Poltergeists are often regarded as being mischievous and sometimes malevolent spirits. These may be of those who have departed the earthly form, or those such as 'elementals' who never had that 'earthly' form to begin with. In either case perhaps something which is best avoided.
But what if that we regard as poltergeist phenomena is simply an aspect of our own frustrated spirituality? The minds hidden powers rebelling against the stresses and dullness of everyday life? In John Frasers 2nd book Poltergeist A New Investigating into Destructive Hauntings (2019) he sets off to further explore this intriguing possibility.
This idea we discover is not a new one. In fact, the rather long title indicates it is something of a critique and a tribute to the work of the writer, philosopher, and occasionally paranormal researcher Colin Wilson. Wilson, as far back as 1981, was author of the book 'Poltergeist- A Study in Destructive Haunting ' The similarity in the title is not entirely coincidental!
Wilson in many of his books showed a belief in a power that he termed as 'Factor X', innate in us all but perhaps only active in some. Those that we might refer to as mediums, magicians, and mystics, or in diverse cultures to us as shamans or seers. He defined 'Factor X' as being:
'The key not to only the so-called occult experience but to the whole future evolution of the human race'
(Colin Wilson, the Occult p77)
Wilson also believed as well as being available to the more spiritually gifted, it was something that could also occur when the mind perceived a real or imaginary crisis. In his 'Poltergeist' book, he gives the example of the hunter James Corbett who had inexplicably changed his walking route one day and the next day found when retracting his footsteps that:
‘In the sandy bed of the culvert, on the left-hand side, he discovered the pug marks of a tiger that had been lying there.’
(Colin Wilson, Poltergeist… p195).
This it seems could well be seen as a heightened state of consciousness using not fully explained powers to avoid life threatening danger.
We are not all of course pursued by real life tigers, but the stresses of everyday life can certainly be 'ferocious' in their own way and John explores the real possibility that such stresses can provoke such hidden powers in surprisingly many of us in a far less focused and untrained way.
John's latest book takes us on a journey both geographically and within our minds to let the reader decide if in fact this is the case. He includes the fascinating encounters of a young teenage girl called Voirrey, who lived in the most desolate farm house there ever could be at Cashens Gap in the Isle of Man.
Voirrey discovered a (mainly) invisible friend which she identified as an 'exotic' Mongoose called Gef, with the ability to throw stones and create noises around the house, as well as occasionally communications which included calling himself 'The Eighth Wonder of the World'. None of this of course makes any sense as a literal explanation of what was happening - but the phenomena itself was witnessed by many people, and was by its nature inexplicable in everyday scientific terms. If we assume Gef was not actually a Mongoose, we then would have to ask ourselves for what reason would a discarnate 'afterlife' spirit pretend to be one?
Or does an alternative theory fit the fact better - that those several years of stress known as adolescence, combined with loneliness, triggered off powers within Voirrey herself as a cry for help.
John's book also takes us to Rosenheim Germany where after the brake up of an engagement, (a definite stress factor), a 19-year-old girl caused strange electronic and other effects at the office she worked in, and other famous cases around the world as well as others he has studied in detail himself.
John also notes that in Romania, a country which fascinates him and which he has visited several times, that much of the mythology of vampire superstitions seem to be based around real life incidents that we might term as poltergeist ones. Powers that could be universal but described in separate ways throughout the world.
Of course, to most people the word 'Poltergeist' has negative spiritual connotations and there is no doubt that a poltergeist type experience can cause fear and panic to those who experience it. Perhaps though there is more to the Poltergeist than the vision conjured up by scary sounding book titles (such as John's) and this power is simply 'immature' and can ultimately be controlled and used in more conventional enlightened spiritual ways.
After all, the renowned psychic and healer Mathew Manning seemed to be the catalyst of poltergeist phenomena in his younger years, which shows at least the possibility that poltergeist phenomena are an immature form of more positive spiritual powers.
Any powers that John himself has remain 'extremely latent' for now, but has graduated from more conventional paranormal investigation, (as a council member of the Society for Psychical Research and previously as Vice Chair of the Ghost Club), to a more inquisitive wish to find out a 'bigger' truth. Though his practical left brain still very much hopes that the bigger truths can still be proven in time. That science and spirituality should work in tandem rather than separate parallel lines that never can cross.
Both, after all are fundamental part of what makes us truly human!
