Thornton Heath Poltergeist
The Thornton Heath Poltergeist is a case involving a house in London haunted by a most unusual Poltergeist in 1938. The poltergeist activity was centred on Mrs. Forbes, the mistress of Thornton Heath, who was described by an investigator, Nandor Fodor, as suffering from “poltergeist psychosis.” Fodor asserted that the psychosis was an episodic mental disturbance of schizophrenic character, and that Mrs. Forbes’ unconscious mind was responsible for the activities finally determined to be fraudulent. Fodor eventually identified the cause as sexual trauma that had occurred in Mrs. Forbes’s childhood, and had been repressed.
The full story, however, was not told until 1945 when Fodor, director of research of the International Institute for Psychical Research, gave a lecture at the Association for the Advancement of Psychotherapy and published it in the Journal of Clinical Psychopathology.
The delay was the result of public and professional criticism directed at Fodor as a result of his emphasis on the psychological aspects of the case. Matters became so intolerable to Fodor that he successfully sued some of his critics for libel. Eventually, however, Fodor was vindicated by winning recognition for his theory.
Mrs. Forbes, a woman of 35 years, lived at Thornton Heath with her husband and son. From his very first day of observation, Fodor entertained the notion that Mrs. Forbes could be causing the activities by normal means, despite her visible signs of distress in reaction to the activities, and his lack of proof.
At first, Fodor was the sole eyewitness to the many poltergeist incidents taking place in the house. He suggested that Mrs. Forbes should be studied at the Institute where he and his colleagues would keep an eye on her. Precautions included having her undress for a body check and having her wear special clothes for easy viewing of any sleight-of-hand tricks.
But the perplexing incidents continued at the Institute. Dishes floated and crashed to the floor, glasses flew out of Mrs. Forbes’s hand, objects from Thornton Heath mysteriously appeared in the Institute (10 miles away) and clattered to the floor. Objects suddenly appeared in Mrs. Forbes’s hand or inside a box.
At the same time as he was gathering evidence of the poltergeist activities, Fodor was investigating Mrs. Forbes’s psychological background. He found enough material to conclude that she was a neurotic with a disorganized psyche. Her past was replete with incidents of hysterical reactions and a dissociated personality which included hearing voices, having visions and signs of lapsing unconsciousness.
Mrs. Forbes was even believed to be bent on self-punishment, and she revealed physical signs of her self-destructive attempts. One alleged experience with an apparition at Thornton Heath that tried to strangle her with a necklace left her with burnlike marks on her neck. Another time she reportedly was clawed by a phantom tiger which left five long weals on her arms. Still another time she claimed that a VAMPIRE had visited her during the night, bit her, and left two puncture marks on her neck.
Fodor and other eyewitnesses at the Institute watched Mrs. Forbes as she appeared to be choked by some unseen hand which also left marks on her neck. Fodor explained this phenomenon as Mrs. Forbes intensely wishing the death of a man she saw in a vision. In her imagination she identified so strongly with him that she had him hanged in her own body.
But Fodor was certain that Mrs. Forbes was using trickery, hiding objects in her clothing that she would quickly retrieve while seeking to distract her observers with another activity. Once Fodor requested that she be stripped in daylight so that she could be examined for secreting these small objects that seemingly appeared from nowhere and fell to the floor.
Nothing was revealed, but Fodor knew that no proper conclusions could be made without either a medical or X-ray examination. Initially objecting and then agreeing, Mrs. Forbes had the X-ray and thereby proved Fodor to be correct. Two small objects were seen to be held under Mrs. Forbes’s left breast. They later appeared in her hands after she had allegedly collapsed.
This event convinced Fodor that Mrs. Forbes was fabricating the hauntings. At the same time, she Demonstrated hysterical reactions, such as abdominal swelling, to being prevented from revealing the objects from their secret places under her clothing. Fodor further became convinced that Mrs. Forbes knew what she was doing and took a great deal of delight in fooling her observers.
Yet, he believed that such a case Demonstrated the need for a new departure in psychical research, one that sought to understand the mental processes that go before, or along with, such practices, no matter how fraudulent. In Fodor’s opinion, Mrs. Forbes’s choice of objects, her obvious signs of distress before she revealed them, and many of her monitory hallucinations, all pointed to the unconscious nature of her behaviour.
SEE ALSO:
FURTHER READING:
- Fodor, Nandor. On the Trail of the Poltergeist. New York: The Citadel Press, 1958.
SOURCE:
The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits– Written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley – September 1, 2007