Abstract

This paper explores why people report haunting and poltergeist outbreaks, which have been traditionally interpreted as direct and dramatic evidence of spirits. Deliberate deceit and psychopathology can explain some cases, but a more complex process is often at work. Synthesizing qualitative and quantitative research, we conclude that most reports do not offer evidence of survival, but rather represent the predictable human tendency to interpret ambiguous psychological and physical phenomena as paranormal due to contextual factors that influence normal processes underlying imagination, cognition, and personality. 1. Why Do People Experience Haunting and Poltergeist Outbreaks? -- 2. Insights from a Social Science Perspective -- 3. Modeling Poltergeist-Like Episodes as Delusions - 3.1 Contextual Variables - 3.2 Process Variables - 3.3 Exogenous Variables -- 4. Epilogue