Before “Poltergeist” terrified audiences, a real-life haunting shocked America. But what really happened, and how much of it made it to the screen?

While the movie, “Poltergeist”, isn’t about an actual poltergeist, it drew inspiration from real-life events. The “Popper Poltergeist” plagued the Hermann family in 1958. We have actual police reports, and even an investigation from parapsychologist, J.B. Rhine of the Rhine Research Center. Let’s take a deep dive into this case and how it inspired the blockbuster hit just a few decades later.

“Don’t Tell Anyone”

The first thing to address is that this situation happened in 1958. This was very much the age where people did not talk about their paranormal experiences in fear of being shunned by the community.

On February 3rd, 1958 in Seaford, New York (Long Island), patriarch James Hermann came home one day to his family telling him an extraordinary tale. Hermann’s wife, Lucille, said that after their children (also named Lucille and James) came home from school that day, they heard popping noises coming from different places around the house. When she and the kids investigated, they found several common household substances uncapped and placed upside down. The bottles were also hot to the touch.

The substances included things like shampoo and bleach. Also, these caps had to twist to come on and off. It’s time to mention that the children were in their teens and preteens. I should also mention that Lucille was thirteen years old and James (Jimmy) was twelve years old.

What was even more disturbing was that a bottle of Holy Water had been spilled on the dresser. Cue the demon music!

Remember, this was 1958. When James heard this story, he told his family to stay calm, and also, don’t tell anyone. He tried to explain the phenomenon with science. Perhaps there was some chemical reaction causing the caps to pop off.

Popper

Just five days later, the popping sounds happened again. But this time, James was home. At first, he suspected Jimmy was behind the incidents because Jimmy was a big fan of science. James observed Jimmy closely, and was baffled when the caps were still popping off the bottles.

When he investigated, he too found several bottles uncapped and turned upside down, and Jimmy hadn’t been near them. This time, James called the police. What is interesting is that the dispatched officer also heard the popping sounds and saw the upside-down bottles.

The house was investigated several more times by police and detective Joseph Tozzi. Explanations like a deteriorating house or family pranks were explored but were later ruled out. There was no obvious nor easy explanation for the occurrences, much to the Hermann family’s frustration. James still had suspicions and blamed the occurrences on his teenage kids.

The incidents were soon named Popper.

Nationwide Coverage

Then, the story went public. Incidents were also televised. It became a media sensation. Remember, this was 1958 and these things don’t happen. Or, if they did, you didn’t tell anyone. I have to wonder what James thought of all of that. Soon, advice was pouring in from all over the country. The story even made the cover of Life magazine.

The Hermann family became a media icon. Their story was covered publicly on multiple news outlets. The police officers and detect

Escalation

Since going public, the incidents at the Hermann home only got worse. A cousin of the Hermann family, Marie Murtha, visited. I assume it was a form of moral support. She too heard the popping and saw that the teenaged kids were in another room on the other side of the house. So, teenage pranks were officially ruled out.

What was also troubling was that the phenomenon was starting to target bottles of holy water. Detective Tozzi connected the family to Father William McLeod of the Church of St. William the Abbott. The Hermanns were also Catholic, which explains the presence of holy water.

James, concerned for the safety of his family, moved the Hermanns away from the house for the time being. They definitely needed a break.

But, when the Hermanns returned, the activity came back. This time, it came back with a vengeance. Larger and heavier items were now being moved, upturned, and more.

Investigations

Detective Tozzi heavily investigated the case. When the heavier objects started moving, he contacted the nearby Air Force base to see if there had been tests being conducted that may have caused a sonic boom. That was soon debunked. Robert Zider also investigated the case with dowsing rods and said that there were streams under the house created a magnetic field. Tozzi looked at geological records and found there were no streams under the house.

About a month later, J.B. Rhine of Duke University, was on the case.

Yes, Duke University once had a parapsychology lab. J.B. Rhine would later break away from Duke to create the Rhine Research Center, which is still active today in Durham, North Carolina. If you enjoyed this blog, send them a few bucks!

Rhine concluded that the presence of two hormonal teenagers created some sort of poltergeist activity or telekinetic events. Apparently, there was some conflict between James and Rhine’s team as well.

What is really interesting is that shortly after Rhine and his team arrived, the incidents stopped around March 10, 1958. This is a common thing with poltergeist cases. Once the agent (or in this case, the two teenagers) becomes aware that they are the center of the activity, it stops.

Looking Back

The teenage daughter, Lucille Hermann, appeared in the documentary, “Real Fear: The Truth Behind the Movies” on Chiller. She also was interviewed by HuffPost Weird News. Lucille admitted that she never saw the movie, “Poltergeist”, because she had lived in her own nightmare during that time. According to her, the incidents stopped when her family moved away.

Theories

While this situation seems like it happened over the course of at least a year, it was only five weeks. During those five weeks, over 70 incidents were recorded.

I wonder, when James took the family out of the house for that short break, did the incidents continue? I haven’t found much info on what the family did outside of the home. If it was poltergeist phenonmenon centered around the two teens, I wouldn’t be surprised if the activity followed them. Lucille (the daughter) didn’t report any activity after leaving the house. So then, it makes you wonder what else was going on?

Or, perhaps all of the police visits and nationwide media attention had perhaps escalated the activity because it was causing stress to the family and the two teens? Or, perhaps, was Lucille (the mother) going through menopause at the time? Menopause has been linked to poltergeist activity as well. Or, maybe between the hormonal stress of the two teenagers, plus mom maybe goin through menopause, there was a lot going on to contribute to the activity.

It should also be noted that the activity often happened while Jimmy was alone. Plus, Jimmy was around about 75% of the time when the incidents happened. Maybe he was the source?

Popper vs. The Movie

As you can probably tell, the 1982 movie, “Poltergeist“, was loosely based on the Hermanns, and very loosely based on actual poltergeist phenomenon. Basically, the Hermanns’ story laid out the basic framework of a family being plagued by an unseen force. But that’s it. Their home wasn’t built on a former cemetery where they moved the headstones but not the bodies.

For more information on poltergeist phenomenon, I recommend checking out this panal from Ghost Education 101.

Sources

https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/popper

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/poltergeist-amityville-horror-survivor-real-fear_n_1335948

http://troytaylorbooks.blogspot.com/2013/02/popper-poltergeist.html

*Header image used in cooperation with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer