Objects thrown by invisible hands, showers of stones that pass through solid walls, inexplicable fires, wall-shaking thumps, and creepy voices from nowhere— all signs of poltergeist activity. Author and paranormal researcher Tony Healy joined Dave Schrader (email) to discuss cases from his native Australia, including the infamous Humpty Doo case.

Healy covered the theory linking poltergeist activity to a specific person in the household, known as the agent. Some researchers think poltergeist agents manifest the phenomena through psychokinesis, he reported, noting that of the 50 cases covered in his book about half have an individual, usually an adolescent girl, at the center of the activity. The other half do not seem to have an obvious human agent, Healy added. "I tend to think that in many cases the disembodied spirit of recently deceased people is involved," he speculated.

Poltergeist cases tend to share some common threads such as mischievous, sometimes malicious, activity which seems to violate the laws of physics, Healy continued. He compared poltergeist phenomena to dealing with a naughty child with superpowers. There seems to be something protecting us from them, he suggested, pointing out that people are rarely physically hurt by poltergeists.

Healy claimed to have witnessed an object (a brass plug) appear in mid air directly in front of him at the Humpty Doo house, as well as saw many objects ricocheting off walls. "There were dozens of people who saw the phenomena and none who thought it was fake," he said, adding that showers of pebbles occurred several times and Healy's co-author, Paul Cropper, actually had some fall on his head. Healy recalled the moment a knife flew past his ear. "It was more exciting than anything," he said. Healy also spoke about his interest in cryptozoology.

Helping Spirits Cross Over

First hour guest, empath and medium Amy Major talked about "spirit rescue" and its role in saving earthbound spirits from their self-imposed exile. "Spirits [that are aware they've died] decide and choose not to make the full transition," Major said. There are guides, angels, and family around them at all times waiting to help them cross over, she explained.

According to Major, an earthbound spirit's perception or awareness is what keeps it from being helped on the Other Side. She described her role in counseling such spirits to help them make the decision to transition. "I have no control whether a spirit will cross over or not," she noted. Major also shared how she assists people with clearing the energy of residual hauntings.