Abstract

Reports on a case of apparent poltergeist phenomena in a California business office. Disturbances included the unexplained malfunctioning of telephones and typewriters, breakage of coffee cups and glassware, and movement of heavy objects without apparent physical contact. Several events were observed under good conditions by reputable witnesses and had no obvious physical cause; other events could not be described with sufficient detail to exclude normal physical agency. The disturbances focused around a 19-yr-old male typist whose job and personal life placed him under unusual personal tensions. Personality tests, including the California Personality Inventory and the TAT, showed him to have tendencies that could have contributed to either normal or paranormal causation of the events (e.g., outward social conformity). The members of the office staff made up a family-like group that may also have played a role in the dynamics of the phenomena. It is concluded that some of the disturbances may have been the result of psychokinetic activity on the part of the typist, while others were probably caused by normal human agency.