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Scotland’s Sauchie Poltergeist highlights how emotional and mental health can cause extreme paranormal infections, writes RICK HALE
In the history of British paranormal research, there have been a number of poltergeist cases that have confused investigators and shocked a nation.
Alma Fielding, a housewife in London during World War II, faced the onslaught of forces she could not understand. And was called a liar all the time.
The Pritchards, a family in the city of Pontefract, were besieged not only by a poltergeist, but also by a dark entity known as the Black Monk.
And of course, who could forget the case to which all other poltergeist outbreaks are compared: the Enfield poltergeist.
These three are, of course, three of the most terrifying ever. But there is a fourth that is just as terrifying.
A fourth in the town of Sauchie in Scotland. A case that is so extreme that it has already been written about several times. And it all started with a very lonely little girl.
A lonely little girl
Eleven-year-old Virginia Campbell was a lonely child. The youngest of a large family, Virginia’s siblings had left the nest and started their own family.
Now Virginia’s parents loved her, there’s no doubt about that. Nevertheless, they continued for years, leaving Virginia feeling isolated.
And to make matters worse, Virginia’s parents uprooted their family roots in rural Ireland and moved there SauchieClackmannanshire, Scotland in 1960.
This alone was enough to anger the young girl, and even make her somewhat resentful of the situation.
But some other things only made matters worse. Virginia’s father stayed behind to sell the only home she had ever known, keeping Virginia’s beloved dog with him.
Virginia and her mother moved into her aunt and uncle’s small house, where she had to share a bed with her cousin.
Finally, Mrs. Campbell could only find a job in another city to support them.
And because the city was so far away, Mrs Campbell took a flat and left her daughter in a house she hated. And a family she barely knew.
It is theorized in psychological research that children experiencing the trials and tribulations of adolescence somehow act as a catalyst for this energy that often becomes frightening. Not to mention violent.
And if there’s any truth to this, 11-year-old Virginia, who was treated unfairly in life, certainly checks that box.
The problem begins
As with most poltergeist outbreaks, the activity around Virginia simply started with a noise.
In November, Virginia and her cousin Margaret had just gone to bed when a strange noise filled the room.
It scared them so much that they shouted at the only adults in the house, telling them to stop acting crazy and just go to bed.
When the noise continued, the two girls ran down the stairs and everyone heard what could only be described as a rubber ball and followed them.
Virginia’s aunt and uncle were both less than happy about this and went to the girl’s room to investigate.
Before leaving the room, the sound returned, scaring the previously skeptical couple.
Thinking something strange was going on, Pastor Lund was called home to investigate if something devilish was going on.
Clergy come to help
When Pastor Lund arrived, he understandably thought Virginia was laughing. Even playing a cruel prank on her aunt and uncle to show her displeasure with living in their house.
That all changed when everyone in the room watched as a heavy linen closet in the room began to rock back and forth. And at one point he even levitated off the floor.
At this point, fear gripped everyone in the house, but Pastor Lund was able to quell the hysteria and everyone went to bed. Of course, whatever this was, it was just the beginning.
The Sauchie Poltergeist follows
The next day, the poltergeist began to ramp up its campaign of terror.
The knocking seemed to follow Virginia through the house. A heavy cupboard moved by itself. And everyone watched in shocked disbelief as an apple lifted itself out of a fruit bowl and floated across the room.
Since all this happened at home, Virginia was happy to go to school. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the activity.
As she sat at her desk, with her teacher nearby, the lid of Virginia’s desk lifted on its own.
Later, when the teacher was interviewed about the incident, she added details that Virginia had not reported.
The teacher claimed that the desktop was opened three times and that at one point Virginia even had difficulty controlling it.
When the teacher asked if Virginia was okay, she watched as the desk directly behind Virginia started to shake and lifted a few inches off the ground.
Three days after this incident, the supernatural tricks continued in the classroom.
Virginia and her teacher watched in awe as a blackboard pointer flew across the room.
And the teacher’s desk rose, turned counterclockwise, and fell back to the floor.
Both Virginia and Mrs. Stewart were impressed by the show of force. The silence was only broken when Virginia said, “Please, ma’am, I won’t do it.”
Virginia’s teacher was stunned for a moment until she replied, “It’s okay, just help straighten the desk.”
Teachers are usually people with reason and logic. But reason and logic were not to be found in Virginia’s classroom when she was present.
A religious service
By December 1960, the strange happenings in the house were accepted as part of everyday life.
And news of the poltergeist had reached the eyes and ears of the townspeople after an article appeared in a local newspaper describing the bizarre activity around Virginia.
Reverend Lund decided that whatever this was had gone on long enough, he enlisted the help of three of his colleagues.
They arrived at the house and decided to bless the house, hoping this would bring some comfort to the family.
There are many cases of clergy becoming involved in a haunting, which only makes matters worse. But not this time.
After the religious service, the phenomenon began to subside and even became almost bearable.
So much so that Virginia even gave the poltergeist a very innocent name: Wee Hughie. And he blamed him whenever anything strange happened in the house.
With things calming down, Pastor Lund believed he had chased the ghost that was plaguing the family from the house.
Not so fast, Reverend. Remember, this isn’t a ghost, it’s a poltergeist. And good things happening in the lives of the focus seem to help. That happened here.
Virginia, who had felt isolated for a long time, managed to make a friend. And she was reunited with her beloved dog, Toby.
These two examples alone directly influenced Virginia’s vote. Virginia Campbell was finally happy.
In January 1961, as good things were happening in Virginia Campbell’s life, the poltergeist activity abruptly stopped. After months of horror, peace finally came to the house.
I don’t know about you, but I love a happy ending. And young Virginia Campbell had hers.
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