The Legacy of the Sauchie Poltergeist

A PEG CASE FILE

© Brian Allan 2000

Word count: 6,437

Poltergeist- n [G, f poltern make a noise, create a disturbance + Geist ghost] A spirit believed to manifest itself by making noises and moving physical objects. © The Oxford Interactive Encyclopaedia

PROLOGUE

The chance mention in a local newspaper of a recent alleged case of poltergeist infestation gave me the opportunity to re-examine one of the most important cases in the annals of the paranormal research in Scotland: The Sauchie Poltergeist. The case of the Sauchie Poltergeist first came to light during early 1961 when young Virginia Campbell, who originated from the hamlet of Moville in Donegal, Ireland, became the focus of a unique and terrifying phenomenon. Virginia had travelled from Ireland with her mother Annie in the November of 1960 to live with her married older brother, and his wife and her mother in a council house at 19 Park Crescent in the small Clackmannanshire village of Sauchie. Little knowing what the fates had in store, her initial priorities, like any young girl, were getting to know the area and making new friends. Although there are no photographs available of her at this time, it is known that Virginia was a strikingly pretty girl, big for her age with blond hair and startlingly blue eyes.

When it began, the occurrences were quite mild, scratching noises, the odd bump or bang, although unsettling there was nothing that could not be attributed to natural events…or perhaps the family did want to face the alternative. Gradually, over a period of two weeks, the situation worsened until the disturbances became a daily occurrence, small items would disappear from one spot only to reappear elsewhere, ornaments were seen to move of their own accord, furniture would slide across the floor, doors would open at Virginia's approach and were difficult to close. Perhaps the most alarming incidents involved a large linen chest. At odd intervals, the heavy wooden lid of the chest slowly opened, remained upright for a few seconds then slammed violently closed. During this traumatic time it was a rare event for the occupants of the house to have an uninterrupted nights sleep. It quickly dawned on the worried relatives that the events only happened when their eleven-year-old niece Virginia was present in the house. Understandably, they were at a loss how to deal with the situation and called in their local GP, a Dr H.W. Nisbet, from the neighbouring village of Tillycoultry who could, other than check vital signs and prescribe mild tranquillisers, do absolutely nothing to help. Eventually, they sought assistance from the clergy, a Reverend T.W Lund who, although sympathetic, was unable to offer any real assistance other than to advise prayer.

Unfortunately, the bizarre events did not confine themselves to the family home, even at school Virginia was followed by the random movements and noises. Seated in the classroom during normal school lessons, the lids on surrounding desks would routinely open and close rapidly, flapping, banging and alarming her classmates and teacher. Although it was self evident that all was not well, Virginia's classmates showing the remarkable capacity of children to deal with change, gradually came to accept the odd happenings as a fact of life. As far as they were concerned, when they were in her company, things would sometimes move around. While this display of pragmatism by her friends was admirable, the effects on Virginia can only be guessed at. Fortunately, over a period of almost a year, the 'attacks' became less and less until they ceased entirely. Eventually Virginia and her family left the area and have not experienced any paranormal episodes since. Virginia who got married and was last heard of in the area of Sheffield, England, is now 51 years of and does not discuss what happened in 1960…ever!

THE 1994 RE-INVESTIGATION

The following account is based on first hand investigative work undertaken by Malcolm Robinson founder of SPI in 1994, and new evidence obtained from interviews in 2000 by SPI UK (Scotland) director Brian Allan

The local newspapers were first to cover the story, this extract from the now defunct Alloa Journal dated Dec. 2nd 1960 is typical, "Just over a week ago, strange things began to happen to Virginia. Heavy pieces of furniture were seen to move around when she entered a room, doors opened when she approached them and then were found difficult to shut. Worried and anxious, Virginia's brother asked the Rev. T.W. Lund to try and help and Dr. H.W. Nisbet of Tillycoultry the family's GP was called in. Both men have been greatly impressed with what they have been told and with what they themselves have seen".

"Their concern for the well being of Virginia and her family has increased during the past week because of the effect which gossip and publicity are having upon them. Before she came to Scotland, Virginia was very sad at the prospect of leaving behind her pet dog of which she was particularly fond, added to which, one of her friends died, both of these occurrences considerably upset her. One night when sitting on the edge of Virginia's bed, Mrs Campbell was roughly pushed off and as she watched, she saw the blankets and sheets rising and falling above Virginia whilst the child made little moaning noises like someone in pain." The paper goes on to explain that both the Rev. Lund and Dr. Nisbet refused to make any public statements regarding the case, the same, lengthy, article continues, "Mr. James Henderson of the Alloa Spiritualist Church said, 'In my opinion, this little girl has certain unusual psychic qualities and I am convinced that someone who has passed on is trying to communicate through her. I believe that a responsible medium should be taken to see the little girl, for such a person could certainly help her. The medium might be able to take over from Virginia by drawing the spirit to them, and reduce the pressure that is being applied from the other side, bringing her some relief. I am convinced that this little girl, if properly looked after spiritually, might be able to help hundreds of people, as did the late Helen Duncan". (Helen Duncan was a famous Scottish psychic medium that was arrested and charged with witchcraft during the Second World War). Her 'crime' was to channel information concerning a British warship that had been sunk before the Admiralty had released the news to the public. The 'Journal' goes on to report that Mr. Henderson's understanding of the events surrounding Virginia was endorsed Mr. James McNee of the Spiritualist National Church who said, "Happenings such as are taking place with this little girl are not nearly so unusual as many people think, and contrary to much popular opinion they are not necessarily evil in nature. Children are much more alive psychically than are adults and are often although unconsciously, real mediums. If much of what is called their 'blethers' (stories) was seriously examined, they would be discovered to contain communications from people who have passed on." The Journal also interviewed another doctor (unnamed but presumably a psychiatrist) who reportedly had experience in conditions such as Virginia's who commented, "The little girl's condition although remarkable, is not in any sense unnatural, and from the reports there does not appear to be anything evil threatening her. Her condition must be diagnosed scientifically, but with intense sympathy for her spiritual condition".

Another local paper, the 'Alloa Advertiser' which is still in print, quotes, "Dr. Nisbet said, "Virginia is not responsible for what has happened, the child is innocent. The child herself did not conjure up what has taken place an outside agent is responsible. Believe me, something unfortunate has been going on in that house. The girl was hysterical all the time the phenomena were appearing. We decided to try sedation; Virginia was given mild tranquillisers to quiet her. If the phenomena were being conjured by her own imagination, they would no longer appear if her brain were dulled. Even though here brain her brain was not working normally, the phenomena still appeared".

Following this incident, in an attempt to alleviate the situation, Virginia was moved to another house in the neighbouring town of Dollar, unfortunately, this did not improve matters, the phenomena followed her and she returned to the house in Sauchie. Not surprisingly, the story leaked out and the national press became aware of the situation. Soon, due to constant press attention, the Campbells were virtually prisoners in the house and their friends were likewise hounded for information. Despite their best efforts, Virginia's family were unable to fully shield her from the continuous pressure and the strain began to tell, meanwhile, the events intensified. The Alloa Journal of 16th Dec. 1960 reports, "Two Tillycoultry doctors used a tape recording of sound phenomena that had been heard during the 'psychic illness' *(my emphasis)*, of little Virginia Campbell, on the Scottish Home Service programme 'Scope on Tuesday'. The noises in themselves were not alarming, but the sound of a child screaming 'Mummy, Mummy'; at the sight of a linen basket opening by itself quickly caught the attention of the listeners. The doctors explained that this was typical of the phenomena in the household. Mr. MacDonald, Reverend of St. George's West Church, in Edinburgh, described the sights and sounds witnessed, and he considered that there were two possible explanations, but favoured the explanation that the phenomena were caused by some 'lower form of intelligence" The attitude of the Church of Scotland throughout this series of events was very non-committal and official comments from the general assembly were avoided. An official at the Kirk's Edinburgh headquarters said, "The girl is entirely in the care of her doctor and minister. Her whole future and mental stability will depend on peace and quiet. This is entirely a personal thing". Mr, J.W Stevenson, editor of the Kirk magazine 'Life and Work' when interviewed, recalled that he had been asked to visit the home of Baroness Kilbride at Fairmilehead in Edinburgh. There had been a variety of bizarre occurrences in her home ranging from doors mysteriously opening, strange noises and articles moving fro room to room. According to Mr. Stevenson, he and the Baroness prayed and the strange happenings ceased he viewed this as a simple case of prayers apparently being answered. When asked about exorcism, he replied, "In the Church of Scotland we do not use that word, although other denominations do". While this rather dismissive attitude was widespread it was not complete as the comments of the 81-year-old Rev. Thomas Jeffrey reveal. According to the Rev. "People scoff about stories of ghosts and spooks, but they have not really studied the subject. In the case of this little girl we have we have examples of well-known phenomena". Mr. Jeffrey drew a comparison with John Wesley the founder of Methodism who had similar experiences in his fathers' home. As with little Virginia doors would open at the approach of one of Wesley's sisters, strange noises disturbed the family during the night. The events continued until, in desperation Wesley's mother prayed for her daughter to be released from this 'torment'. The disturbances ceased. Mr. Jeffrey went on to quote biblical precedents "When the boy Samuel heard the voices, the old priest Eli did not, but he knew the boy had the gift from God". The Rev Jeffrey went on to offer some advice of the handling of the subject explaining, "Some sympathetic person who knows about these things should go and speak to the spirit, say what they are doing and command it to be quiet. Comments from another witness, the Rev. T.W. Young are interesting, according to Rev. Young, "On the Saturday, the vigil had been kept by Dr. Logan who went along and reported that he had heard knocking sounds and on the Sunday afternoon he took his dog along with him and as we know, sometimes dogs are more aware of psychic phenomena than human beings. Nothing happened on the afternoon although the girl was very interested in the dog, as she had a dog, Toby, in Ireland. She seemed to be missing the dog and there was also her friend Annie, she seemed to be missing her too. Well, at night I went along myself and at about half past eleven I found the girl was downstairs with her folks and I was told that she'd had what seemed to be a turn of hysteria. I must say that she was herself a quiet withdrawn sort of girl and not hysterical in any way. I wondered if this was some secondary emotional disturbance. They (her family) told me she'd been rolling about in bed her eyes wide open as if in a trance like state. She had been calling for her dog Toby and her friend Annie, intermittently she had been barking like a dog herself. They were so alarmed by this that they had brought her downstairs with them". At about this point, the girl went back to bed, the Rev Young reports, "As I watched beside the girls bed she was still in this state of mind, her eyes were closed and she was calling for her dog. We thought we could do something about it and offered her a teddy bear, when she got it, her still closed; she felt the teddy bear and said' Ah, this is Toby'. Then unfortunately, her hand went over the bear and she felt the brass button on its tummy and she said, 'Ah, this is not Toby at all', and she flung the bear away. I'm afraid that she hit out with her hand at those who were near, so, you know, I said, 'This looks to me a bit like hysteria, and maybe if Virginia doesn't have an audience it would be the best thing that could happen. At this point I got a violent blow from Virginia who still had her eyes closed. However, I left then and as far as I know they had a quiet night afterwards" Why do all faiths by and large be so reticent about exorcism? Do they by inference deny the existence of evil or the need to bring comfort and relief, since this is in the last analysis their primary function? Whether or not it has any real effect is immaterial, it is how the recipient feels that is of paramount importance. We will return to this later.

At the other end of the scale were the 'de-bunkers', in this case Major Douglas-Home an employee of the BBC who had spent a number of years investigating the poltergeist phenomenon. Major Douglas-Home had been instrumental in exposing the landmark case of Borley Rectory, reputedly 'The Most Haunted house in England'. Ghost hunter Harry Price had originally investigated these particular events, but the evidence was rendered unreliable because of methods employed by Price during his examination. The Major commented, "Ninety out of a hundred cases can be explained. No more mysterious than watching Chan Canasta or David Nixon on TV"(At the time, Chan Canasta and David Nixon were popular television magicians and illusionists).

Due to the continuing interest generated by the Sauchie case, which continues to appear regularly in anthologies of paranormal phenomena, SPI conducted a re-investigation in 1994, in this instance, paranormal researcher Malcolm Robinson founder of SPI undertook the research. During the re-evaluation, one of the local papers, 'The Alloa Advertiser', which had carried the original stories about the alleged haunting and its aftermath, interviewed Mr.Robinson and launched an appeal for anyone who knew Virginia Campbell to come forward with any information concerning the events in 1960/61. Fortunately a local lady, who, although she had not been in Virginia's class, is friendly with her teacher at Craigbank Primary School. The lady, who wished to remain anonymous, supplied the telephone number of the teacher, formerly Miss Margaret Stewart, but since her marriage to a minister, Mrs Margaret Davidson.

Malcolm conducted a series of telephone interviews with Virginia's teacher, Mrs Davidson, who described the bizarre events at the school, which incidentally is still there. According to Mrs Davidson…"Virginia was a shy withdrawn girl, but very pleasant. Although she was not forthcoming, she was in every other way quite normal; she was also good at her lessons. I had never really heard the word poltergeist before, indeed, I thought it was the name of some kind of medicine, that's how naïve I was. The first time I became aware of anything strange was when I had given the class an essay to do. The class was quiet and all the children had their heads down bent over their notebooks busily writing away. In 1960 we still had the old desks that had a lid top. Anyway, I looked over at Virginia and noticed that she was sitting with both hands firmly pressed on the top of the desk lid. I rose from my chair and walked over to Virginia. I was surprised to see the lid rise and fall with Virginia trying her best to keep it shut with her hands".

"At this point a child in front of Virginia rose to take her book to my desk, no sooner had she left her seat, than her desk rose a few inches off the floor on its four legs. I then explained to the class that I would be back I a few minutes and during this time I went to see the school headmaster, a Mr. Peter Hill. I told him that there was something funny going on in my classroom and explained to him what I had just seen. Mr. Hill said that he had heard talk of strange things going on in the Campbell household. He then asked to see Virginia and asked me to explain to her classmates that Virginia would be going home for a few days because she was feeling unwell. I was also to say that there might be talk of ghosts, but they were not to believe any of it, they were just rumours, this is what he said, more or less". "Anyway, I went back to the classroom and called Virginia over and told her the headmaster wanted to see her. When she left the room, I found that I could not shut the door behind her and had to summon help from three of the children to help me push the door shut. I remember saying to the class, 'It must be very windy today!' Virginia was not distressed at this time. I then talked to the class telling them what the headmaster had said, fortunately the class was quite responsive and very supportive". Mrs Davidson made a point of emphasising this reaction from Virginia's classmates and explained that the entire school tried to protect the girl from the predations of the waiting journalists. At one point during the height of the disturbances, the pupils were checked into the school and the gates were locked to keep the press out. Even then the waiting journalists and photographers attempted to scale the school walls to gain access to Virginia.

As the interview with Mrs Davidson progressed, it became clear that things grew progressively worse, she continued. "The most unnerving thing that I experienced in the classroom was when on one occasion I was sitting at my large oak table and Virginia was standing at the other side of the table with her hands clasped behind her. Suddenly, a large blackboard pointer, which was lying flat on my table, started to vibrate. At first it vibrated slowly, then increased as the seconds passed. I sat transfixed looking at this, then the table, which was solid and quite heavy, started to rise slowly into the air, it also started to vibrate. I put my hands on the table and tried to push it back down but with no success. I was quite horrified, but it did not stop there. The table continued to vibrate as it hovered a few inches off the floor. Then the table rotated through 90 degrees so that where previously I had been sitting at the long edge of the table, I now sat at with the narrow edge at my stomach. I looked up at Virginia and saw that she was quite distressed and I remember her saying, 'Please miss, I'm not doing that honest I'm not'. While I tried to calm her down, a bowl of flower bulbs shot straight across the table".

Mrs Davidson described some of the other incidents that became almost a daily occurrence. Schoolbooks and jotters would rise into the air and move away from Virginia, oddly enough they never ever moved towards her. Mrs Davidson also noticed, significantly, that the events always occurred in a 28-day cycle, more of this later. During this time, there was continual pressure on Virginia and her friends due to the intrusive tactics of the press who continually followed her to and from school. This type of behaviour which given Virginia's age would not be tolerated now, was then common practise among journalists. Phenomena like this draws out all sorts of people, among the many instances that Margaret recollects, there are two that stand out. One was a woman who asked if she could touch her because she was, "One of Gods chosen ones". She also recalls receiving a letter from an African shaman who advised her to, "Pound down some bones and dance over them", since this might remove the ghosts. Finally, the Church of Scotland arrived at Craigbank Primary School to lend assistance by holding a prayer service in the classroom, not it should be added a service of exorcism, this not surprisingly had no effect either. Margaret concluded the interview with the words, "These events really did happen, I remember them as if it was yesterday, I'll never forget them".

There were other witnesses to the events in the Campbell household, one of then a Mr. James Carruthers (pseudonym) was closely associated with the family and viewed many of the phenomena actually taking place. Even after the time that had elapsed, he does not feel comfortable discussing the situation and asked that his name be withheld. During the interview Mr. Carruthers commented, "On one occasion, I was in Virginia's bedroom with a number of other people, and was standing close to the bed in which Virginia was lying, she had the bedclothes pulled up to her chin. Suddenly I observed the covers making a rippling motion from the bottom of the bed right up to her chin. I am convinced that Virginia did not do this by herself, there was no movement from below the covers, i.e. from her legs, just this peculiar rippling movement running up and down the top sheet". Mr Carruthers continued…" Seconds later, I observed the pillow next to Virginia take on the impression of someone's head. Others and myself saw a clear indentation in the pillow in the room. During this time, strange knockings, bangings, scratchings and what sounded like sawing noises were coming from all over the room, there did not seem to be any set point of origin. There was another noise mixed through this, the sound of a ping pong ball continually bouncing, Virginia was very upset during all this and we could not settle her". "On another occasion when the Church of Scotland were in the house, these noises, these bangings and rappings intensified during the exorcism ceremony, they became really loud when the church members began singing 'The Lord is my Shepherd'.

Mr Carruthers continued, "Someone mentioned at this time that animals are to some degree psychic, so I took my dog along to the Campbell house. When the dog was in the bedroom with Virginia, even although the same rappings and knocking could be heard, my dog was at no time disturbed. My feelings on the matter are that these events have nothing to do with ghosts or spirits. I believe that the shift in environment from a rural farming background in Ireland, leaving her friends and relations behind and coming over to Scotland represented a trauma and that somehow, this suppressed emotion was externalised in the movement of objects close to Virginia". The witness remembered seeing a diary, which was kept by Virginia's uncle, one of the entries stated that marks on her hands appeared and disappeared but he himself had never seen these marks. Malcolm also traced and interviewed two of Virginia's classmates who, although they requested anonymity, were able to supply corroboration for many of the accounts.

One particular set of events discounted at the time was an outbreak of earth tremors in the vicinity of Sauchie and Dollar, interestingly, both these villages are situated close by the Ochil Hills. The involvement of vibrations created by earth quakes was dis counted because of the consideration that the type and magnitude of vibrations required to cause heavy items to move around would have caused structural damage to the houses, this is probably correct, but other factors has been forgotten; A) the incidence of strong magnetic fields created by these seismic disturbances, and B) a phenomenon called sonic levitation. In the case of scenario A, modern thinking and research suggests that when someone suffers from a condition known as 'Electrical Hypersensitivity' (EH), then it is possible for the strange manifestations to be explained within the realms of physics. An EH person can interact with either local geo-magnetic field or fields created by electrical equipment and cause it to be re-radiated and focussed. This in turn creates magnetic eddy currents and vortices that can and do cause highly unusual local phenomena, viz. items move around, noises and bangs, even levitation. Scenario B draws on the fact that under certain circumstances sound alone is sufficient to render items weightless.

This explanation has been proffered as one of the methods by which the ancient Egyptians manoeuvred huge stone blocks used in the construction of the pyramids into position. An American researcher Tom Danley and two colleagues instigated this type of technology and filed a US patent, No. 5036944 based on their research. Based on their findings, "An acoustic levitator includes a pair of opposed sound sources which have interfering sound waves producing acoustic energy wells in which an object may be levitated. The phase of one sound source may be changed relative to the other in order to move the object along an axis between the sound sources". This type of technology was allegedly discovered, or perhaps that should be re-discovered over 70 years ago by Charles Worral Keeley the obscure cult inventor of 'free energy' machines and other assorted esoterica. In the case of Keeley, his device was allegedly activated by the expedient of blowing a trumpet, which induced sympathetic resonance in the device thereby rendering it weightless. While this explanation may appear as incredible as the poltergeist phenomenon itself, it should not be totally ruled out because the frequency of natural acoustic energy released during earthquakes cannot be discounted, (earthquakes were measured in the vicinity during the poltergeist activity). It would also be interesting to discover if there were reports of UFO sightings in the area at this time, especially over the Ochil Hills since seismic activity is considered to be a prime cause of anomalous ariel sightings and 'earth light 'or plasma type activity.

EPILOGUE

During the re-evaluation of the case I managed to contact and interview Dr. William Logan who attended the Campbell family during the crisis, he still remembers the events and his comments were very revealing, according to Dr Logan…"I was called to attend the little girl and after an initial examination it was evident that there was nothing physically wrong with her. I have seen her condition referred to as an illness; this is simply not true, she was not ill in any accepted sense, she was a normal health girl, whatever was affecting her was almost certainly due to some suppressed emotional state over which she had absolutely no control. At one point I made a tape recording of the noises that occurred in the bedroom, the tapping and knocking. I also intended to record a service of exorcism conducted Church of Scotland ministers that took place within the house but I was asked not to and I had to respect their (the clergymen's) wishes. I was I the next room while the service was conducted and it was quite odd, as the words of the Lords Prayer were said; each phrase was punctuated by loud knocking, louder than I had heard before" Dr. Logan demonstrated this, saying, "The Lord is my shepherd, Bang! Bang! Bang! I shall not want, Bang! Bang! Bang!" he thumped the table at which we were seated for emphasis. I asked him if he had prescribed any medication for Virginia, he replied, "In this instance I did not think medication was necessary, as I said, there was nothing physically wrong with the little girl. All I could do was offer support and assure the family that it would eventually pass"

He described one particular instance in which he had seen anomalous movements in Virginia's bedroom, "I watched as the bedclothes rippled and began to bunch up at her neck as if being pulled. It was on this occasion that I saw an indentation appear in the pillow beside the girl's head. The pillow was not touching the other pillow on the bed, it was quite separate, the indentation appeared gradually over a few seconds as if a head was slowly applying weight to it. There is no doubt that the girl did not do this; her hands were nowhere near the pillow, it could not have been done from under the pillow, I tried to do this and it was not possible. At this time although restless, she was on the point of falling asleep and talking in a low voice, but the words were garbled, there was nothing intelligible While this was going on I took her pulse, and although she was quite agitated both physically and emotionally, her pulse rate was quite normal, slow and normal. I thought this rather unusual, but I can't explain it in any physiological way. It was as if the subconscious part of her brain was aware that the phenomenon was emanating from her and there was nothing to fear, and the irrational side was producing a standard fear response".

Dr. Logan is in no doubt that the happenings are explainable in rational, physical, scientific terms and there were no 'supernatural' or spiritual elements involved. It is his opinion that whatever the mechanism is; it could appear in anyone, at any time although it is normally associated with pubescent girls and occasionally boys. He also attributes part of the cause to recent upheavals in Virginia's life, leaving her home in Ireland to live in Scotland and the separation from Toby, her pet dog. It is other observations made by the doctor that perhaps supply a clue to what mechanism caused the events. While describing the noises in the bedroom he mentioned that while having a recent MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan he noticed that noises typically associated with this procedure were very similar, if not identical to the type of sounds heard in Virginia's bedroom. This comment is very relevant to possible causes of the various phenomena witnessed by those present at the time. If Dr. Logan is correct in his comparison of the noises then the magnetic theory may well be viable. It is known that in suitable circumstances, when certain people interact with local magnetic fields, some truly extraordinary effects can and do occur. It is regrettable that there was not a co-ordinated scientific study carried out at the time; nowadays an occurrence such as this would produce some interesting findings. One of the most regrettable aspects of this re-investigation was the discovery that Dr. Nesbit had made an 8mm film of some of the phenomena as it occurred. I enquired if the film was still in existence, but it appears that since it was not the property of Dr Logan, the family of Dr. Nesbit probably disposed it of.

CONCLUSION

In the original case, although there was undoubtedly a range of phenomena displayed, there was also an astonishing lack of understanding and common sense used by the witnesses. There was the continual inference that the manifestations were somehow 'supernatural' and attributable only to 'ghosts' and 'spirits'. There was also a good deal of arrogance and ignorance displayed by several parties. The shaman's advice was deemed 'preposterous' and 'ludicrous' as was the faith of the woman who considered the participants to be Gods chosen people. The opinion of 'Mr Carruthers' that it was the result of suppressed emotions was likewise dismissed as improbable. It was interesting to note that the attempted exorcisms were allowed to pass unchallenged. An exorcism is probably no more effective than dancing on crushed bones, laying on of hands, faith healing or any other traditional method of driving out supposed 'evil'. In fact it is likely that the methods practised by shamen and witch doctors are equally valid if not more so than traditional exorcism. At least, they, the tribal shamen have been performing these ceremonies for millennia, long before Christianity and its attendant rituals were invented.

It is also curious that the obvious connection observed by the schoolteacher regarding the 28-day cycles of activity were ignored. If there is a physiological connection then here it is, the menstrual cycle, the natural monthly emotional and chemical cycle that has been viewed as an almost magical rite by every creed and culture since the beginning of time. There are many accounts of some women experiencing unusual or odd occurrences around this time, perhaps the result of a hormonal / chemical imbalance activating a part of their brain which in turn causes an unwitting interactive modification and amplification of the surrounding geo-magnetic field.

In fact, there are several anomalies relating to the original case, e.g. the attempt by one of the doctors to prevent the manifestations taking place by administering a tranquilliser. While this would cause the child to become relaxed and depending on the strength of the medication, unconscious, it would not necessarily prevent the events from taking place, especially if the cause was rooted in the chemical or bioelectrical processes of her brain. Her condition is described as being a 'psychic illness'; this is utter nonsense and surely a medical first. It would be interesting to discover who coined this term, the doctors of the journalists. In my opinion, the doctors were confronted with a range of symptoms with which they were not qualified to deal. It is doubtful that the majority of clinical psychologists and psychiatrists would have experienced anything like this. Although, to be fair, from what I can gather, demonstrations of involuntary telekinesis are not totally unique and have been witnessed in psychiatric hospitals.

This is not to suggest the Virginia Campbell was in any way mentally ill, far from it, but merely to demonstrate that the human brain is capable of producing some astonishing feats whether conscious or unconscious. As we have observed, the condition affecting Virginia gradually reduced in intensity until it finally ceased completely. According to my information this was achieved by two significant events, first, her pet dog was brought from Ireland and after going through quarantine reunited with her. Second, she was hospitalised and kept under sedation for a period of time. While this form of treatment may have been a contributing factor in liberating her from the unwelcome phenomena, it is more likely that the therapeutic effects of reuniting her with her dog provided the panacea and stabilised her emotions. A common factor in alleged poltergeist activity is that it ceases as mysteriously as it begins. If it is a form of supernatural possession presumably by a spirit, there appears to be remarkably little point, other than aggravation, in it. It is also posited that in some cases it is merely an entity metaphorically tapping you on the shoulder to let you know that it's there, this suggests that it may have some purpose and or intelligence. Another viewpoint suggests that the entire phenomenon is a random display of energy created by electromagnetic fields both natural and artificial interacting with human beings. Or could a bizarre display of acoustic energy be responsible? Perhaps a combination of all these explanations contribute to the phenomena, the answer is not clear-cut.

Perhaps the most worrying element in the whole equation is the apparent reluctance of the church as a whole to carry out the rite of exorcism. Irrespective of the brand of Christianity, Catholic, Protestant, conventional or evangelical, none are particularly keen to perform this ritual of comfort and cleansing. One senses that in some way the rite of exorcism is an embarrassment and to be avoided at all costs; this is surely wrong. The Catholic Church does still have a ritual of exorcism, but this is only performed when very clear criteria have been met and specific permission given from the level of bishop and above. The Church of Scotland on the other hand removed the rite of exorcism from its approved ceremonies many years ago. Whether or not the ceremony actually achieves anything is a moot point, but at least it demonstrates a belief in supernatural entities and the willingness to confront them. Attempts to gather fresh evidence on the incident involved re-interviewing some of the eyewitnesses; but regrettably none of the Campbell family could be persuaded to participate.