Banging noises and disembodied voices, coming from nowhere and everywhere at once. Furniture chasing people through the house. Pots and pans and knives and knick-knacks flying through the air. These are the hallmarks of the poltergeist phenomenon. In this classic book on destructive hauntings, Colin Wilson, renowned authority on the paranormal, examines the evidence and develops a definitive theory of the poltergeist phenomenon. Countless true-life cases of poltergeist infestations have been recorded since the days of ancient Greece. But what are poltergeists? Where do they come from? And why do they appear in our world? From the case of a huge black-robed monk that terrorized a family for years, to the investigation of a talking mongoose, to true stories of gnomes, dracu, and demons, this guide explores a fascinating gallery of nasty, noisy entities known as poltergeists.