The authors review the Brazilian literature on poltergeist phenomena, considering the historical and social context in which it was produced. It is necessary to understand the context in which specific Brazilian works were written in order to understand their contents. Brazilian poltergeist literature reflects the development of parapsychology in Brazil, which is marked by the defense of religious points of view in a war of words between Catholics and Spiritists. The study of poltergeists has special importance in this war of words because the Spiritists believe that these phenomena are the best evidence of the action of spirits in our world. On the other hand, Catholics interpret the phenomenon as the result of a psychopathological disturbance in the agent, a living human being, and propose a treatment for him or her. New researchers sustain a natural and psychodynamic explanation for the occurrences, but, even so, many of them still are influenced by the psychopathological approach.