In the history of the poltergeist, dozens of legal cases are known, initiated in connection with the leprosy of noisy spirits. The respondents were usually people: the carrier and victims of the phenomenon, sometimes the family as a whole, or even outsiders suspected of "letting in" the poltergeist through witchcraft. The fate of those involved in the old days was usually unenviable: they were sentenced to death, subjected to cruel punishments.
In later times, it happened that the court did not see the elements of a crime in the "acts" brought to justice - it turned out that the actions themselves simply did not exist! And then the suspects were acquitted. And noisy spirits actually became the defendants. In such cases, the decision was entrusted to the judgment of God, and the case was closed by an official decision of the court: after all, in fact, the spirits cannot be held accountable.
In some cases, researchers have obtained copies of court decisions in cases involving poltergeist outbreaks.
Such documents reflect the attitude of the court and society to the phenomenon at one time or another, and also provide the researchers with the testimony of eyewitnesses who testified before the court the reality of incidents contrary to common sense.
Peasants of the St. Petersburg province. 1860s
The following copy of the decision of the Vilnius United Chamber of Criminal and Civil Court of May 28, 1874 belongs to this kind of documents. Here is the full text of this unique regulation:
“1874, May 28 days. By the decree of His Imperial Majesty, the Vilnius Joint Chamber of Criminal and Civil Court in the criminal department heard a criminal case about a peasant Bardadim accused of fraud. Secretary Prokopovich reported.
Promotional video:
Circumstances of the case: The Windzigol village head reported to the Sumilish volost government that on January 26 of this 1874 in the village of Shakoldany Yakov Yakovlev Bardadym, for a fee of 30 kopecks agreed with the peasant Dominik Begansky, having received a bottle of milk, it is not known what he did, and after that he ordered the child to give this milk to a sick child Begansky.
After Bardadim left, an unusual phenomenon occurred in the Beganskiy house: a bottle of milk left by Bardadym moved from place to place, in the Beganskiy hut some secret force threw hay, twigs and stones. This phenomenon continued for two days, until Yakov Bardadim was invited.
Upon his arrival, everything calmed down in the Beganskiy hut, but at the same time Bardadym demanded 15 rubles from Begansky to stop the unusual throwing of stones and other things, but agreed on 5 rubles and two vodka garnets, which he received from Beganskiy.
Yakov Yakovlev Bardadym, a 31-year-old peasant in the St. Petersburg province of Novoladozhsky district, was a horseman by trade, testified that he gave a bottle of milk, having read only prayers over this milk, at Begansky's request, to heal a child who had a hernia, because he knew that milk helps with hernia, but he borrowed 5 rubles from Beganskiy because several years ago he loaned this amount to Beganskiy's brother, now deceased.
Begansky does not know anything about the reason for the unusual walking of a bottle, throwing stones and other things into the housing of Begansky, he did not see this and was not with anyone in the strike to deceive the peasants: he was indeed brought to Begansky, but for what he does not remember, since he was completely drunk and does not know what happened there
Dominik Begansky testified under oath that when his son fell ill, he went to the healer, but on the way he met Bardadim, who, having learned about the purpose of the trip, demanded a bottle of milk, whispered something and, passing the bottle to the indicator (that is, Dominik Begansky), ordered to give this milk to a sick child. For this, the figure gave Bardadym 30 kopecks.
The child did not get any worse or better, but after the indicator returned home, in the evening, they started throwing dirty chips, firewood, frozen stones and other objects from the stove. And on the third day, the tied bottle began to move from one place to another, when it was thrown out into the yard, it again appeared in place, but, finally, the indicator broke this bottle.
All this went on for two weeks. After the indicator invited Bardadim to his place, and upon his arrival at the house everything stopped, and the indicator gave Bardadym 5 rubles and treated him to two bottles of vodka.
On March 6, after the start of the case, when Bardadym was held in prison, the throwing began again and took place not only in the room, but also in other buildings and in the yard; all this happened only in the presence of home, and in the presence of strangers it stopped.
Six of Beganskiy's neighbors testified under oath that they had witnessed the throwing of stones, firewood and other objects in Beganskiy's apartment; with them Bardadym arrived, drunk, but not quite drunk, and asked Beganskiy for the suppression of 15 rubles, and then agreed to 5 rubles, and immediately two garnets of vodka were drunk.
Soon Bardadym was arrested by the volost authorities, and after his departure, the throwing of stones and other objects began again for two weeks, then it stopped, and from March 6 it began again.
Witnesses Pishok and Kirtsyuk testified under oath that they saw how the bottle moved from place to place and, wherever it was placed, returned to the threshold in the hallway. And she returned to the same place after she was thrown out into the yard; when the same bottle was tied with a rope to a nail, the rope untied and the bottle returned to the threshold. While the residents were also throwing stones and other objects and examined the hut, they did not find anyone who could throw, and they also did not find holes in the ceiling in the place from which various objects were thrown.
The forensic investigator, after examining the house and other buildings of the Beganskiy peasants, recorded in the protocol that nothing suspicious was found during the examination. Begansky's hut is quite spacious, well lit, there are no holes in the ceiling or in the walls, you can't even reach the ceiling.
In the closet of this house, scattered potatoes and grain and flour are seen on the floor; in the entryway there are stones the size of a large apple, in the barn on the floor grain and beans are also scattered, potholes are visible on the walls and on the door of the hut, which, as one must assume, from stones thrown into them.
The accused Bardadym was given on March 9 of this year by the investigator on bail to Troksky tradesman Yakov Malinovsky. A knife and two blood lancets were taken from Bardadim, presented to the Chamber and kept as material evidence.
Peasant of the St. Petersburg province. 1860s
Comrade of the Vilna Provincial Prosecutor Grigorovich, taking into account that the investigation carried out on this subject states:
1) What has not been found that the peasant of the St. Petersburg province of the Novoladozhsky district Yakov Yakovlev Bardadym, 31 years old, returning Begansky a bottle of milk as a means to improve the health of a sick child, appropriated any supernatural properties or qualities to himself, or would ascribe those given to him in a bottle of drink;
2) What was also not found that Bardadym took any real part in throwing various kinds of objects, and in stopping this phenomenon in Beganskiy's dwelling.
3) And that by the testimony of witnesses Martsianna Beganskaya, Adam Pinyuk, Anton and Vikentiy Balasevichs and Kortsyuk, Bardadym is accused of receiving 5 rubles and 2 garnets of vodka from Begansky under the pretext of pacification in Begansky's house of throwing stones and so on.
Based on this, he is accused of having lured from the peasant Dominik Begansky 5 rubles and 2 garnets of vodka under the pretext of taming the throwing of stones and other objects in Begansky's house, that is, of a criminal act stipulated in paragraph 2 of Article 174 and Article 173 “Charter on the punishments imposed by the magistrate."
On charges of witchcraft and doing miracles, on the basis of Article 304 of the 2nd book of the XV volume of the "Code of Laws", Bardadim should be recognized by the court as acquitted. For residence without a residence permit, on the basis of article 1220 of the Charter of Criminal Procedure, it should be transferred to the disposal of the Troka County Police Department.
They ordered: for reasons of the present case, it turns out that according to the statement of the peasant Begansky, confirmed by six of his neighbors under oath, in his house since January 26, for quite a long time, various objects have been thrown from the corner in which the stove is located, by unknown person.
Since this happened after Begansky received a bottle of milk from the peasant Bardadim for the treatment of Begansky's sick child and, in addition, with the aforementioned bottle, according to the testimony of the same Begansky and his neighbors, a strange phenomenon also occurred - from an unknown reason she moved herself from place to place, Begansky and his neighbors were convinced that this was done by Bardadym, and therefore he was invited to Begansky's house, and after his arrival, the throwing of various objects stopped, and for pacifying Bardadim demanded 15 rubles, but after that he limited himself to 5 rubles and two garnets of vodka, which he received from Begansky.
Although Bardadym did not confess to receiving money and vodka for suppressing the throwing of various objects in Begansky's house, but testified that the money was received by him in returning the data to Begansky's brother, but since Begansky's statement was confirmed by six of his neighbors, eyewitnesses, questioned under oath, Comrade Vilensky Gubernsky Prosecutor Grigorovich sees in that act of Bardadim an offense provided for in 173 and paragraph 2174 of the article “Charter on punishments imposed by the magistrate”, that is, fraud.
Having considered the above and taking into account:
a) that the law recognizes theft of someone else's movable property by means of some kind of deception as fraud (article 1665 of the Code of Punishments).
b) That, although Bardadym received 5 rubles from Begansky for suppressing the throwing of various objects in Begansky's hut, but that such throwing of objects was prepared by him, Bardadym, or that he took any part in it, the investigation did not find found guilty of the fact that the very receipt of money for a promise to stop throwing objects in Begansky's hut cannot be considered a hoax, because, according to the testimony of witnesses, this stopped upon the arrival of Bardadim, and although it began soon again, but after his arrest for lack of a residence permit. - Auth.).
Moreover, if he had not been arrested, then perhaps he could have really taken any natural measures to stop the mentioned phenomenon - the Chamber finds that he, Bardadym, should be released from the court on charges of fraud on the basis of Article 304. 2nd book of the XV volume of the Code of Laws.
As for the residence of Bardadim without a written form, this circumstance, on the basis of article 1220 of the Charter of the Criminal Procedure, is subject to the police consideration, and therefore the case should be transferred on this subject to the Trokskoe District Police Department.
Therefore, the Vilna Joint Chamber of the Criminal and Civil Court determines:
1) Yakov Yakovlev Bardadim, a peasant of the Novoladozhsky district of St. Petersburg tuberia, 31 years old, on charges of fraud, on the basis of Article 304 of the 2nd book of the XV volume of the Code of Laws to be released from the court;
2) Transfer the present case to the Trokskoe Uyezd Police Department for order on the subject of Bardadim's residence and overexposure without a written form, order the police to submit the case to the Chamber after consideration;
3) This verdict is to announce this verdict to Bardadym at his place of residence in the city of Trokakh, and also to return to him the knife and two lancets taken from him and stored in the Chamber through the Trokskoe Uyezd Police Department, which must be ordered to release the Troksky tradesman Yakov Ivanov Malinovsky from the surety for Bardadim on this business;
4) The matter should be considered resolved in the Chamber”.
