Returning home to Macon, Burgundy, September 16, 1612, the Huguenot priest François Perrault found his wife and her maid in utter confusion. During his absence, strange things began to happen in the house. First, Madame Perrault noticed how someone invisible was pulling the curtain of her bed. There was a loud noise from other rooms, and in the kitchen someone was throwing dishes, Perrault reported the incident to the church authorities and the local lawyer François Tournus. They came to Perrault's home to ascertain whether amazing things were really happening there.
The disembodied spirit conducted long conversations with those present, making fun of them, giving details of family life, known only to the household. The mischievous ghost sang obscene songs. After three months, the strange phenomena stopped. In the last 12 days, stones have been flying into the house from morning to evening.
Why did this happen? Perrault was inclined to think that these events are somehow connected with the circumstances in which this house was acquired. The previous owners died and their daughter, Guillaume Blanc, had to be evicted by force. She threatened Perrault with terrible punishment, and only a court order forced her to leave. Perrault also thought that his wife's maid might have been involved: it was not for nothing that the rumor called her a witch, and she treated her spirit with surprising familiarity. When a mysterious voice teased her, she responded in kind.
The Macon case contains practically all the terms of the classical poltergeist; unexplained incidents similar to someone else's leprosy or malicious acts; one person around whom everything basically happens; finally, some circumstances in the past, which can be considered the root cause of events. Translated from German, "poltergeist" means "noisy ghost", and most often this phenomenon is manifested in the fact that objects fly by themselves, unpleasant odors appear, stones fall like hail, something knocks or rumbles, spontaneous combustion occurs, furniture suddenly breaks, doors and windows swing open. Usually, a poltergeist lasts from several hours to several months, starting suddenly and just as abruptly ending.
Skeptics argue that poltergeist cases are either hallucinations, coincidences, or pranksters. Indeed, some of these incidents are certainly jokes or hoaxes. Sometimes, however, eyewitness testimonies rule out any fraud. In 1850, a family in Stratford, Connecticut, lost their peace: furniture and other objects suddenly began to move on the floor and fly through the air. This was repeated hundreds of times over several months, often in front of neighbors and acquaintances, but no explanation was found.
Any name. Some modern researchers believe that the poltergeist is caused by a flow of psychic energy, which, possibly, comes from a person experiencing a psychological crisis: anxiety, hostility, despair or anger can find a way out in subconscious psychokinetic activity. Most experts have no doubt that the poltergeist belongs to the paranormal. Some prefer the more neutral term "periodic spontaneous psychokinesis," but the force that makes tables slide on the floor and plates fly around the room remains a mystery by whatever name it is.