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The Poltergeist
The Poltergeist
- GenresParanormalNonfiction
238 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1972
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November 22, 2014
Note: When I originally attempted, back in 2008, to add this book to my Goodreads shelves, it had already been a long time since I read it, and I could recall only the title, not the author's name. As a result, I wound up for a long time confusing it with Poltergeist! by Colin Wilson (which I've never read). However, I've recently examined both books, and confirmed that this is the one I actually remembered.
Author Roll was a serious scientist, who spent much of his career as part of the pioneering research program in parapsychology at Duke Univ. (long headed by J. B. Rhine, who contributes a foreword here). Between 1958 and 1968 (roughly) he was involved in several investigations of "poltergeist" phenomena (i.e., buildings, usually occupied houses, that are plagued primarily by objects moving --and often flying through the air-- without human touch). Most of these studies took place in the U.S. (one of them in Indianapolis, where my wife and I happened to be living when I read the book!), but he also did some field observation in Europe. (The Indianapolis case was unusual in that one of the victims also experienced puncture wounds and teeth marks inflicted without a visible source.) He also makes reference to earlier historical reports of similar phenomena, going back to 858 A.D., and to a few investigations by contemporary European researchers that he did not personally witness. The modern field research, and the phenomena observed, is described in exact and considerable detail. Roll and his cohorts were not unduly credulous and did not automatically accept reports as genuine (indeed, he devotes a chapter to "ersatz" poltergeist claims). The phenomena observed first-hand, which makes up the bulk of the book, is difficult if not impossible to dismiss as fraudulent, unless the person doing the dismissing has an a priori commitment to the impossibility of unexplained phenomena which trumps ANY empirical evidence of any sort. That type of dogmatic commitment is, IMO, more divorced from reality and more inimical to the spirit of genuine science than the open-mindedness it rejects.
Traditionally, this kind of phenomena was ascribed to ghosts or spirits, an explanation I don't personally accept (poltergeist is German for "noisy ghost" or "noisy spirit"). However, in the tradition of the Duke Univ. school of thought, with its interest in psi capabilities, Roll posits a different cause: unconscious telekinesis by a human agent who serves as the focus for the event. In this theory, disturbed family dynamics creating a considerable residue of frustration and hostility --which could be demonstrated in at least some of the studied cases-- provides a matrix for the phenomena. This is predicated on the hypothesis that all or most people have at least some low-level psi capability. This explanation is certainly very far from proven, and I wouldn't say that I "believe" it. But I do think that it can serve as a respect-worthy working hypothesis, for the present state of knowledge.
The author also provides an appendix distinguishing poltergeist from "haunting" phenomena (which he ascribes to hallucination), and giving how-to advice to would-be investigators of both. While the few black-and-white photographs in the main text aren't especially illuminating, the four-page bibliography for further reading appears to consist mostly of pretty solid scholarly sources. The reading level is appropriate for interested lay readers (although interested academics could read it as well), but Roll does make use of endnotes, and the book is indexed.
Author Roll was a serious scientist, who spent much of his career as part of the pioneering research program in parapsychology at Duke Univ. (long headed by J. B. Rhine, who contributes a foreword here). Between 1958 and 1968 (roughly) he was involved in several investigations of "poltergeist" phenomena (i.e., buildings, usually occupied houses, that are plagued primarily by objects moving --and often flying through the air-- without human touch). Most of these studies took place in the U.S. (one of them in Indianapolis, where my wife and I happened to be living when I read the book!), but he also did some field observation in Europe. (The Indianapolis case was unusual in that one of the victims also experienced puncture wounds and teeth marks inflicted without a visible source.) He also makes reference to earlier historical reports of similar phenomena, going back to 858 A.D., and to a few investigations by contemporary European researchers that he did not personally witness. The modern field research, and the phenomena observed, is described in exact and considerable detail. Roll and his cohorts were not unduly credulous and did not automatically accept reports as genuine (indeed, he devotes a chapter to "ersatz" poltergeist claims). The phenomena observed first-hand, which makes up the bulk of the book, is difficult if not impossible to dismiss as fraudulent, unless the person doing the dismissing has an a priori commitment to the impossibility of unexplained phenomena which trumps ANY empirical evidence of any sort. That type of dogmatic commitment is, IMO, more divorced from reality and more inimical to the spirit of genuine science than the open-mindedness it rejects.
Traditionally, this kind of phenomena was ascribed to ghosts or spirits, an explanation I don't personally accept (poltergeist is German for "noisy ghost" or "noisy spirit"). However, in the tradition of the Duke Univ. school of thought, with its interest in psi capabilities, Roll posits a different cause: unconscious telekinesis by a human agent who serves as the focus for the event. In this theory, disturbed family dynamics creating a considerable residue of frustration and hostility --which could be demonstrated in at least some of the studied cases-- provides a matrix for the phenomena. This is predicated on the hypothesis that all or most people have at least some low-level psi capability. This explanation is certainly very far from proven, and I wouldn't say that I "believe" it. But I do think that it can serve as a respect-worthy working hypothesis, for the present state of knowledge.
The author also provides an appendix distinguishing poltergeist from "haunting" phenomena (which he ascribes to hallucination), and giving how-to advice to would-be investigators of both. While the few black-and-white photographs in the main text aren't especially illuminating, the four-page bibliography for further reading appears to consist mostly of pretty solid scholarly sources. The reading level is appropriate for interested lay readers (although interested academics could read it as well), but Roll does make use of endnotes, and the book is indexed.
May 25, 2024
A FAMED PARAPSYCHOLOGIST LOOKS AT POLTERGEISTS
William G. Roll (1926–2012) was a German-born parapsychologist who was formerly the president of the Oxford University Society for Psychical Research, worked with J. B. Rhine in the Parapsychology Laboratory of Duke University (1957-1964). In 1964 he became president of the Parapsychological Association. He also held various positions at the University of West Georgia.
He wrote in the ‘Acknowledgements’ of this 1972 book, “Parapsychology is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary… But surely, one would think, the poltergeist must fall, or levitate, into some parapsychological niche. Just when the parapsychologist believes he has cornered the poltergeist… he finds himself out of parapsychology and talking to people in psychology, psychiatry, engineering, etc. The main role, and sometimes it seems the only role, I perform in my poltergeist studies is to direct the attention of my colleagues in other fields to the phenomena and then wait for them to come up with answers. The significant part of the story of the poltergeist is … the interpretations of these occurrences made possible by people who were willing to take a look at the data.”
He observes, “Another reason why poltergeist incidents are interesting to the parapsychologist is that they touch on the survival question. People often believe that these happenings are produced by discarnate entities. This is an important question which should not be lightly dismissed.” (Pg. 8)
He tells of observing one purported series of incidents, “Though the episodes from September on were suggestive of trickery… there was no clear proof of fraud. But the events of December 18 caused me to reject the parapsychological hypothesis for the later phase of the occurrences. The laboratory had an experimental suite with a one-way mirror between two of the rooms. Gaither cooperated as the observer…and Gaither saw Earnie take two measuring tapes from a table and quickly hide them under his shirt. Mrs. Clark then returned… and at that time Ernie threw the two tapes after her. I was summoned by Mrs. Clark who said there had been another poltergeist incident. She showed no suspicion of her grandson… I now felt I could safely conclude that all or most of the latter incidents were fraudulent.” (Pg. 47-48)
In another situation, he notes, “As in other poltergeist cases which seemed to include genuine effects, wen these began to wane, the focal person… was discovered to cheat. Bender found the girl’s fingerprints on a dish which she claimed the poltergeist had thrown out the window.” (Pg. 94)
Of another case, he states, “Though our study of the Olive Hill poltergeist was cut short, it was unique in one respect: It is the only case I know of where two parapsychologists was the beginning stages of movements of several objects. It was not easy for John and me to believe that we were somehow fooled---or fooled ourselves---when we saw these objects take off, with nobody near enough to push them, and when we could find no evidence of strings or other gadgets.” (Pg. 142)
He suggests, “If we are dealing with an exponential decay function, then in one respect there would be method in the poltergeist madness. Poltergeist disturbances would then conform to an old and established rule: The principle of conservation of energy. It is easy to see why this is so. In poltergeist disturbances kinetic energy is produced. If the energetic process is similar to known types, then the creation of kinetic energy should result from the expenditure of some other form of energy and the number of such energy conversions should diminish with increased distance from the source.” (Pg. 147)
Later, he adds, If there is such a thing as a psi field and if this field is strongest near the agent, we should expect that objects of the same weight which are close to him would move longer distances than objects farther away. There were not enough movements of large objects in the Miami case to show a reliable trend. If we consider the distances traveled by the smaller items… which weighed approximately the same… we find that the shorter movements were close to Julio, while the more distant objects moved farther.” (Pg. 149)
He says, “Genuine poltergeists are nearly always short-lived. If intensive research is to be undertaken, the investigator must arrive at the scene as soon as possible. For training purposes, an imaginary ghost or poltergeist or one which is kept going by trickery may be as useful as the real thing.” (Pg. 181)
He concludes, “it is becoming increasingly apparent that psi phenomena are not ‘odd’ events in nature, but rather, components of a basic fabric which connects people with each other and with their physical environment. This fabric has provisionally been called the psychic field. But naming it so does not place it outside the physical world, in some occult realm. The psi field may be no other than the complex interrelations of forces and fields which present-day physicists are already probing. The exciting prospect which parapsychology has introduced is that this outer physical world and the inner psychical world may be one and the same.” (Pg. 179)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying poltergeist phenomena.
William G. Roll (1926–2012) was a German-born parapsychologist who was formerly the president of the Oxford University Society for Psychical Research, worked with J. B. Rhine in the Parapsychology Laboratory of Duke University (1957-1964). In 1964 he became president of the Parapsychological Association. He also held various positions at the University of West Georgia.
He wrote in the ‘Acknowledgements’ of this 1972 book, “Parapsychology is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary… But surely, one would think, the poltergeist must fall, or levitate, into some parapsychological niche. Just when the parapsychologist believes he has cornered the poltergeist… he finds himself out of parapsychology and talking to people in psychology, psychiatry, engineering, etc. The main role, and sometimes it seems the only role, I perform in my poltergeist studies is to direct the attention of my colleagues in other fields to the phenomena and then wait for them to come up with answers. The significant part of the story of the poltergeist is … the interpretations of these occurrences made possible by people who were willing to take a look at the data.”
He observes, “Another reason why poltergeist incidents are interesting to the parapsychologist is that they touch on the survival question. People often believe that these happenings are produced by discarnate entities. This is an important question which should not be lightly dismissed.” (Pg. 8)
He tells of observing one purported series of incidents, “Though the episodes from September on were suggestive of trickery… there was no clear proof of fraud. But the events of December 18 caused me to reject the parapsychological hypothesis for the later phase of the occurrences. The laboratory had an experimental suite with a one-way mirror between two of the rooms. Gaither cooperated as the observer…and Gaither saw Earnie take two measuring tapes from a table and quickly hide them under his shirt. Mrs. Clark then returned… and at that time Ernie threw the two tapes after her. I was summoned by Mrs. Clark who said there had been another poltergeist incident. She showed no suspicion of her grandson… I now felt I could safely conclude that all or most of the latter incidents were fraudulent.” (Pg. 47-48)
In another situation, he notes, “As in other poltergeist cases which seemed to include genuine effects, wen these began to wane, the focal person… was discovered to cheat. Bender found the girl’s fingerprints on a dish which she claimed the poltergeist had thrown out the window.” (Pg. 94)
Of another case, he states, “Though our study of the Olive Hill poltergeist was cut short, it was unique in one respect: It is the only case I know of where two parapsychologists was the beginning stages of movements of several objects. It was not easy for John and me to believe that we were somehow fooled---or fooled ourselves---when we saw these objects take off, with nobody near enough to push them, and when we could find no evidence of strings or other gadgets.” (Pg. 142)
He suggests, “If we are dealing with an exponential decay function, then in one respect there would be method in the poltergeist madness. Poltergeist disturbances would then conform to an old and established rule: The principle of conservation of energy. It is easy to see why this is so. In poltergeist disturbances kinetic energy is produced. If the energetic process is similar to known types, then the creation of kinetic energy should result from the expenditure of some other form of energy and the number of such energy conversions should diminish with increased distance from the source.” (Pg. 147)
Later, he adds, If there is such a thing as a psi field and if this field is strongest near the agent, we should expect that objects of the same weight which are close to him would move longer distances than objects farther away. There were not enough movements of large objects in the Miami case to show a reliable trend. If we consider the distances traveled by the smaller items… which weighed approximately the same… we find that the shorter movements were close to Julio, while the more distant objects moved farther.” (Pg. 149)
He says, “Genuine poltergeists are nearly always short-lived. If intensive research is to be undertaken, the investigator must arrive at the scene as soon as possible. For training purposes, an imaginary ghost or poltergeist or one which is kept going by trickery may be as useful as the real thing.” (Pg. 181)
He concludes, “it is becoming increasingly apparent that psi phenomena are not ‘odd’ events in nature, but rather, components of a basic fabric which connects people with each other and with their physical environment. This fabric has provisionally been called the psychic field. But naming it so does not place it outside the physical world, in some occult realm. The psi field may be no other than the complex interrelations of forces and fields which present-day physicists are already probing. The exciting prospect which parapsychology has introduced is that this outer physical world and the inner psychical world may be one and the same.” (Pg. 179)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying poltergeist phenomena.
January 30, 2022
William Roll was a scientifically trained paranormal investigator. This book, which was originally written in the 1970s, will likely initially strike the reader as curiously dated. The rights were obviously sold to a new publisher and the book continues to sell. One of the draws is that it takes poltergeists not necessarily as ghosts—indeed, Roll makes no argument that defines what a poltergeist is—but keeps an open mind. He tends to favor the interpretation of poltergeists as some kind of psi phenomenon.
As I mention in my blog post about the book (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World), finding a scientific thinker not wedded categorically to materialism is a bit of novelty. Most often scientists feel compelled to dismiss reports of such things as being made by untrained observers. Roll was a trained observer and is careful to note when an incident could’ve been hoaxed. He also notes that hoaxing is common once legitimate episodes start to fade.
This strikes me as a very human way to approach a very human phenomenon. We don’t understand emotions well. We all experience them, of course, and we know their power. The idea that some people might be able to somehow impact the surrounding environment with them sounds at least plausible. Roll describes cases he personally investigated and certainly materialists will dismiss them all. Still, reading the accounts raises a few questions that remain unanswered.
As I mention in my blog post about the book (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World), finding a scientific thinker not wedded categorically to materialism is a bit of novelty. Most often scientists feel compelled to dismiss reports of such things as being made by untrained observers. Roll was a trained observer and is careful to note when an incident could’ve been hoaxed. He also notes that hoaxing is common once legitimate episodes start to fade.
This strikes me as a very human way to approach a very human phenomenon. We don’t understand emotions well. We all experience them, of course, and we know their power. The idea that some people might be able to somehow impact the surrounding environment with them sounds at least plausible. Roll describes cases he personally investigated and certainly materialists will dismiss them all. Still, reading the accounts raises a few questions that remain unanswered.
May 9, 2017
Interesting book with studies of actual reported poltergeist cases around the world seemingly unconsciously caused by people in the households/businesses. Not sure what I believe in the area of parapsychology, but I there is definitely food for thought here for the open minded. Nothing woo-woo about this book; everything was approached with a scientific outlook and healthy amounts of skepticism.
January 21, 2026
This is a methodical and dispassionate boots-on-the-ground take on poltergeists as a phenomenon of human psychokinesis. If you're expecting heart-racing accounts of paranormal encounters, this is not the book for you - rather, follow along as the author describes objects flying across the room to hit him in the head or materializing out of thin air in the driest tone imaginable...
However, if, like me, you're curious about the book's thesis, the excitement really begins in the final chapters 14 (PK and Consciousness) and 15 (Parapsychopathology or Human Potential?) where Roll dives fully into possibilities, potential dangers, and even proposed treatments/remedies of PK phenomena. It left me with more questions than answers, but they are intriguing ones.
Overall, I found this to be a rather rigorous approach to a topic that is rarely researched, and so to me it was (just barely) worth the read. You're probably fine to skim the book for the juicy bits (the minutiae of the Miami poltergeist case in particular was a slog) if you're just curious about Roll's PK theories. The appendix contains a handbook for investigating poltergeists and hauntings and a wealth of further reading/resources.
However, if, like me, you're curious about the book's thesis, the excitement really begins in the final chapters 14 (PK and Consciousness) and 15 (Parapsychopathology or Human Potential?) where Roll dives fully into possibilities, potential dangers, and even proposed treatments/remedies of PK phenomena. It left me with more questions than answers, but they are intriguing ones.
Overall, I found this to be a rather rigorous approach to a topic that is rarely researched, and so to me it was (just barely) worth the read. You're probably fine to skim the book for the juicy bits (the minutiae of the Miami poltergeist case in particular was a slog) if you're just curious about Roll's PK theories. The appendix contains a handbook for investigating poltergeists and hauntings and a wealth of further reading/resources.
June 26, 2018
In 1976, this book might have held all kinds of interesting stories and insights. I personally don’t think that’s the case now. The majority of the book is anecdotes and statements that were incredibly repetitive in terms of incidents and covered things like tapping and things falling over. Psych testing is fairly basic, like Rorsach, word association, and predicting a dice roll.
The most interesting part was the last couple of chapters that discussed energy being the cause (psych tension, trauma, puberty). It’s something I’ve read about before but may be of interest to those looking into the paranormal.
The most interesting part was the last couple of chapters that discussed energy being the cause (psych tension, trauma, puberty). It’s something I’ve read about before but may be of interest to those looking into the paranormal.
August 17, 2011
VERY good non-fiction book about poltergeist hauntings. A MUST for any "ghost hunter".
October 7, 2011
spooky :D
June 15, 2013
I loved this book. It really makes you think.
I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the paranormal.
I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the paranormal.
July 31, 2016
Who knew poltergeists could be boring.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews