Post by Supernatural Empress on Dec 18, 2005 21:35:57 GMT -5
The Miami case occurred in 1967 in a warehouse owned by Tropican Arts, a company specializing in novelty gifts and souvenirs. Items stored on the warehouse shelves began to move and break of their own accord. Employees were at first suspected of causing the breakages, but it soon became apparent that they could not be blamed. The manager began to complain of a ‘ghost’ in the warehouse, and reported his fears to the local media. The parapsychologists W.G. Roll and Professor J.G. Pratt became aware of the case and were given permission to carry out a full scale investigation. Roll was the Director of the Psychical Research Foundation of Carolina at the time, and Pratt was a lecturer at the University of Virginia.
It was not long before the researchers linked the phenomena with a recently employed clerk called Julio Vasquez. Vasquez, a Cuban refugee, seemed to trigger the movement of objects when he was in the warehouse. He could stand some distance away from the shelves and still cause items to break. Roll and Pratt made detailed notes of every strange event that took place, resulting in 224 separate incidents being documented.
It was considered that, as with the Rosenheim case, the mental state of the ‘central agent’ was causing the paranormal phenomena. It was established that Vasquez had been experiencing family problems and had recently attempted suicide. He felt great resentment towards his employers, and often arrived at work feeling angry and depressed. On the days when he was experiencing the most mental problems, the phenomena at his workplace were particularly extreme.
Numerous tests were carried out to eliminate fraud from the case. No fraudulence or trickery was uncovered. Many people witnessed the events, including several police officers, a professional magician and many researchers.
Some months after the poltergeist activity had begun, Julio Vasquez was found guilty of theft and imprisoned for six months. As with the departure of Anne-Marie Schneider from the Rosenheim office, Vasquez’s imprisonment saw the end of the strange events in Miami.
Julio, the cause of the poltergeist, at the workplace
It was not long before the researchers linked the phenomena with a recently employed clerk called Julio Vasquez. Vasquez, a Cuban refugee, seemed to trigger the movement of objects when he was in the warehouse. He could stand some distance away from the shelves and still cause items to break. Roll and Pratt made detailed notes of every strange event that took place, resulting in 224 separate incidents being documented.
It was considered that, as with the Rosenheim case, the mental state of the ‘central agent’ was causing the paranormal phenomena. It was established that Vasquez had been experiencing family problems and had recently attempted suicide. He felt great resentment towards his employers, and often arrived at work feeling angry and depressed. On the days when he was experiencing the most mental problems, the phenomena at his workplace were particularly extreme.
Numerous tests were carried out to eliminate fraud from the case. No fraudulence or trickery was uncovered. Many people witnessed the events, including several police officers, a professional magician and many researchers.
Some months after the poltergeist activity had begun, Julio Vasquez was found guilty of theft and imprisoned for six months. As with the departure of Anne-Marie Schneider from the Rosenheim office, Vasquez’s imprisonment saw the end of the strange events in Miami.
Julio, the cause of the poltergeist, at the workplace
