Andrew D. Gable
First Post
This article on the real case behind The Exorcist, makes me wonder something: how much overlap is there between poltergeist phenomenon and demonic possession? In at least that instance, it seemed a poltergeist was what was going on, albeit a very serious one.
Think about the similarities between possession and poltergeists: both are phenomenon that center around a young kid, usually right about at the age of puberty, some of the things typically associated with possession (such as the shaking bed from the movie) seem extremely poltergeist-like, and some poltergeists I've heard of do anti-religious things (throwing knives at religious icons, for instance, or smashing religious statues). The fact that an exorcism is necessary sometimes and sometimes the phenomenon just goes away on its own sometimes may be significant, too. Why would the attachment be stronger in some cases?
It also brings up a question about what exactly a poltergeist is. I somehow don't know if a true ghost is reponsible. Sure, there's overlap - poltergeist stuff often happens in conjunction with ghosts - but there's many ways they're different. The fact that a poltergeist is focused on one person while a ghost hangs around for all to see is one.
I wonder if it's some kind of latent psychic phenomenon? Maybe around puberty, when your hormones are going all haywire, the hormones can briefly reactivate the psychic center of your brain? I think we're all psychic, really; it's just we've mostly lost the ability to access that part of your brain. So maybe the hormones can somehow create a temporary atavism, as it were. Most "poltergeist children" seem to be a bit... maladjusted in other ways.
Then, as another possibility, I wonder if demon possession isn't just how some perceive poltergeist stuff (I'm a big proponent of the idea that the psychology of the witness dictates a lot of the details of the sighting, or even what he sees... Blessed Virgin Mary vs. UFO vs. Bigfoot).
I don't know... what do y'all think?
Think about the similarities between possession and poltergeists: both are phenomenon that center around a young kid, usually right about at the age of puberty, some of the things typically associated with possession (such as the shaking bed from the movie) seem extremely poltergeist-like, and some poltergeists I've heard of do anti-religious things (throwing knives at religious icons, for instance, or smashing religious statues). The fact that an exorcism is necessary sometimes and sometimes the phenomenon just goes away on its own sometimes may be significant, too. Why would the attachment be stronger in some cases?
It also brings up a question about what exactly a poltergeist is. I somehow don't know if a true ghost is reponsible. Sure, there's overlap - poltergeist stuff often happens in conjunction with ghosts - but there's many ways they're different. The fact that a poltergeist is focused on one person while a ghost hangs around for all to see is one.
I wonder if it's some kind of latent psychic phenomenon? Maybe around puberty, when your hormones are going all haywire, the hormones can briefly reactivate the psychic center of your brain? I think we're all psychic, really; it's just we've mostly lost the ability to access that part of your brain. So maybe the hormones can somehow create a temporary atavism, as it were. Most "poltergeist children" seem to be a bit... maladjusted in other ways.
Then, as another possibility, I wonder if demon possession isn't just how some perceive poltergeist stuff (I'm a big proponent of the idea that the psychology of the witness dictates a lot of the details of the sighting, or even what he sees... Blessed Virgin Mary vs. UFO vs. Bigfoot).
I don't know... what do y'all think?
