The Secret History of Poltergeists & Haunted Houses: From Pagan Folklore to Modern Manifestations

Poltergeists, or rather, stories about them, serve as sort of black mirror. They reflect the culture around them, revealing biases, cultural assumptions, and taboos. Stories of ghosts can be found as far back as the classical world. The actions of poltergeists don't change much: they throw things and move things and slam doors and all that other paranormal activity. But how those events are interpreted changes. Medieval Christians held exorcisms, but by the Age of Enlightenment considered them to be hoaxes. Author Claude Lecouteux argues that the unexamined aspect of ghosts is the presence of a troubled adolescent. 

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