: AWBrielle on May 02, 2011, 12:31:53 PM
^ I met one who claimed she was a "real deal, bonafide medium." (Mind you, I wasn't looking for one, but I'd just happened to run into her). She apparently charged quite a bit for sessions with "relatives and friends that have passed on." After I had found out that an old family friend (friend? Is that the right word? I don't really even talk to her) had seen her, I'd asked her questions about her session. Well. She did talk to someone who knew "everything only my mother would know," but there was no way in f*ck it was her mother. So, sure, this woman is a "medium." But she gives you the communications you really should stay away from. So yes, in summation, it's hard to find mediums that actually know what the hell they're doing.

Ahem. Thought I'd share.

 :focus:
Title: Re: An open Poltergeist investigation.
Post by: Jake on January 20, 2012, 07:21:42 AM
Just being able to trust the person relaying the facts is emensly important.Which I do, and think we all should.

That's how religions and urban myths start. It doesn't matter how trustworthy a source of anecdotal or hearsay testimony is, it does not constitute reliable evidence.

Besides,

...he has witnessed this stuff when alone. His only concern was wondering how much people might pay to come and stay there and how to advertise it along with his numerous other business ventures.

Old post, obviously nothing came of it. Just want to draw attention to what should have set every skeptic's internal alarm bells ringing... $$$