Poltergeists

The word is German and means a noisy ghost, and these stories are about what happens rather than who is seen: knocks, moved objects, slammed doors. One of the most famous cases in English history was written down at the time: in 1716 and 1717, the family of the young John Wesley recorded the knocks and groans of a presence they nicknamed Old Jeffrey at the rectory in Epworth.

America's great example is the Bell Witch, tied to a Tennessee family and, only later, to a cave that visitors can tour. More recent reports are often modest by comparison, such as a rocking chair in Room 104 of the Gadsden Hotel, or the presence described at Gracie Mansion, home of New York's mayors, where no historical record backs the stories.