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Made by Katie Poulin, Alex Manna, & Jane Leofanti

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Description:
A family moves to a new house that is haunted by evil forces. The youngest daughter is abducted and held captive by evil spirits, meanwhile the family tries to rescue her.

Connection:
This video connects with the reason for belief Unexplained. In the movie there are types of ghosts called poltergeists that are haunting the house causing physical disturbances such as loud noises and objects being thrown around. After the family moves into their new house they are confronted with the unexplained with many encounters of poltergeist experiences and try to make sense of these encounters including how their daughter was abducted. The boy complained of the tree growling, the mom watched strange fluids leak from the washer and dryer, the young daughter had strange experiences with her closet that included lights going into the void and getting abducted into a portal in her closet without being able to escape. The poltergeists in the movie are noisy, troublesome, scary, and very disruptive. In the beginning they dismissed these events because they seemed explainable, and later as the severity of the disturbances increased, they discovered they were being haunted. Critical Thinking is applied to these poltergeist occurrences to understand what they don't know to help get their daughter back.

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Poltergeist: Directed by Gil Kenan. With Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Saxon Sharbino, Kyle Catlett. A family whose suburban home is haunted by evil forces must come together to rescue their youngest daughter after the apparitions take her captive.

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This is a video from a youtube channel run by 2 friends that investigate haunted locations to find evidence supporting their haunted reputation or answer a specific question about its hauntings. In this video, they go to the Old Washoe Club known for its aggressive spirits toward visitors. The question they are trying to answer in this video related to the location is “What happened in these walls to make it so paranormal.”

Connection:
This video connects with the reason for belief Agenicity. It is established early on in the video that this location has many inhabitants wanting to participate with the investigators. One that made itself well known is the “demon” that scratched one of Sam and Colby’s friends while on the upper levels. Physical manifestation resulting in someone being touched/harmed is textbook for poltergeist activity. While investigating they use a variety of equipment that requires the entities to manifest physically to communicate such as tapping the flashlights on and off when responding to questions. The watchlist item Often Appeals to Emotion as the investigators' and their friend's emotions are running high making them vulnerable to attacks. After the scratch everyone’s feelings are sky-high making them more inclined to experience activity.

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In season 1, episode 12 of Haunt TV’s show called Haunted Hospitals one of the true stories is of a Special Constable who has a paranormal experience with a poltergeist while he is on night shift at a hospital. As he is wheeling a gurney with a dead older man to the morgue, the old man rises up from the body bag and is screaming in anguish. Later on, the Special Constable responds to an alarm in an old nurse’s ward, when an entity (the old man) desperately tries to communicate with him by opening and closing a set of doors violently, accompanied by flashing lights.

Connection:
This video connects with the reason for belief Agenticity. As the Special Constable is wheeling a gurney with a dead older man to the morgue, the old man rises up from the body bag and is screaming in anguish. Later on, the Special Constable responds to an alarm in an old nurse’s ward, when an entity (the old man) desperately tries to communicate with him by opening and closing a set of doors violently, accompanied by flashing lights. Critical Thinking is applied by investigators to explain why the spirit of older man was causing a disturbance. It is thought that the older man had unfinished business in his life and wasn’t ready to pass on thereby creating a disturbance to get attention and communicate with the living. While this was the Special Constable’s first experience with a poltergeist, the hospital is known to have the dead trying to communicate with the living.

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Episode aired Jan 11, 2019

TV-PG

42m

A Special Constable working the nightshift is called to investigate an alarm in an old nurse's ward. There he meets an entity that's desperate to communicate with him...it's his first encoun... A Special Constable working the nightshift is called to investigate an alarm in an old nurse's ward. There he meets an entity that's desperate to communicate with him...it's his first encounter in the facility, and it is not his last. A government investigator, who works violent ... A Special Constable working the nightshift is called to investigate an alarm in an old nurse's ward. There he meets an entity that's desperate to communicate with him...it's his first encounter in the facility, and it is not his last. A government investigator, who works violent and suspicious death cases, is tormented by disembodied voices along with the spirit of ch... Read all Read all Read all

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"Haunted Hospitals" Body and Spirit, Giving Voice to the Dead, Grandfather's Goodbye (TV Episode 2019) - IMDb

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Body and Spirit, Giving Voice to the Dead, Grandfather's Goodbye: Directed by Dan Hawkes, Michael Allcock. With David Bacque, Charline Cleaver, Geoff Cork, Áine Davis. A Special Constable working the nightshift is called to investigate an alarm in an old nurse's ward.

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Description:

This website describes an experience of communication with a poltergeist. A group of individuals met up at an after-school club and performed a seance in an attempt to contact a spirit. The group witnesses a horrifying experience of an occurrence of a poltergeist spirit.

Connection:
This website connects with the reason for belief Unexplained. In the article, the author is fascinated as to whether ghosts exist. The author claims he has already seen a ghost at a haunted location and has been on a haunted walk where he has seen evidence of a haunting. He took his fascination with ghosts further when attending an after-school club where he and his friends performed a seance. The after-school club was held on church grounds that also contained a cemetery where the seance led to an encounter with a ghost. During the seance, the group reported experiencing a drop in temperature, lights flickering, tapping on the shoulder, door shutting, the door leading to the cemetery shaking, someone getting pushed to the floor, and someone getting thrown across the room. The author believes in ghosts and he is confronted with the unexplained and he attempts to make sense of it by believing it is a poltergeist. The group perceived this experience as confirmation that they had contacted a spirit and witnessed a poltergeist occurrence. Critical Thinking is applied to the author's experience of a poltergeist occurrence to determine that poltergeist spirits do exist.

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You are here: Real Ghost Stories :: Poltergeists / Physical Manifestations :: Communicated With A Poltergeist

I've always had a fascination with ghosts. Why they're here. Why they won't move on. Whether they exist. I have visited several haunted locations in Britain including Dover Castle (where I saw my first ghost which I will speak about some other time) and Tower of London (no contact). I have also been on a ghost walk. When I see evidence of a haunting, I try to make contact.

My fascination took me down a dark road a few years ago. I went to this after-school club every evening as my parents didn't finish work until late. The club was on the same grounds as a church so there was a cemetery. This club will probably be a centre of many of my stories as I have had several encounters here including witnessing apparitions and a local urban legend that may in fact be real.

This was one of my scariest though. There was this coat room at the back of the hall where the club was held. If the light was off, it was pitch black and if you opened the fire exit door in there it lead to the cemetery. My friends and I decided to hold a sort of seance (no ouija boards - I hate those things) in the coat room. It started out us just messing about laughing. We were getting ready to give up and just tell stories when something happened.

The temperature in the room dropped. The room was always cold - but this was like outdoor winter temperature. Then the light started flickering (sorry if this sounds cliche but this is what happened).

People in the room started saying something was tapping them on the shoulder and then the door shut (we weren't allowed to fully close the door). The door that lead to the cemetary started shaking and people were freaking out.

I'm trying to remain calm (as you may know this isn't my first encounter) but I'm unsure. Everyone works together to try and open the door and we eventually get it open and I thought that it was over. Then someone just got pushed on the floor - by this poltergeist we had came in contact with. I'm freaking out now and so is everyone else.

I tell the spirit to leave and it has no business here and next thing I know I've been thrown across the room. Some people thought I jumped of course (can't blame them). My friends were screaming and I was praying at this point (this lightened the mood - all my friends were atheist) - but after I prayed, it stopped.

Might not sound like much but it was the scariest day of my life and I've not tried to conduct a seance ever since.

Has anything similar happened to anyone? I don't really tell many people because they think I'm crazy or lying but me and 4 other people experienced this.

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Communicated With A Poltergeist from Your Ghost Stories

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You are here: Real Ghost Stories :: Poltergeists / Physical Manifestations :: Communicated With A Poltergeist I've always had a fascination with ghosts. Why they're here. Why they won't move on. Whether they exist. I have visited several haunted locations in Britain including Dover Castle (where I saw my first ghost which I will speak about some other time) and Tower of London (no contact).

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This website has articles on a wide range of paranormal topics and stories. The article I choose specifically is about the 8 stages of poltergeist hauntings.

Connection:
This website connects with the reason for belief Ideology. As this website only publishes articles that align with the belief that poltergeists/other paranormal beings are real. This article goes through the 8 stages of poltergeist hauntings. Starting with Beginnings this stage is associated with faint sounds like scratching noises and are usually only heard at night. The second stage is Noise. The noises are now harder to ignore and they resemble knocking on wood or glass, activity is heard during daylight hours. The third stage is Moving Objects. This stage might start at the same time as stage two and can include stone-throwing or objects disappearing and reappearing. It’s rare to see the object move. The fourth stage is Apports and Disapports where an object appears out of nowhere (apport) and an object disappears (disapport) these activities are rare but have been reported. The fifth stage is Communication. This can be in the form of knocking once for no and twice for yes. Speech can also occur, usually starting with whistles, slurps, growls, etc. The speech can evolve into regular speech in the way we talk. The sixth stage is Climax, which is the height of activity. It can take several hours or days with the poltergeist saying it's going to leave soon. However, unlike their previous claims, this is generally true. The seventh stage is Decline where the poltergeist will lose its abilities in reverse and gradually become weaker. The last and eighth stage is Endings where all activity ends with the departure of the entity. Critical Thinking is applied to this as these stages have been created and supported by the evidence experienced in different non-connected cases.

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The eight stages of a poltergeist haunting has been taken from Rupert Mathews' book Poltergeists. For anyone interested, Mathews' book is well researched and a great read. He covers the many different characteristics of what we would now consider to be the classic poltergeist haunting. Mathews does not necessarily subscribe to the common poltergeist theories of ghosts or psychokinesis, but instead offers many other possible explanations such as fraud or misidentification. Within the book, Mathews covers historic and modern cases, investigations and scientific experiments, as well as famous early mediums and fraudsters. Mathews concludes there are generally eight stages to an "idealized poltergeist visitation" or haunting where fraud has not been detected:
Stage One: Beginnings
The activity usually begins with faintly registered sounds. This is usually a scratching noise, which may be disregarded as being made by rodents or to be the sounds of water pipes. These noises are usually only heard at night.
Stage Two: Noises
These sounds will then become harder to ignore. These noises resemble knuckles knocking on wood or other objects such as glass. Sometimes, very loud cracking or unexplained banging noises are heard but this is less likely. Objects can sometimes be felt to vibrate. At this stage the activity may also be heard during daylight hours.
Stage Three: Moving Objects
Mathews does state that sometimes Stage Three begins at the same time as Stage Two. Objects may be moved inexplicably. Stone throwing, or lithobolia, is very common. Objects may disappear and reappear. This activity usually focuses around a certain type of object such as a specific ornament or keys. It's rare to actually see the item be moved. Items may be hot to the touch immediately thereafter.
Stage Four: Apports and Disapports
When an object appears from out of nowhere it's called an apport. When an object disappears "into oblivion" it is called a disapport. These types of activities are extremely rare but have been reported.
Stage Five: Communication
In some cases communication is established through a code of knocks. This may be two knocks indicating a "yes" and one knock indicating a "no" or some other established pattern. Sometimes speech is achieved. In almost all of these cases there seems to be a gradual process which starts with whistles, slurps, growls and so on. At first, mutterings or distant voices will be heard. Next, the voice will be said to sound robotic. Finally, witnesses will claim regular speech is achieved. The poltergeist will then be able to speak as a normal person and will begin to make statements. Claims by the poltergeist about their identity are usually grande. They may claim to have been a murderer, a victim, a suicide, or even a famous person. When claims are checked out they will usually be determined to be false. According to Mathews, it is rare for a poltergeist to have knowledge of events outside of what is widely known within the community. Mathews does not mention this, but it is interesting that many claimed spirit-contacts through a Ouija board also share these same characteristics of deceit[i].
Stage Six: Climax
The poltergeist activity will suddenly increase to a point it had never reached before. This may last several hours or several days. If the poltergeist can talk it may state that it's going to be leaving soon. Unlike previous claims, however, this will generally turn out to be true.
Stage Seven: Decline
According to Mathews, "the decline is almost always much shorter than the build-up." The poltergeist will lose its abilities in reverse and gradually become weaker.
Stage Eight: Endings
The activity may slowly skip to an end. Sometimes, this poltergeist activity will reach a dramatic conclusion. In many cases, exorcisms or blessings may prematurely kill the activity. Sometimes, the focus person leaving the premise may cause the activity to cease.
Other Features
The "idealized" poltergeist haunting will usually have a focus person. According to Mathews, this focus person is usually a teenage female but may be of any age or gender. Some investigators believe that this poltergeist activity will center around one person but this is not always the case. Mathews also states that, "it is often said that focus people are usually in a stressful situation of some kind." Examples given within the book are a divorce and an attempted rape.

Also of note, poltergeists sometimes manifest physically. This apparition may be smoky or misty. Sometimes it will take on a human form. Sometimes the apparition may appear very strange such as in an animal or part animal form. Wet spots may also manifest which smell like urine. Sometimes this manifestation can be seen as it is occurring and seems to come out of nowhere.

Witnesses will sometimes claim to have been harmed by the poltergeist entity. Scratches and bite marks are often reported to have appeared on the person's skin without explanation. In some cases, animals will perish. Fires will sometimes start in the home inexplicably. In the Bell Witch case the poltergeist claimed to have killed Jack Bell. In one case - which is not in Mathews book - a woman named Doris Bither claimed to have been raped by a poltergeist. Witnesses later supported her claim. The Bithers' poltergeist account and investigation was made into the 1981 movie 'the Entity' starring Barbara Hershey. For the full interview of Doris Bither's surviving son please go to: ghost theory

It's important to note that the poltergeist distinction is not as clear as many imagine. The characteristics of these hauntings often share many similarities with conventional hauntings. The word poltergeist basically means "noisy ghost" but has come to represent a specific idealized type of haunting. Many individuals separate poltergeists from traditional ghosts because they believe that the spirits of the deceased causes other types of hauntings and there are psychic explanations for poltergeist activity. One early theory was that poltergeist activity was caused by uncontrolled female teenage sexual energy, an unfounded belief that persists to this day.

[i] For more on the apparent deceptive nature of spirits consider reading Hungry Ghosts by Joe Fisher 1991, which is a very interesting study.

The Poltergeist is a "noisy" spirit who makes knocking sounds & throws items around. Early parapsychologists claimed these types of hauntings were caused by uncontrolled female teenage sexual energy. An unfounded belief that persists to this day #FolkloreThursday (1911 magazine) pic.twitter.com/zRjXMP2afx

- Shanon Sinn (@ShanonSinn) July 12, 2018

@ShanonSinn I read your article "Eight Stages of Poltergeist Haunting" Do you help with these things? Or do you know someone?

- David (@davidmatine77) June 8, 2018

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The Eight Stages of a Poltergeist Haunting - Living Library

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The eight stages of a poltergeist haunting has been taken from Rupert Mathews' book Poltergeists . For anyone interested, Mathews' book is well researched and a great read. He covers the many different characteristics of what we would now consider to be the classic poltergeist haunting.

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Description:

This website, called haunted rooms, showcases four true stories of people who have experienced the disturbing and aggressive actions poltergeists inflict on their chosen victims. It mentions levitation, problems with electricity and odd odours occurring as well.

Connection:
This website connects with the reason for belief Unexplained. It discusses how encounters with poltergeists are terrifying and violent. It describes how people have been scratched, bruised, bitten and strangled by these threatening entities. The first true story, Greyfriars, involves a homeless man in Scotland, who found shelter in the gravesite of Bluidy McKenzie, a man who killed 18,000 men. After the homeless man is witnessed fleeing the tomb, there was a significant amount of poltergeist activity where people were injured, and in some cases had broken bones. Critical Thinking is applied in distinguishing ghosts from poltergeists. The main difference between these entities is the way poltergeists haunt their victims by inflicting harm on them.

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Poltergeists are some of the most disruptive spirits you'll ever come across. In fact, a poltergeist is the German term for "noisy ghost", which is quite an apt translation. There are numerous poltergeist stories in folklore and film and they're well known as being some of the noisiest, most violent ghosts around, and if you're unlucky enough to encounter one it'll be something you'll remember forever. Although we're not yet sure if poltergeists are the same as ghosts, or whether they're demons, or something else completely, one thing is for sure - they are one manifestation you want to steer clear of.

What Are Poltergeists?

Typically, activity around poltergeists centres around individuals that are mostly around the age of puberty. They're usually focused on one individual rather than a family, although the events do of course affect the entire household. To begin with, poltergeist hauntings may seem similar to regular hauntings, but what sets them apart is the violent and aggressive nature of the haunt. Real poltergeist activity tends to include violence against the individuals in the house, and poltergeists have been known to inflict scratches, bites and even strangulation injuries on their victims. Levitation, electrical problems and strange smells have also occurred.

The Enfield Haunting House we already wrote about, but here are 4 more real poltergeist stories that you may not have heard of.

Are Poltergeists Real? Here are 4 Real Poltergeist Stories

1. Greyfriars

Although poltergeist activity tends to centre on a home or on an individual within that home, poltergeists can also get "stuck" in one place. One of the most notorious poltergeist stories is that of Greyfriars Cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland. This real-life poltergeist encounter is all down to so-called Bluidy Mckenzie, a man responsible for the death of 18,000 men who were opponents of Charles the II earning him the bloody nickname.

One of the first reported encounters of poltergeist activity in the cemetery occurred in 1999, when a man disturbed the coffin of Mckenzie to find shelter. The homeless man ended up in the tomb during a stormy night, and Mckenzie's coffin collapsed. The homeless man quickly bolted, terrifying a man walking his dog through the cemetery - seeing a man fleeing from a tomb covered in dust.

It seems that that encounter awoke something in the tomb, because since then, there have been numerous reports of poltergeist activity in the area and at one stage, the cemetery ended up closing to public visits. A ghost tour was set up so that members of the public could enjoy this poltergeist true story for themselves, and since then, more than 170 people have apparently passed out or collapsed during the tour. More than 350 visitors have been attacked and numerous injuries including broken bones have been reported.

2. Indianapolis Poltergeist

Another of our favourite true poltergeist stories is that of the Indianapolis poltergeist. In the 1960S, the three Beck women lived together, including Linda, who was the teenage daughter.

There was much stress and strife in the house, which poltergeists seem to feed on - the more stress, the more activity. Things started off relatively benignly, with a beer mug moving of its own accord. Soon, an ornament moved and smashed to the ground while all three women were on a different floor of the house, and they decided they'd be better off spending the night elsewhere. When they returned and were running errands in the upstairs of the home, they heard crashes and noises downstairs, only to discover glassware and crockery smashing to the ground. The police and paranormal experts were called and although the paranormal expert was bruised during his visit to the home, no source could be found for the activity. The women in the house were covered in scratches and bruises, and although Linda's mum was eventually arrested for throwing some stuff around the house - it seems much of the activity still has no explanation.

3. The Thornton Heath Case

The Thornton Heath poltergeist is one of those real-life poltergeist stories that send shivers up your spine when you read about it. It's less well-known than the Enfield case, although it's just as spooky. In the late 70s, a poltergeist tormented the family for nearly four years, answering the question, "do poltergeists exist?" very succinctly for the individuals in the house. A clock radio turned on in the middle of the night, kick-starting events, and at Christmas, the tree shook. Ornaments were flung around the room and their son woke up in the middle of the night to find an old man in his room after hearing footsteps throughout the house. Bangs and crashes were heard, but on many occasions, nothing was disturbed. Eventually, after consulting a medium, it was found that the man seen in the bedroom was called Chatterton, who thought of the family living in the house as trespassers. The activity in the house occurred as a way to get the family out. Chatterton's wife was even seen in the house too. Luckily, when the family left the house after four short years, the poltergeist activity stopped with them and nothing has been reported since.

4. Jaboticabal

An infamous true poltergeist story to come out of Jaboticabal, Brazil is that of Maria, who was subject to a poltergeist attack back in the 1960s. Rocks and stones were thrown at her and on many occasions, these rocks were a great weight, up to nearly 9kg on one occasion. They were also magnetic, and had other odd properties. Soon, rocks stopped being thrown, and her furniture was instead thrown around. Maria was also attacked, and viciously so - slapped, bitten, beaten and more, she even had needles inserted into her skin by an unseen entity, embedded so deep within the skin they had to be removed by a doctor. The poltergeist tried to suffocate her in her sleep, and her clothing even caught fire. Eventually, after Maria went to see a medium, it was found that she was subject to these attacks because of her actions in a previous life. It was thought that Maria had been a witch - but a bad witch, and that she was being attacked by a spirit that she'd tormented in her previous life. Maria sadly committed suicide at age 16 to put an end to the activity.

Conclusion

Although these real poltergeist stories are more than just a little bit spooky - in fact, some of them are downright terrifying - we know that the vast number of poltergeist hauntings and famous poltergeist cases reported suggest that they are definitely more than just a story. Poltergeist evidence is something that you can see and that you can feel, and because poltergeists can actually inflict injuries it makes these hauntings all the more scary.

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Real Poltergeist Stories - 4 Scary Real Life Poltergeist Cases | Haunted Rooms®

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Poltergeists are some of the most disruptive spirits you'll ever come across. In fact, a poltergeist is the German term for "noisy ghost", which is quite an apt translation. There are numerous poltergeist stories in folklore and film and they're well known as being some of the noisiest, most violent ghosts around, and if you're [...]

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Description:

In this picture, Tangina Barrons is a clairvoyant and a psychic/medium who sees ghosts. She helps people that are haunted by poltergeists.

Connection:
This picture connects with the red flag Mystical Energy. Tangina Barrons is a professional ghost hunter and can identify when poltergeists are present. She senses the negative energy from the angry poltergeists that have not moved on. She tells the parents to call out to their lost daughter in the poltergeist realm. She senses where the negative energy is concentrated in a hot spot and uses that as a way to find the daughter. The watchlist item Often Appeals to Emotion applies to finding the daughter in the poltergeist realm. Barrons uses the emotional connections of the parents to call out their daughter's name to find her as they are very vulnerable and desperate to get her back. The parents were a little hesitant at first to call their daughters name but their emotions overwhelmed their reluctance which trumped rational thought.

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Poltergeist at 40

Zelda Rubinstein's Eccentric Psychic Dominates

First haunting screens in 1982 with its tight plot and original scares, Poltergeist quickly became a classic of supernatural horror. While it is most associated with Steven Spielberg (as a writer, producer, and disputed creative collaborator with Tobe Hooper), the film also jumpstarted the careers of many of its actors, even casting them in multiple sequels.

However, the star performance of the film is that of Zelda Rubinstein as the medium, Tangina. From her first appearance to her last, her presence holds the attention as much as any ghost sighting. Despite her short stature and soft voice, she dominates the screen.

Poltergeist follows the Freeling family as their house becomes the target for a number of hauntings, labelled by a local parapsychologist (played by Beatrice Straight) as the work of a Poltergeist. Beginning with moving chairs, bent cutlery, and TV static, the ghostly happenings at first seem harmless - even striking a sense of excited fascination, rather than horror, in the family.

Yet, things quickly turn for the worse. During a horrific storm, a possessed tree grabs one of the children and tries to consume it alive, while the daughter (Heather O'Rourke) is sucked into the spirit realm through her glowing closet. When the parapsychologist quickly becomes overwhelmed by the frequency and power of the hauntings, she calls in a medium, known for curing other houses of ghostly infections.

Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Enter Tangina: huge aviator sunglasses, high-domed hairstyle, short in stature, patrolling the house with a particular assertiveness and control that has been lacking in other characters. Spielberg stated that the role was written for a short actress, specifically as he "thought it would be neat to show that someone's size has nothing to do with her psychic powers." Rubinstein was an advocate for the treatment of little people (her preferred term) on-screen as well as off, herself having a deficiency of the anterior pituitary gland leading to a lack of growth hormone. Poltergeist immediately imbues her character with potency and control, at the very centre of her key scenes. It is a landmark film for the representation of those with restricted growth and does not devolve into stereotypes.

After being introduced, there follows one of the film's most memorable scenes: a chilling expository monologue where she tells the family and parapsychologists about the spirits circling the house. Her voice is soft, almost whispering and child-like, giving her speech that much more weight. We hang on to her every word, just as the listening family does, as she slowly relays the information with such care and compassion.

When she must tell of the evil presence that has taken their daughter, the tone changes, she crouches in close, lowers her voice, and holds eye contact. We hold with bated breath until she names the demonic presence itself: The Beast. While the scene is pure exposition (usually taboo in the 'show don't tell' screenwriting mantra), Rubinstein's performance turns glitter into cinematic gold.

Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Her work in coaching the family through their trial is equally compelling, helping them retrieve their daughter with her calm, yet assertive, mannerisms. A surprisingly striking shot shows her standing, alone, before the open closet, bright blue light shooting out from the door in a particularly Spielbergian sequence.

Zelda Rubinstein would later portray other psychic characters, starring in two Poltergeist sequels, as well as in shows such as Jennifer Slept Here. Her voice work also followed in narrating Scariest Places on Earth, as well as even promoting Skittles candy. An iconic, yet underappreciated, actress, her work in Poltergeist can safely be considered one of the greatest cinematic psychics ever to grace our screens.

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Poltergeist: Celebrating Zelda Rubinstein, the Greatest Movie Medium

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Poltergeist at 40 First haunting screens in 1982 with its tight plot and original scares, Poltergeist quickly became a classic of supernatural horror. While it is most associated with Steven Spielberg (as a writer, producer, and disputed creative collaborator with Tobe Hooper), the film also jumpstarted the careers of many of its actors, even casting them in multiple sequels.

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Description:
This is a photo of an SLS camera. Structure Light Sensor or SLS is a ghost-hunting device that can recognize and highlight human figures in the image it captures. The software detects people by detecting limbs and movement. Everything caught on the camera is in real-time and any figures seen are highlighted by a stick figure tracking the movements of the body and limbs. The main idea is that it detects human figures and human-shaped paranormal entities that are invisible to the human eye.

Connection:
This photo connects to the reason for belief Patternicity. This device is able to create a grid using infrared lights that catch any human-like figure. The SLS camera is able to replicate outcomes and produce results in real time of its use. A stick figure is used to show a figure that is otherwise invisible to the human eye. The pattern here is that the camera can pick up these figures in the darkness and display them on a tablet for the user to assess.

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The picture I chose is from a website called The Most Famous Ghost Photographs Ever Taken and is called A Demonic Spirit on a Hospital Bed.

Connection:
This picture connects with the reason for belief Unexplained. It was captured by a CCTV camera in the hospital. Shortly after this picture was captured, the patient was trampled by the poltergeist and passed away. Critical Thinking is applied by determining that the death of the patient was likely caused by the entity.

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Demon over patient's bed, patient died hours later...

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184 votes, 87 comments. 14.7m members in the creepy community. All things Creepy!

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Demon over patient's bed, patient died hours later...
by u/TexasRangers29 in creepy

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1. Before this assignment we didn’t know that there were different classifications of ghosts and that poltergeists are the ones that cause chaos and physically manifest. A ghost is known as a haunting while a poltergeist is known as a disturbance.

2. This topic is relevant to us because we grew up watching horror movies and ghost investigation shows that make us more inclined to believe. Researching this topic was interesting for us because it allowed us to learn new information about poltergeists.

3. We found the classification and stages of a haunting the most interesting. We found it interesting because before this we did not know that there were different kinds of ghosts and that there were specific stages to a haunting of a poltergeist. The stages that we researched were described as “idealized poltergeist visitation”. We also found it interesting the process of capturing a poltergeist on video. They don't use a normal camera, they use a special camera that recognizes human-like forms that are invisible to the human eye.

4. From our research, we are most likely to remember that emotions play a major role in convincing people to believe in the existence of poltergeists. When confronted with physical disturbances, people try to explain them by claiming that they are caused by poltergeists.

5.  We think that Ideology is the most harmful reason for belief. We believe this because an individual’s personal belief can be used to justify any thought/action. One’s ideology makes up their goals, expectations, and actions. This can be dangerous as someone who is so stuck in their way of thinking believes that what they do is for the greater good or for their own benefit. An example of this is some religions not allowing their followers blood transfusions that should be life-saving. Another example is extremist groups. We think that the least harmful reason for belief is Patternicity. We believe this because it is a part of our “natural survival instinct.” Compared to the other reasons for beliefs this one seems the least harmful.

6. We believe that the most important piece of knowledge to pass on to family/friends is to go in with an open mindset/no expectations. Also that you shouldn’t believe everything you hear or see and that there could be a logical explanation for their experience.

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Haunted cemeteries that are also world's prominent tourist attractions

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The first thought that lingers in mind at the mention of the word cemetery is a cold and creepy place, probably not suitable for a night visit! Over the years, there are cemeteries across the globe that have gained negative publicity for being home to unsatisfied spirits and otherworldly beings (read ghosts).Come let's find out some of the world's most haunted cemeteries, stories of which will definitely give you sleepless nights!