While still acclaimed as a psychological genius and a saint to science Sigmund Freud was little more than a man making claims associated with sex and childhood trauma. What he did do however is give paranormal researchers a new tool to help with one of the most common problems facing paranormal researchers today, the poltergeist. Freud made use of the popular word association test. This test is designed to get to a person’s true thoughts and feelings by using words associated with an event or occurrence and relating the first thing that comes to the person’s mind. A researcher may speak the word dog and the person being questioned may return the word cat. This is a tool that helps doctors get to the root of certain problems.

The poltergeist in theory is no more than the subconscious mind creating activity through a process called Psyhcokinesis, or PK for short. Basically the mind controls the movement of objects or noises without ever being aware it is doing so. Test have shown almost everyone possesses some form of this ability by way of the paper spiral test, which I will touch down on in a later article. The person responsible for the poltergeist activity is known as the “agent”. This person usually is a youth entering into adolescence and often undergoing a stressful time in life such as a death in the family, bullies at school or even an inability to find someone to love. This stress bottles up and is released through acts such as noises and the breaking of objects.

Usually the agent has no awareness that it is them who are actually causing the haunting effect in their home. In most cases this is news that shocks all involved. Getting to the cause is a hard task that can take time. After finding the person most likely for the haunting effects we as researchers may be called upon to aid in the removal of such events. This is a task some may not feel qualified for and may seek out professional help by way of a certified psychiatrist or therapist who can better handle that situation but others may be able to handle it on their own. I myself have a very good background in those areas so I can actually give a pretty good assessment of the problem at hand as can DPRT crypto director Derek McGarey.

Let’s say you have the agent and you are ready to get to the root of the problem at hand. How do you do it? This is actually a simple task if you possess the right tools. You will need a sledgehammer, 1 large nail and a written waiver from the agent…. Just playing. You will actually need a few things. One: a pen and tablet of paper, which is vital. You will need a good working knowledge of the case and all activity recorded thus far, and of course the agent. Now we are ready to begin a closer look at how this method of word association can prove a most useful tool in our field.

First look at the case. What is happening? Are objects being moved about? If so what objects? These objects may prove to be the key that turns the lock to this case. Let’s use a glass for example. If glasses are the most frequent thing being moved than that is a good place to start with. Allow the agent to feel comfortable and relaxed before ever starting this exercise. Tell them that you want them to say the first thing that pops into their heads after you say a word or phrase. No matter how silly it sounds say it anyway. If glasses are frequent travelers in this case say the word glass, and you may even want to use words like cup, glasses, drink, and other words often associated with the term glass. Record in detail what the agent replies.

Now I am going to use a case a colleague worked some time back as an example for you to use. The case in question was one in which dishes and glasses were often thrown against a wall or seen falling off the shelve without explanation. Whispers were often heard. Also the water line in the kitchen would often burst and cause horrific leaks. These events always happened when the family mother, we will refer to her as Mrs. M, was present and never when she was not, thus leading the researchers to feel she was the agent. They allowed her to relax and rest and than began the process of word association. Below is a list of words given and words returned by the agent.

Researcher...............Agent
Glass.............................Dirty
Dish..............................messy
Plate.............................wash
Water.............................clean
Whisper..........................husband
Sink.............................promise
Refrigerator......................cool
Pipes.............................sink
Wet...............................dry
Moist.............................wet

Now you will notice sometimes opposites are the most common word replied. This info along with the rest (this is actually a very shortened down list) led researchers to question the husband and allow him access to the word association chart, which sparked a new piece of information. He had promised to buy a dishwasher for his wife but never got around to it. This led to many arguments and awkward situations about the house and ultimately to the poltergeist activity. Upon the installation of a new dishwasher the activity stopped and has since never returned.

I hope this will prove a helpful installment of my articles and will aid you in your research. Happy hunting!!!