No, not that 80s movie that ripped off Nigel Kneale’s Minuke.
A poltergeist is a particular type of ghost distinguished by its noisiness. In fact, the word poltergeist is actually German for “noisy ghost.” As their name suggests, poltergeists make their presence known not by becoming visible but by making various noises such as knocks and bangs, moving things around, causing things to break and occasionally even launching attacks against living humans, though
these attacks rarely cause serious injury.
Unlike other ghosts, poltergeists are prone to becoming attached not to a particular location but to a specific person, usually a child or teenager and usually a female — bloody perverts! Because of this, a haunting by a poltergeist cannot be remedied by moving to another house as the spirit will simply follow the individual it has become fixated on. This unusual fact has led to an alternative explanation for poltergeist activity.
Rather than see this phenomenon as the doing of mischievous ghosts, some experts see it as a type of unconscious psychokinesis. The theory is that individuals who are going through some stress in their lives are acting out that inner conflict by using psychic abilities they are not aware of possessing. This may also explain why the phenomenon is most common seen amongst the young, as it is believed that psychic ability wanes as a person grows up.
