Editing Poltergeist (section)

===Hoax===
{{Paranormal}}Many claims have been made that poltergeist activity explains strange events (including those by modern self-styled ghost hunters), however, their evidence has so far not stood up to scrutiny.<ref>Aliens, Ghosts, and Cults: Legends We Live. Bill Ellis. 2001</ref> Many claimed poltergeist events have been proven upon investigation to be [[hoax]]es.<ref>[[Terence Hines|Hines, Terence]]. (2003). ''Pseudoscience and the Paranormal''. Prometheus Books. p. 98. {{ISBN|978-1573929790}}</ref>

[[Psychic]]al researcher [[Frank Podmore]] proposed the 'naughty little girl' theory for poltergeist cases (many of which have seemed to centre on an adolescent, usually a girl).<ref name= "Hall 1958">[[Eric Dingwall|Dingwall, John]]; [[Trevor H. Hall|Hall, Trevor H]]. (1958). ''Four Modern Ghosts''. Duckworth. pp. 13–14</ref> He found that the centre of the disturbance was often a child who was throwing objects around to fool or scare people for attention.<ref name= "Hall 1958"/><ref>[[Arthur Goldstuck|Goldstuck, Arthur]]. ''The Ghost that Closed Down the Town: The Story of the Haunting of South Africa''. Penguin Books. p. 275. {{ISBN|978-0143025054}} "Podmore advanced a 'naughty little girl' theory, suggesting that trickery accounted for nearly all poltergeist manifestations, and that the girls and boys who so often seemed to be the victims of poltergeists were actually pulling the strings."</ref> Skeptical investigator [[Joe Nickell]] says that claimed poltergeist incidents typically originate from "an individual who is motivated to cause mischief".<ref name="Nickell2012">{{cite book|author=Joe Nickell|author-link=Joe Nickell|title=The Science of Ghosts: Searching for Spirits of the Dead|url=https://archive.org/details/scienceofghostss0000nick|url-access=registration|date=3 July 2012|publisher=Prometheus Books|isbn=978-1-61614-586-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/scienceofghostss0000nick/page/283 283]–}}</ref> According to Nickell:

<blockquote>In the typical poltergeist outbreak, small objects are hurled through the air by unseen forces, furniture is overturned, or other disturbances occur—usually just what could be accomplished by a juvenile trickster determined to plague credulous adults.</blockquote>

Nickell writes that reports are often exaggerated by credulous witnesses.<ref name=NickellCSI>{{cite web|last=Nickell|first=Joe|author-link=Joe Nickell|title=Enfield Poltergeist, Investigative Files|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/enfield_poltergeist|work=August 2012|date=July 2012 |publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|access-date=3 December 2013}}</ref>

<blockquote>Time and time again in other "poltergeist" outbreaks, witnesses have reported an object leaping from its resting place supposedly on its own, when it is likely that the perpetrator had secretly obtained the object sometime earlier and waited for an opportunity to fling it, even from outside the room—thus supposedly proving he or she was innocent.</blockquote>

Unsubstantiated claims:
* [[Stockwell ghost]] (1772) - since 1825<ref>[[William Hone|Hone, William]]. (1878 edition, originally published 1825). [https://archive.org/stream/everydaybookorgu01hone#page/30/mode/2up ''The Every Day Book'']. London: William Tegg. pp. 31-35</ref>
* [[Ballechin House]] (1876)
* The [[Enfield poltergeist claim]] (1977) - [[John Beloff]], a former president of the [[Society for Psychical Research]] and [[Anita Gregory]] concluded that the claimants were playing tricks on the investigators.<ref>Clarkson, Michael (4 February 2006). Poltergeists: Examining Mysteries of the Paranormal. Firefly Books. p. 135. ISBN 978-1554071593. "Anita Gregory, of the Society for Psychical Research, who had spent just a short time at the Hodgson home, said the mysterious men's voices were simply the result of Janet and Margaret putting bed sheets to their mouths. In addition Gregory said that a video camera had caught Janet attempting to bend spoons and an iron bar by force and 'practising' levitation by bouncing up and down on her bed."</ref>
* [[Columbus poltergeist case]] (1984)