A famous pre-war poltergeist case features in the Guardian, as a trailer for a new book by Kate Summerscale. It concerns the famous Nandor Fodor, who reached some interesting conclusions about what poltergeists might be. He investigated the case of Alma Fielding, a Croydon woman who was plagued by mysterious phenomena. Summerscale discovered some interesting documentation from the time in the archives of the Society for Psychical Research...
The manila folder contained transcripts of Fodor’s interviews and seances with Alma, lab reports, X-rays, copies of her contracts, scribbled notes, sketches, photographs of the damage wrought by the poltergeist in Alma’s house and on her body. From Alma’s story Fodor had deduced, to the horror of his colleagues, that repressed memories could generate terrifying physical events.
We also learn that Fodor's work was influential on Shirley Jackson, and that applauded her approach. Eleanor Lance, in The Haunting of Hill House, manifests inner turmoil with strange physical phenomena. And yes, the title is correct - according to Fodor, when he took Alma on a jaunt to Bognor Regis and they visited a jeweler, a ring mysteriously ended up on her person - an 'apport', if you like.
The Haunting of Alma Fielding by Kate Summerscale, will be published by Bloomsbury Circus on 1st October. It has been longlisted for the Baillie Gifford prize for nonfiction 2020.
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