The Thornton Road Poltergeist refers to stone-throwing incidents in a residential area of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, in 1981 and the subsequent police investigation.

History

In 1981,

Ward End Ward End is an area of Birmingham, England. It covers the area between Saltley, Hodge Hill and Stechford and includes Ward End Park, a public park that has been open for over 100 years. Ward End territory Pelham in Ward End joins with Alum R ...

residents at Thornton Road told police they could not locate the source of stones being thrown that were causing significant damage to windows and roof tiles.

Chief Inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is use ...

Len Turley investigated, saying his team went to great lengths to catch the individual or individuals responsible. Officers camped outside overnight and reportedly employed night sights, image intensifiers and automatic cameras, but failed to find the source of the stone throwing, prompting some writers to ascribe the incident to a

poltergeist In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descr ...

. Police later speculated that the stones may have been launched from the houses using a home-made

catapult A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...

References

Literature

*Fairley, John & Welfare Simon 1984: ''

Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers ''Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers'' is a thirteen-part British television series looking at strange worlds of the paranormal. It was produced by ITV Yorkshire, Yorkshire Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network and first broad ...

'' pages 31–34. . *Time Life Books 1989: ''Mind Over Matter'' pages 53–54. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton Road Poltergeist English ghosts Psychokinesis 1981 in England