The true case of a 13-year old girl who controlled a poltergeist – retold in English

I was recently sent this story by email, I had never heard about it before, found it quite fascinating, so thought I would share it.

A newly published book recounts the terrifying story of a Polish teenager possessed with the power of psychokinesis that shocked the nation during the 1980s.

Titled “The Elusive Force” and translated into English, the book describes the case of Joasia Grajewska, who through her logic-defying powers controlled an unexplainable force commonly known as a poltergeist.

According to the book’s reviewer Rosemary Pilkington, “It is one of the best-documented and well-investigated examples of Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis (RSPK), also known popularly as “poltergeist” activity that has emerged to date.”

The book revolves around Joasia Grajewska, who at the age of just 13, following the death of her grandmother in 1982, began to experience ‘supernatural disturbances’.

The first incident took place on Easter Monday 1983 in the Gajewski’s flat in Sosnowiec, where suddenly the furniture started to move of its own accord.

Glass also broke and its shards injured the girl. Objects were flying in the air and strange crackling sounds could be heard.

A few days later, the situation repeated itself. Objects again flew around the flat, performed violent manoeuvres and this time began to disappear and reappear in completely diferent places, sometimes
penetrating through material obstacles.

They were also accompanied by shrill crackling sounds. These attacks of the unexplained force began to appear periodically. The family dog sensed when the manifestations were coming and hid in the corner.

The “haunted flat” soon became notorious in Sosnowiec. Local officials and the police visited, even witnessing an attack by the “poltergeist”.

As the authorities did not know what to do, the family was resettled in nearby Czeladź. However, the “poltergeist” followed them and it soon became clear that the phenomena were centred around Joasia and that she was the source.

It became apparent that the girl was emitting a kind of supernatural influence that set objects around her in motion, in other words, telekinesis or psychokinesis.

These phenomena included “spontaneous water appearing on walls to unexplained fires and shattering light bulbs whose filaments glowed long afterwards, to flying objects making right turns in mid-air,” according to Pilkington.

Joasia experienced a decrease in her energy and sufered headaches following a severe outbreak. According to her nurse, Joasia was sick for hours following each episode, looked lethargic, and didn’t eat much.

Doctors and scientists systematically studied the ‘telekinetic phenomena’ occurring around Joasia. She underwent numerous medical examinations, as well as various biophysical, psychological, metallographic and telepathic tests.

The aim of the research was to scientifically understand and explain the strange activity associated with Joasia.

Pilkington said: “What makes Joasia’s case even more important is that [her doctor] did what, unfortunately, few researchers have done in other countries: He brought in other physicians, scientists, and researchers for a multi-disciplined study of the teenager.

“They not only verified the reality of the phenomena but also identified physical anomalies as well as psychological factors that might contribute to producing them.”

They found that Joasia had a low level of dopamine, which is sometimes found in epileptic seizures. In addition, the examination of her retinal afterimages showed interesting anomalies, some of which are associated with a malfunctioning thyroid gland, although Joasia’s thyroid was normal.

She was tested under laboratory conditions with one experiment proving that Joasia could bend cutlery and other metal objects by willpower. She was also able to induce telekinesis by filling the room with ultraviolet light and ionised air.

During the time she was studied, various strange incidents occurred, such as stopping electronic clocks, light bulb explosions, and water appearing on walls.

On January 28, 1985, during Joasia’s stay at the Academic Rehabilitation Centre in Zakopane, one particularly frightening incident took place in front of the head nurse and an orderly.

Joasia, in a seemingly illogical manner, moved a mirror from one room to another, causing it to shatter. The broken glass formed a streak in the air that “attacked” the nurse.

This wasn’t the only incident during the stay in Zakopane. Small items from neighbouring rooms entered the girl’s room, including lamps, utensils, cups, keys, and light bulbs from locked cabinets.

The Elusive Force is a translation of a book that was originally published in Polish under the title Nieuchwytna Siła in 1989 by Anna Ostrzycka and her husband Marek Rymuszko, a well-known journalist and author, who passed away in 2019.

The English translation by Joel Stern’s finally gives English readers the opportunity to understand the enigma of Joasia. Stern said that the case is extraordinary for several reasons.

Firstly he pointed to the case’s duration. “It continued with variable intensity for seven years, whereas most phenomena of this kind generally last for a few months to a year,” he said

The case was also unique due to its meticulous documentation. “She was studied intensively under strict laboratory conditions over a period of 40 months by several interdisciplinary teams of specialists, who ruled out any possibility of a hoax but failed to determine the exact cause of the bizarre, often destructive kinetic effects generated by her uncanny powers,” Stern said.

Asked why it has taken so long to publish the book in English, Stern said: “Beyond my desire to see The Elusive Force in print and available to the wider public, I believed it would not only make a significant contribution to the field of international paranormal research, but also shed light on Polish society during the 1980s, a period of major political, economic, and cultural transformation.

“Many of the questions raised in the book remain relevant to this day, particularly the conflict between scientists who cling to established paradigms and those willing to challenge conventional wisdom. This clash of opinion can still be seen in the Polish medical community.”

As Joasia neared the end of her adolescence, the phenomena tapered of. She is not a public figure now and all that is known is that she married and had two children. Her whereabouts are unknown.

The last public statement comes from 1989, when she expressed a desire to become a healing professional saying, “Contact with sick people suits me. I want to help them.”

Source: The First News