On the Track of the Poltergeist

There is no mystery greater than that posed by the poltergeist. The "noisy ghosts" of legend and folklore represent some of the most complex phenomena known to-but generally ignored by-science. Psychological research indicates that poltergeists focus on unhappy families who tend to repress and sublimate massive amounts of inner aggression and anger. This anger tends to build within the mind of one of the family members until it explodes outward in the form of the poltergeist. But is that the whole answer?

On the Track of the Poltergeist is D. Scott Rogo's autobiographical account of his search to witness and document these rare phenomena. Backed by this experience and research, he is able to present a critical reevaluation of what we think we know about the poltergeist. Rogo also explains how to respond when confronted with a poltergeist outbreak and how to carry out field investigations of the phenomenon.


D. Scott Rogo (1950-1990) was one of the most widely respected writer-journalists covering the field of parapsychology, as well as an active scientific investigator. Educated at the University of Cincinnati and San Fernando Valley State College, Rogo held a unique position in parapsychology and made many contributions to the field that deserve recognition. He served as a visiting researcher at the Psychical Research Foundation, then in Durham, North Carolina, and at the Division of Parapsychology and Psychophysics of the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. He published papers on ESP in referred parapsychological journals and was active in field investigations of hauntings and poltergeists. Rogo was also a leading authority on the history of psychical research; the breadth of his historical knowledge of the field was unsurpassed. Over the course of more than two-dozen published books, Rogo sought to broaden the range of topics worthy of paranormal research.