STAUS POLTERGEIST
Nineteenth-century poltergeist named after the village of Staus on the shores of Lake Lucerne, Switzerland.
From 1860 to 1862 members of the Joller family who lived in Staus were allegedly victimized by unexplained activities. The hauntings started when a servant girl heard knocks on her bedstead. A short time later Mr Joller's wife and children also heard the raps. Within a few days a close family friend died and the raps were interpreted as a death omen. Strange occurrences continued in the months that followed. One of the Jollers four sons saw an apparition and the servant girl said she saw and heard a sobbing spirit. The servant girl was replaced in the hope it would put an end to the haunting but instead the haunting grew worse, with the rapping now accompanied by invisible hands moving objects and locking doors.
The Jollers were forced to seek help for the disturbances and for six days the family left the house for the police to investigate. The police saw or heard no signs of the poltergeist but as soon as the family returned the haunting started up again. Eventually Mr Joller decided to leave his home and put in a tenant, who heard nothing from the poltergeist.
The case remains unsolved but it has been suggested that a member of the Joller household, probably one of the children, was the agent for the hauntings.
Text from The Element Encyclopedia of Ghosts & Hauntings by Theresa Cheung (HarperElement, 2013)
