Poltergeist. Reino Unido

What has been called “one of the most extraordinary outbreaks of poltergeist phenomena” of the twentieth century began with an English schoolboy, aged eleven and a half years, Matthew Manning (Harrison 1994, 9).

Like many other disturbances labeled poltergeist (from poltern “noisy” and geist“spirit”), the events began with rapping sounds, objects thrown about, heavy furniture moved, objects disappearing (but sometimes reappearing in other rooms), and so on. The activities not only centered around Matthew and his home at Queen’s House, Linton, Cambridge, but they followed him to boarding school. Many of today’s paranormal believers suggest the phenomenon, once attributed to the devil, is caused by psychokinetic (“mind-over-matter”) energy from pubescent children with repressed hostilities (Guiley 2000, 293–295). However, proper investigation typically shows the effects are simply due to the mischief of clever children. I have therefore termed the phenomenon the poltergeist-faking syndrome (Nickell 2012, 325–331; Bartholomew and Nickell 2015, 129, 136–137).

The phenomena at Queen’s House that began in February 1967 soon waned but then were renewed more violently beginning at Easter 1971 and continuing through the summer. On July 31 a new phenomenon appeared and continued for a week. The effect, shown in photographs (Harrison 1994, 70–72) is remarkable.

Covering the walls of Matthew’s bedroom—from floor to ceiling—appeared over six hundred signatures of deceased persons, most bearing dates spanning six centuries (Figure 1). By August 6, they had largely ceased, but there were occasional later additions. Among the writings were seven “poetic aphorisms” that were signed “Robert Webbe.” A significant number of the dated signatures are those of Webbe family members—former tenants of the house—or others connected to it in some way, including persons who resided in the vicinity or in nearby villages. Admits Harrison (1994, 10), however, “It would be impossibly difficult and time-consuming to try to identify them all.”

The writings were supposedly produced by “discarnate entities” using pencils that were left lying on a table. These writings were never seen being done—unlike Matthew’s later automatic writings and drawings (to be discussed presently) that were frequently observed as he produced them (Beloff 1994, 5). In my experience, a spiritualistic phenomenon that appears shy about being witnessed is most likely faked. And the idea that a ghost—which necessarily lacks a brain—could grip a pencil, let alone engage in writing, is ludicrous.