This week’s Alphabeast is the problematic peevish phantasm known as a Poltergeist. He’s a nasty little piece of work and an all around troublemaker. Literally a “noisy ghost” by his German etymology, Poltergeist are generally thought of as malevolent spirits that take pleasure in upsetting the living by throwing around solid objects, slamming doors or cabinets and making knocking and stomping noises when decent people are tryin’ to sleep. What a pain. Sometimes these brats of the spectral plane will be tied to a place (perhaps a house hastily built on a burial ground?) and will only haunt a specific locale. But other times they may be attracted to a particular person and follow their hapless victim all around, causing trouble at the office, the grocery store or even in a nearly defunct Blockbuster Video store. It’s best not to get yourself a Poltergeist if you can help it.
