Do you have a Poltergeist?

DO YOU HAVE A POLTERGEIST? by Jaco Pieterse via facebook

 How about you? Are you experiencing poltergeist activity in your home? If so, what can you do about it?

First, you must be as certain as you can be that the poltergeist activity is genuine. Don't look for paranormal drama where there is none. Perhaps there was a logical reason the picture fell off the wall when Billy stormed into his room: he slammed the door pretty hard. Try as best you can to find reasonable explanations for the activity. If reason and logic fail, and especially if the activity is consistent and persistent, you may have a case.

In the past and even today, people react to poltergeist activity by calling the clergy, an exorcist, a psychic or a paranormal investigator. Can you blame them? After all, some unseen force is pounding on their walls and throwing their hardcover copy of The Secret around the living room. They do so because the movies and spooky novels have told them that ghosts or demons must be responsible.

If we realize that the activity arises out of a family member's unconscious, however, and could very well have a stress-induced psychological genesis, then the priests or ministers, exorcists and ghost hunters probably are not the right folks to call.

It may well be true that clergy, exorcists and ghost hunters have been helpful to poltergeist victims. After their visits and subsequent rituals, the unexplained activity might have lessened or disappeared. But why? Because the ghosts were banished or the demons exorcised? More likely, it's because the comfort brought by these people alleviated the stress the agent was feeling. In other words, it worked because the agent believed it would work.

In other cases, however, bringing in these types of people can backfire. A well-meaning clergyperson who blames the devil for everything or a bumbling "exorcist" could only add to the stress of the agent, especially if the agent is an impressionable child who is ill-equipped to handle the idea that there is a malevolent spirit in the house or that a demon is lurking about - or that they themselves are possessed! Such irresponsible suggestions could elevate the stress and therefore the poltergeist activity.