The Miami Poltergeist

In late 1967, a warehouse in Miami belonging to Tropication Arts, Inc., a souvenir and novelty company, became the site of one of the best-documented poltergeist cases in American history. Objects flew from shelves, broke without explanation, and moved when no one was nearby. Scientists who investigated witnessed the phenomena directly.

The Events

The disturbances began in December 1967. Items on the warehouse shelves, primarily novelty items and souvenirs, began falling and breaking. At first, employees assumed poor stacking or vibrations were responsible.

However, the activity escalated. Objects did not simply fall; they flew. Items moved in trajectories that defied gravity, sometimes traveling horizontally or around corners. Unbroken items ended up in different parts of the warehouse from where they had been stored.

The company suffered significant financial losses as merchandise was destroyed daily.

Investigation

Suzy Smith, a parapsychologist, and Dr. William Roll of the Psychical Research Foundation investigated the case. They set up observation points throughout the warehouse and documented over 200 incidents.

Roll and his team witnessed objects move on more than a dozen occasions. They ruled out fraud, vibration, and structural issues. The phenomena appeared genuine and unexplainable.

The Focus Person

As in many poltergeist cases, the activity centered on a specific individual: nineteen-year-old shipping clerk Julio Vasquez. Careful observation revealed that nearly all incidents occurred when Julio was present and within a certain distance of the moving objects.

Psychological testing revealed Julio harbored significant anger toward his employers and general frustration with his life circumstances. Roll theorized that this repressed emotion somehow manifested as kinetic energy affecting objects nearby.

Resolution

Julio eventually left the company, and the phenomena ceased immediately. The case became one of Roll’s most important studies in his career investigating poltergeists.

Significance

The Miami poltergeist case is significant for the scientific rigor of its investigation. Multiple researchers witnessed phenomena under controlled conditions, documented everything meticulously, and eliminated conventional explanations. It remains one of the best-evidenced poltergeist cases in American history.