Poultry Guys

Poltergeists (German for "knocking ghosts") are another class of spirit that seem to be found the world over under a variety of different names, though rather than going into the distinctions between different "types" of poltergeists, I'd like to focus on their shared abilities, as well as one very interesting point about them.

Poltergeists, by their most simplified definition, are entities that have the ability to make noises and move objects around independent of any observable external force. Usually the phenomena manifests quite suddenly, with often with no provocation on the part of the inhabitants of the affected dwelling, and tends to last between the space of a few hours to a few years at sporadic intervals of quiet and activity. While the phenomena can be mischevious-seeming at times, as there have been numerous reports of objects being tossed at individuals residing in a house afflicted with poltergeist activity, it is worth noting that for the most part the activity seems "dumb", that is to say there is no rhyme or reason to the actions it takes, and most objects that impact individuals seem to be projected with only enough force to make contact, and not nearly enough to hurt someone. However, this last point has two major caveats: one, that there have been rare cases of violent poltergeists that actively harmed those in their vicinity with forcefully thrown objects, scratches, beatings, etc (however, while this has been reported, it is in the -wildly- vast minority), and two, that most houses with a poltergeist tend to have a "center" of the activity, not necessarily a focal point or target of the phenomena, but someone who seems to always be present when the activity happens. Usually, this happened to be a child in the midst of adolscence, leading many to claim that poltergeists are actually subconscious manifestations of telekinesis by those "centers", their existence usually reasoned as an outlet for their feelings of agression, alientation, and other teenage angsty-wangsty issues.

Now, the big thing worth noting that I had no idea about until recently...supposedly lending support to the psychokinesis theory, a group of paranormal researchers in the 1970s were able to create an "artificial poltergeist" named Philip. See, what they did was make up a name and backstory for a fictional person, and by collectively meditating and visualizing the spirit, were able to supposedly make a table tilt and knocks to be heard in response to questions, with the questions answered as a person with the given backstory would answer them. Even more curious is that the table movement and rapping was supposedly caught on film, and that other parapsychological groups were able to replicate the same effects with different backstories and therefore different "artifical poltergeists". So the story goes that the original group continued to try and meditate with the intent of getting an actual apparition to appear, but upon finding themselves unable to, the project was abandoned.

A couple of questions pop out at me on hearing this. The biggest, though, is while it's an interesting story, why was the work discontinued? It may be that seeing an apparition would have been much more convincing an effect that just hearing knocks, and maybe I'm just being naive, but if I could reliably cause knocks to sound in response to questions without physical movement on my part, I'd be pretty damn excited with even that. So for me, the whole story should be taken with a Buick-sized grain of salt, but still, an interesting little story all the same...

 

Something Wicked

So, yesterday I promised to get into the operationalization of what exactly consisted of a "haunting". In this case, I think a two part question is in order, just to try and drill down to the basics of what (general) elements are involved. The first bit is deceptively simple, and again, can be culled from most stories but is almost never stated outright:

What senses/forces are being manipulated in an inexplicable way?

 

This simple question alone allows one to straight up start classifying exactly what one is dealing with. Does it manipulate sound, by banging and slamming things (but never visibly)? Does it manipulate sight, by appearing as a shadowy figure or translucent being? Does it manipulate touch, by causing things to be visibly picked up and moved or by grabbing occupants of the property? That differentiation right there makes a huge difference in the sorts of patterns one sees reoccur throughout stories  and experiences. Also, while we're on the subject, I think that overall, there are five sorts of manipulations that can occur (from what I've read so far, anyways): sound, sight (a.k.a., a spectre), touch (also known as a poltergeist), environmental (including temperature control, taste, smell, and other physical factors), and empathic (those that cause intense feelings and [as I'll argue about tomorrow] possessions). I think that covers most of the bases, especially since each category of manifestation doesn't necessarily preclude any other category, but then we need to have the followup question depending on what categories it falls into:

 

If sound, are they abiotic (obviously created by non-living components, like chains clanking or doors slamming) or biotic sounds (those needing a living organism to cause, like footsteps, or whispering, or screaming)?

 

If touch, is the movement tracked while being in the same room with the moving objects, or is it only noticed after the inhabitants come into the area in question (do they see it happen or does weird stuff occur only when they're not in the room)?

 

If sight, is the shape humanoid or not? And regardless of that answer, is it luminous, shadowed, translucent, or normal-appearing? 

If environmental, is it small-scale or large-scale (in this case, is the experience confined to a restricted area or does the experiencer feel completely transported to another place and time)?

 

If empathic, what is the severity of the feelings felt (does the feeling feel like a vague impression, or is it severe enough to cause the experiencer to actually commit specific acts)?

 

So, with a basic question and a followup question as to specific parameters defining the phenomenon, we've basically summed up three quarters of almost every ghost story out there. Not that the "fluff" is unnecessary, building a comprehensive account of the happenings is important. But honestly, don't you think it would make things so much easier to just be able to discuss these things in more concrete terms rather than "you had to be there, but let me tell you what happened as best I can from beginning to end"...

Boggarts of Beaverton

 Aoo! Somehow it doesn't have the same ring to it as the song I was hoping to emulate does. Oh, and if you mention Kid Rock, then you're dead to me.

ANYways, onto haunted spots of Beaverton! On a cursory search, this is what I've come up with thus far...(all taken from the Shadowlands directory online, which is spotty at best from what I've heard)

• Shiloh Inn - The upstairs sports den and Canyon room are rumored to be haunted. Many employees and guests report here footsteps and a conversation between a man and women but upon further investigation no one is ever there. On occasion things will be moved about on their own, cups, chairs, ect. 
• Valley Theatre - This old discount theatre has had strange poltergist activity for years. In 1994 during renovation work crews were "persued" by a ominous creature that liked to play evil pranks and stalk the workers. Several workers quit due to the strange happenings around them and refused to come back to the location. And to this day strange occurances still happen to workers and visitors at this old theatre. 
• Westgate Cinema - A shadowy figure has been reported lurking in the upstairs projector room that was formerly a living quarters. When chased, the shadowy figure vanishes down a hallway that leads to double-doors that never opened.

So, two theaters and an inn, huh? The first sounds poltergeist-ish, the second sounds almost Fay-like (unseelie) from its description, and the third sounds like some shade or wraith or something. Of course, that's assuming these buildings are even still up...one wonders what could go down in a commercial building like these to cause such activity from then on, and if there really was a great deal of activity, with it being commercial, why would it never gain more scrutiny? Meh, I dunno, but here's hoping I have the time and means to check some of this out soon, I'm getting the itch to actually check some of this out...

Nightmare Fuel, Part 2

Continued from yesterday, to be concluded tomorrow...

-Different guy this time. He claimed to have occurrences of uncanny precognition at odd times, including once when he was five at church. This specific incident involved him walking past an elderly person seated next to the pastor and quietly saying "I'm sorry that you're going to die of a heart attack soon." Indeed, the person died of a heart attack that day or shortly thereafter (that point, while known by the teller of the incident, is somewhat lost in my mind [did I mention beer was involved]), and he wasn't allowed to go to that church anymore after that...I dunno. I personally have precognitive dreams (the architecture of which being the main thing that I remember, so that I can navigate buildings I've never even seen before as if I'd been on the construction crew for them), and know that the feeling of deja vu is quite a common occurrence, though me and this gentleman had a long talk over the differences between precognition and simple deja vu. I think precognition is possible to a limited extent, and while the instance he talked about was incredibly specific, I suppose it's possible. Five out of ten.

-Same guy. "So," he said, "you want to research ghosts and spirits? Well", he continued with a small grin, "go to -blah blah- (again, the specifics evade me) graveyard in Washougal with a tape recorder and just walk around asking yourself questions, then listen to the tape afterwards. I did it once, and I'll never set foot in there again"...possible. I've heard of EVP phenomenon and while I've never watched Paranormal Activity (though funny story, have a friend who did shortly after both a move into a new house and his first child was born, and who also happened to have set up a baby monitor that same night prior to watching Paranormal Activity in the dark, and he swears that it was unknowingly one of the scariest things he's ever put himself through...but at least from now on I have a great idea for a good combo gift to give people throwing baby showers :P), and while I've never had occasion to experience it, I wouldn't mind giving this graveyard tour a try. As far as conceptually, I suppose that -if- spirits are simply a different form of energy that doesn't dissipate after death and -if- that form of energy retains the ability to communicate, then sure, why not this way? Though even with that admission and open-mindedness, I can't help but feel like the most vocal proponents of this method would get along well with the guys who listen to Beatles records backwards to try and hear hidden messages in them. Five out of ten.

-Lastly, the elder brother and other guy (not the other brother). Apparently, while elder brother was staying over at other dude's house, he saw a cookie sheet pick itself up from the dishwasher and slam itself into the sink; the other guy can only attest to the loud bang and the fact that his cookie sheet was inexplicably in his sink (though he didn't see the invisible placement of it). In another situation, the brother was sleeping in the same room as the other guy, and out of nowhere felt (and heard) a large SLAM next to his head in the dark, as if someone punched the ground next to him with full force. Again, other guy heard it and then immediately fell asleep, but didn't see it, while the elder brother sat paralyzed with terror in the dark...hmm, a poltergeist. No reports of it before the elder brother started to stay with him, but the other guy's grandfather passed not long before the incidents as well. And while there's some controversy surrounding the true explanation for what poltergeists are (whether they're restless spirits or mental projections of uniquely psychic individuals), there are widespread reports of them. I give this a six out of ten.