What happened
In February 1938 London newspapers reported a poltergeist in the home of Alma Fielding, a housewife from Thornton Heath in south London. In her presence glasses were said to shatter, and plates, eggs and coals from the fire flew around the kitchen. Soon “apports” appeared – small objects materialising seemingly out of nowhere, including jewellery and supposedly ancient figurines. The case was taken up by the Hungarian researcher Nandor Fodor of the International Institute for Psychical Research. He took Alma to the laboratory, searched her and even had her X-rayed. She also spoke of leaving her body, and scratches appeared on her skin. In his publications Fodor called her “Mrs Forbes”, and for decades her real name was known only from the newspapers of the time.
Witnesses
Alma Fielding, her husband and son, a lodger, journalists; researcher Nandor Fodor and his colleagues at the International Institute for Psychical Research.
Explanations and hypotheses
Fodor concluded that Alma had staged at least some of the phenomena, for example by smuggling in hidden objects. Yet he did not treat her as a simple cheat – he looked for the roots of her behaviour in repressed childhood trauma, a novel psychoanalytic approach for its time. Spiritualists were outraged by his conclusions; Fodor lost his post at the institute and sued the newspaper Psychic News for libel. The story was revived by Kate Summerscale in “The Haunting of Alma Fielding” (2020).
Disputed A likely explanation exists, but some of the facts are still disputed.
Sources
- The Guardian – The Haunting of Alma Fielding by Kate Summerscale review: a terrific true ghost story (2020)
- NPR – 'The Haunting of Alma Fielding' Is a Ghost Story – and a Tale of Power and Fear (2021)
More: Wikipedia (en)