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We were talking about the movie "The Conjuring 2" in another thread, and my response about the Enfield Poltergeist-case there got a bit longer than I thought, so I moved it to a new thread here.>
Enfield Poltergeist
Even though this story is criticised for instances of some trickery done by this girl, there were many incidents where witnesses watched activity that didn't include any of the kids. Like the two police officers watching a chair slide across the room when they were present, watching it happen right in front of them. Or the photographer that watched the apport of small objects appearing and flying across the room, even hitting him in the head. In many cases with poltergeists a ray of activities can happen very quickly and then go dormant for longer stretches of times. I can imagine that how the whole ordeal of this case was something like this:
- The Hodgsons family was plagued by instances of poltergeist activities, and was dumbfounded and scared of what was happening. As the mother said; it started with the kids claiming they heard knocks and tapping from the walls and furnitures in their room. The mother thought the kids where playing around and was irritated by their nonsense when they were screaming. She then heard this for herself in the room, and watched the heavy chest of drawers moved by itself out in the room, and when she were trying to push it back she was unable to.They initially sought help from their neighbours, a man who went in to Hodgsons house alone - while the whole Hodgsons family stayed at his house - and he could hear these knockings in the wall that seemed to following him around while he was walking around from room to room in the whole house, looking for the cause of them.
They called the police who came and investigated. While there the officers watched one of the chair in the livingroom slide across the room while no one was near it. The officers immediately looked if the floor was tilted, and if the chair could have slide because of that - but it wasn't. They looked for wires or strings and found nothing. As the police said this was nothing they could help the family with 8since it wasn't anything criminal going on), they said that they have to look for help elsewhere. Without knowing who could help them, the mother called the local newspaper to hear if they knew of someone, and they of course sent a news-team there. As I mentioned above, the photographer and reporter watched the apport of small objects appearing and flying across the room, even hitting one of them in the head, while they were in one of the room.
When Maurice Grosse of the SPR got involved in the case I think he got somewhat emotionally invested in this. He stated that he wouldn't abandon them on this case and help them through it no matter what He was staying there and doing vigils days and weeks on ends and eagerly waiting for some poltergeist activity he could record, but the activity was dormant then. I think that especially Janet, whom, as the rest of them, was really afraid of what had happened to them initially, thought of Maurice as a father figure, and really wanted to please him as he was so eager to really get evidence of this poltergeist recorded. But more, I think she felt the comfort of having him around, and if this poltergeist stayed dormant for a longer period of time the risk was that Maurice would eventually lose interest and not come around and stay there. So with this in mind I think Janet started to create some of the activities for that reason. Mind you, that there was things happening during this time that was inexplicable but they weren't as intense as they were in the beginning.
Many other poltergeist activities are like a sparkler; there is and intense line of incidents that happens on top of each other in a short period of time, but as a sparkler they "burn fast" and then runs out of energy and stays dormant for periods of time. So, in a mix of Janet really wanted to give proof of what has happened to them initially, and that she wanted also to please Maurice because his eagerness - and also have him around as a father figure and not feeling frightened when activity stir up again - I think she started to "spice up" some of the events.
This is, I think, the case of many poltergeist activities. The eagerness to convince people of what has happened to them initially, and the sheer frustration that things doesn't happen "on cue" when investigators are there to investigate and record proof. The mix of being believed and not brushed off, and frustration of the "pockets of inactivity" I think can drive those involved to act like this. For debunkers like Randi, French, Nicolls, etc, this is like "christmas" for them. If they can point out that some of the activities was staged and forged they can then claim that everything else - even if they are totally inexplicable and compelling - somewhat also must have been tricks (without giving some explanations to how) and/or are false memories and other bullshit excuses - case closed.
The challenge for paranormal investigators, I think, is to don't get too emotionally invested - even though it might be hard - and always stay objective. Do everything to eliminate/exclude the possibilities of tampering - and if suspicious don't encourage those involved when things, that you cant control for, are happening. And also; don't try to make those involved feeling like you are frustrated that nothing happens during investigations.
Enfield Poltergeist
Even though this story is criticised for instances of some trickery done by this girl, there were many incidents where witnesses watched activity that didn't include any of the kids. Like the two police officers watching a chair slide across the room when they were present, watching it happen right in front of them. Or the photographer that watched the apport of small objects appearing and flying across the room, even hitting him in the head. In many cases with poltergeists a ray of activities can happen very quickly and then go dormant for longer stretches of times. I can imagine that how the whole ordeal of this case was something like this:
- The Hodgsons family was plagued by instances of poltergeist activities, and was dumbfounded and scared of what was happening. As the mother said; it started with the kids claiming they heard knocks and tapping from the walls and furnitures in their room. The mother thought the kids where playing around and was irritated by their nonsense when they were screaming. She then heard this for herself in the room, and watched the heavy chest of drawers moved by itself out in the room, and when she were trying to push it back she was unable to.They initially sought help from their neighbours, a man who went in to Hodgsons house alone - while the whole Hodgsons family stayed at his house - and he could hear these knockings in the wall that seemed to following him around while he was walking around from room to room in the whole house, looking for the cause of them.
They called the police who came and investigated. While there the officers watched one of the chair in the livingroom slide across the room while no one was near it. The officers immediately looked if the floor was tilted, and if the chair could have slide because of that - but it wasn't. They looked for wires or strings and found nothing. As the police said this was nothing they could help the family with 8since it wasn't anything criminal going on), they said that they have to look for help elsewhere. Without knowing who could help them, the mother called the local newspaper to hear if they knew of someone, and they of course sent a news-team there. As I mentioned above, the photographer and reporter watched the apport of small objects appearing and flying across the room, even hitting one of them in the head, while they were in one of the room.
When Maurice Grosse of the SPR got involved in the case I think he got somewhat emotionally invested in this. He stated that he wouldn't abandon them on this case and help them through it no matter what He was staying there and doing vigils days and weeks on ends and eagerly waiting for some poltergeist activity he could record, but the activity was dormant then. I think that especially Janet, whom, as the rest of them, was really afraid of what had happened to them initially, thought of Maurice as a father figure, and really wanted to please him as he was so eager to really get evidence of this poltergeist recorded. But more, I think she felt the comfort of having him around, and if this poltergeist stayed dormant for a longer period of time the risk was that Maurice would eventually lose interest and not come around and stay there. So with this in mind I think Janet started to create some of the activities for that reason. Mind you, that there was things happening during this time that was inexplicable but they weren't as intense as they were in the beginning.
Many other poltergeist activities are like a sparkler; there is and intense line of incidents that happens on top of each other in a short period of time, but as a sparkler they "burn fast" and then runs out of energy and stays dormant for periods of time. So, in a mix of Janet really wanted to give proof of what has happened to them initially, and that she wanted also to please Maurice because his eagerness - and also have him around as a father figure and not feeling frightened when activity stir up again - I think she started to "spice up" some of the events.
This is, I think, the case of many poltergeist activities. The eagerness to convince people of what has happened to them initially, and the sheer frustration that things doesn't happen "on cue" when investigators are there to investigate and record proof. The mix of being believed and not brushed off, and frustration of the "pockets of inactivity" I think can drive those involved to act like this. For debunkers like Randi, French, Nicolls, etc, this is like "christmas" for them. If they can point out that some of the activities was staged and forged they can then claim that everything else - even if they are totally inexplicable and compelling - somewhat also must have been tricks (without giving some explanations to how) and/or are false memories and other bullshit excuses - case closed.
The challenge for paranormal investigators, I think, is to don't get too emotionally invested - even though it might be hard - and always stay objective. Do everything to eliminate/exclude the possibilities of tampering - and if suspicious don't encourage those involved when things, that you cant control for, are happening. And also; don't try to make those involved feeling like you are frustrated that nothing happens during investigations.
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