Haunted Hollywood Plastic Factory
Was the Cause of the Paranormal Events Gremlins or Poltergeists?
This case was investigated by two highly respected parapsychologists, D. Scott Rogo and Raymond Bayless.
Phenomena
In 1978, Gladys Gordon contacted Raymond Bayless about events happening in the plastics factory where she worked. He contacted D. Scott Rogo with whom he often worked. Rogo wrote about the case in On the Track of the Poltergeist (Doubleday, 1986). He compared this to the Rosenheim poltergeist, a German case that distinguished parapsychologist Hans Bender investigated.
Gordon told Bayless her phone acted strangely. Often, while the phone was affected, wailing noises were emitted from the public address system. She discovered the events happened only when she was in the factory.
Investigation
On July 21st, Gordon called Bayless again to report more paranormal activities. He decided to visit the plant and asked Rogo to join him. By this time, other employees also noticed the connection between the events and Gordon’s presence.
The investigators learned that this wasn’t the first time phenomena were experienced. Manufacturing equipment sent forth powerful radio waves that require it be shielded. In the past, this interfered with the working of a local airport’s flight control operation.
Some plant employees said they felt the emissions. Radiations were believed to cause incidents in 1977 which happened only in the presence of another female employee.
The plant manager called a communications specialist to investigate. New equipment was installed, but the activity continued. The specialist investigated further. Gordon’s phone was replaced and monitored, but the phenomena didn’t stop.
Finally, someone mentioned what was happening seemed like the work of gremlins. This led to the decision to contact a parapsychologist. Since the communications specialist couldn’t get to the root of the annoyances, maybe it was of parapsychological origin and should be investigated as such.
At 4:47 PM, when the parapsychologists investigated, a paging speaker emitted a high-pitched sound while Gordon was talking about the phenomena. She led Bayless and Rogo to her desk. Her phone’s call buttons lit up randomly while the intercom screeched. She picked up the phone’s receiver and handed it to Bayless who listened, then gave it to Rogo who also heard the sounds. The address and phone systems weren’t electronically or mechanically connected. The disturbances ended at 4:49 PM. They began again within minutes, then ended. A third episode happened at 5:07.
The men noticed Gordon’s electric clock wasn’t affected when the systems were. It appeared that there was an intelligence that chose specific targets to interfere with.
Findings
Bayless went to the plant on September 19th and witnessed more phenomena. Rogo interviewed Gordon in depth. There is a psychological profile for a human agent poltergeist. Please refer to Poltergeists! The Reality, Not the Movie.
The human agent experiences unpleasant emotions and, subconsciously, by PK, the ability of the mind to affect matter, is unleashed. Gordon felt discomfort with her work at the plant because she was in a personal relationship with her superior. She admitted that, prior to the incidents, she was in much personal distress because of it.
Later, the investigators learned that the poltergeist was also active in Gordon’s home and car. This continued into the following year.
At some point, the plant’s managers ended the parapsychological investigation. Gordon became reluctant to cooperate.
Bayless theorized this was a case of a proto-poltergeist, one that limits activity to machines and electrical equipment. He postulated the two women who were involved in the phenomena were instruments that transformed radio wave emissions into sounds picked up by the phones and the address systems. He wrote that the case was not a poltergeist as such.
Rogo theorized that, while radio waves were involved, it was a form of PK that created the phenomena.
Related Articles:
Gremlins: Paranormal Phenomena?
Rosenheim Poltergeist: Intriguing Human Agent Poltergeist, HAP ...
Sources:
The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, (Facts on File, Inc., 1992)
The Enigma of the Poltergeist, Raymond Bayless, (Ace Books, Inc., 1967)
The Poltergeist, Roll, William G. (Doubleday, 1972)
