In African folklore there is one type of poltergeist, which is known as the Tokolosi. It is a vicious spirit that possesses considerable malevolence and has the power to drive people insane.
One story concerning the haunting of a Tokolosi is about a little girl called Mary, who one poltergeist took an extreme disliking to. Its reign of terror began at the family’s evening meal one night.
Mary was just reaching out to take some food, when abruptly a large clod of earth appeared out of thin air and landed with a dull thud beside her. Felling rather alarmed, her father, Andrew, looked up at the ceiling; however there was no evidence to show that that was where the clod had come from.
Andrew, being a straightforward man simply brushed the dank earth aside and carried on with his meal. However, the spiteful spirit wasn’t done with his daughter. As she raised her cup to her lips, an unseen force struck it out of her hands and it smashed onto the earthen floor. Considerably shaken, Mary jumped to her feet, and as she did so something sent her chair flying across the room and shoved her viciously, so she was crumpled on the floor.
This bizarre series of events repeated itself for a week. Mary began to look physically ill and was in a state of perpetual terror. Andrew decided to ask Major Williams, a man he respected, to look into the matter. Williams went into the girl’s room and locked the door. He sat on a chair and began to whisper calmly to her. He noticed she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes, glazed in sheer terror were fixated on a corner of the room.
He turned round, and as he did a sense of pure terror ran through him. Mary let out a blood-curdling scream. There was an audible thump and was thrown against her bed. When all was calm, Major Williams reached forward to inspect the little girl. On her chest he saw an ugly red welt on the girl’s skin.
Some spirits have turned out to be benevolent, even helpful when they choose to manifest themselves. Ironically, when they were alive, they did terrible things, ranging from murdering to forcing people to consume a potent drink, which turned them insane. The latter was what the friendly ghost of Esau Dillingham did in his sinful lifetime. In death, he guides disoriented travellers to safety in the lonely snow covered hills of Labrador, in Canada.
A prominent figure of American politics also likes to return once in a while to welcome guests into his house. The white house. I am indeed talking about the venerable Abraham Lincoln. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands once answered a knocking at her door while staying at the white house, only to discover her late night visitor was the spectre of Abraham Lincoln. Predictably, she fell to the floor in a faint.
As I have explained, some ghosts may be affable, and some may be evil personified. Whatever their nature, spirits try to communicate with the living in different ways, sometimes in ways that are so subtle they are dismissed as ordinary occurrences such as the wind or the creaking of a house. So the next time you feel a chill travel down your spine, you might not just be feeling cold.
