Beyond the Veil Magazine

The Oakland Poltergeist

Issue #41: May 1982

The offices of a large warehouse in Oakland, California, became the scene of intense poltergeist activity in November 1981. Bottles flew from shelves, boxes moved on their own, and workers fled in terror from phenomena they could not explain.

The Oakland Poltergeist was witnessed by dozens of people, including police officers and journalists. It remains one of the best-documented cases of recent years.

The Setting

The activity centred on a beverage distribution warehouse in Emeryville, near Oakland. The building housed offices, storage areas, and loading docks. Approximately fifty people worked there during normal business hours.

The phenomena began in early November 1981, shortly after a new employee, an eighteen-year-old woman, started work. The connection between her presence and the activity would become central to the investigation.

The Phenomena

The activity escalated rapidly:

Moving Objects: Bottles of soft drinks flew from shelves, sometimes travelling twenty feet before crashing to the floor. Boxes slid across tables without visible cause. A heavy typewriter moved across a desk while workers watched.

Projectiles: Objects flew horizontally rather than falling, suggesting they were thrown rather than simply knocked loose. Some seemed to curve in flight, as though guided.

Focus: The phenomena occurred most intensely when the young employee was present and diminished when she left the building. Objects sometimes seemed to follow her from room to room.

Witnesses: Dozens of workers saw the phenomena. Many were too frightened to return to work. The company’s operations were severely disrupted.

The Investigation

Police were called after objects struck several workers. Officers witnessed the phenomena themselves and were unable to explain what they saw.

A detective from the Emeryville Police Department observed bottles moving from shelves while no one was near them. He checked for strings or mechanical devices and found none.

Journalists from local newspapers and television stations visited the warehouse. Several witnessed and photographed moving objects. The story made national news.

Parapsychologists from the University of California investigated. They identified the young employee as the likely focus of the activity, a pattern common in poltergeist cases.

The Focus

The young woman at the centre of the phenomena was interviewed extensively. She denied any deliberate involvement and appeared genuinely frightened by the activity.

Investigators noted that she had recently experienced significant stress in her personal life. Poltergeist phenomena are often associated with adolescents or young adults undergoing emotional turmoil. The unconscious mind, some theorists suggest, can externalise internal conflict as physical force.

When the young woman was moved to a different part of the building, the phenomena diminished. When she returned, they resumed. The correlation was clear.

Explanations

Fraud: Some sceptics suggested the young woman was throwing objects herself when no one was looking. But numerous witnesses observed objects move when she was clearly visible and not touching anything.

Natural Causes: Vibrations from passing traffic or equipment might dislodge objects. But this fails to explain objects moving horizontally or appearing to be thrown with force.

Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis: This theory, proposed by parapsychologist William Roll, suggests that some individuals unconsciously generate psychokinetic force during periods of psychological stress. The poltergeist is not a ghost but a living person’s untapped mental power.

Resolution

The phenomena ceased in late November 1981, approximately three weeks after they began. The young woman left the company’s employment. No further activity was reported.

The Oakland Poltergeist case remains significant for the quality and quantity of witness testimony. Police officers, journalists, and company employees all observed the same phenomena. The activity was photographed and filmed.

Yet no conventional explanation has been accepted. The objects moved. The witnesses saw what they saw. And then it stopped.

Perhaps the young woman’s stress found some inexplicable outlet. Perhaps an unknown force visited the warehouse and departed. Perhaps explanations exist that we have not yet imagined.

The beverages are back on the shelves. The warehouse operates normally. But those who were there remember what they saw.

Readers who have witnessed poltergeist phenomena are invited to write to our research department. All correspondence will be treated confidentially.