Poltergeist Phenomenon - a compilation of different cases

[Pollux]

(originally posted by Ian)

The Seaford Poltergeist (Long Island, NY)
(inspiration for the Spielberg film Poltergeist, investigated also by parapsychologist William Roll and featured in his book The Poltergeist)



Mind on the Rampage? The Seaford Poltergeist

- J G Pratt -

THE YEAR 1958 began for me not unlike any number of others. I had recently accepted Dr. Rhine's suggestion that I should give up a project for the investigation of pigeon homing supported by a grant from the Office of Naval Research. Over a period of several years this work had involved me in field studies that kept me away from my desk a great deal of the time. To free myself from this pleasant duty, I transferred the pigeon-homing project to the Duke University Zoology Department, and I slipped quietly back into harness in the laboratory.

Then, early in February, a friend of the laboratory in the New York region sent us the first clipping about some household disturbances which had broken out in the James M. Herrmann home in Seaford, Long Island. These events involved the movement of household objects and other physical effects for which the observers who were on the scene could find no explanation. The mysterious occurrences appeared to center around the son, James, who was in early adolescence. Thus the disturbances fitted into the pattern of the typical "poltergeist" (mischievous spirit) of which there have been some hundreds of cases recorded throughout history. Several earlier cases had been investigated by experienced research workers with results that only made the mystery seem deeper and therefore more challenging and more worthy of continued study.

(The story Continues here)



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[Pollux]

The Cooneen Poltergeist
The Cooneen ghost is considered to be the most famous Irish ghost story in history

The story goes that a widow called Mrs. Murphy, her son and five daughters, all lived together in a house near Cooneen, County Fermanagh in the early part of the 20th Century.The family became plagued by a poltergeist shortly after Mrs Murphy's husband died in a freak accident. Paranormal events started to occur in the house, it began with the occasional knocking of the front door and when any member of the family would go to answer the door there would be nobody there.

The noises then became more frequent with knocking on all the doors and windows. Above the house was a room used as storage for hay. This room was only accessible by a stone staircase adjoined to the farmhouse and in the room heavy footsteps were often heard yet every time someone went to investigate there was nobody in the room.

Source

In 2010, Marion Goodfellow one of the UKs top spiritual mediums visited the house as part of the BBC series "Northern Ireland's Greatest Haunts".

[Pollux]

The Byron Street Poltergeist
This is the story of the Byron Street poltergeist in England, which haunted the occupants of number 1 Byron Street for over two months in 1952.

[Ninshub]

Here's another one:

The Black Monk of Pontefract (Yorkshire), 1966

Often called the most violent poltergeist, which had several witnesses.

This website has the rundown:

The poltergeist, later to become known as the Black Monk of Pontefract, began disturbing the Pritchard family in 1966 with a wide variety of paranormal activity. Water pools, lights turning off and on again, furniture overturning, pictures being slashed, objects flying or levitating, knocking sounds, objects disappearing and appearing again, foul smells, farmyard noises, heavy breathing sounds, sudden drops of temperature, and a mysterious black-robed figure, whose appearances became more and more frequent were all reported at the house.

The police, a local MP and the vicar were all witness to the extraordinary happenings which continued to plague the household, and all attempts to exorcise the presence were unsuccessful and met with mockery. (...)

The main target of the activity during the second phase seemed to be the daughter, Diane, who was often thrown from her bed, and, in one instance, was dragged up the stairs by her throat, by an invisible hand that left lacerations on her neck. Loud inexplicable crashing sounds were common, especially in the presence of outside company. Objects too went flying around the air and crashing, or dematerialising and then reappearing in a different location. Though on two occasions, exorcisms were attempted, these measures seemed only to agitate the situation. (...)

The physical manifestation of the poltergeist did not occur until quite late in the haunting. The figure first appeared to Joe and Jean Pritchard while they lay in bed. The two allegedly saw a black-cloaked figure hovering over their bed, but it soon dissipated. On a few subsequent occasions, other members of the family as well as visitors reported seeing a figure that looked like a monk, though no one ever glimpsed a face underneath the robes. Shortly after the physical manifestations of the monk appeared, the haunting abruptly ceased, never to occur again.

Richard Estep just put out a book about it last year, The Black Monk of Pontefract: The World's Most Violent and Relentless Poltergeist.

He's been interviewed very recently by the Paranormal Podcast (listen to it or download it before it disappears behind a paywall):
Here.

He was also on Coast to Coast, but think this is only an excerpt.

He was interviewed also on Mysteries and Monsters, but it covers several of the author's books.

Mysterious Universe also did a podcast about the topic.