The Miami Poltergeist
In a Miami warehouse full of souvenirs, ashtrays, glasses and toys kept falling from the shelves and smashing, even while police officers watched.
What was reported
In December 1966, staff at a warehouse in Miami that stored novelty souvenirs began finding items falling from the shelves and breaking: beer mugs, back scratchers, ashtrays and toys. It happened again and again, sometimes when no one was nearby. The police were called and couldn't find a cause.
Parapsychologists William Roll and J. G. Pratt investigated, recording more than 200 incidents. They noticed they happened most often when one young employee was in the room.
Explanations offered
Roll proposed that the young man was unconsciously moving objects with his mind, an idea he called 'recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis'. Sceptics argue he could have been throwing things without being seen, though investigators said they tried to watch for this. The case remains a classic of poltergeist research.
- When
- December 1966 – January 1967
- Where
- Miami, Florida, USA
- Witnesses
- Warehouse staff, police and parapsychologists
- Status
- Unexplained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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