The Mulhouse Poltergeist

In 1922, just four years after Alsace was returned to France following World War I, the industrial town of Mulhouse experienced a poltergeist outbreak that drew investigators from both French and German psychical research traditions. The case demonstrated the universality of poltergeist phenomena while reflecting the unique cultural tensions of the region.

The Context

Mulhouse had been German for nearly fifty years before returning to France in 1918. The population included French speakers, German speakers, and bilingual families. Cultural identity was complex, and tensions between traditions remained.

The affected family lived in a working-class neighborhood. They spoke German at home, reflecting their pre-war upbringing, though the children attended French schools. The household included a teenage daughter who would prove to be the focus of the activity.

The Phenomena

The disturbances began in early 1922. Objects moved without cause. Furniture shifted position. Dishes crashed in the kitchen when no one was present. The family initially assumed the house was settling or that they were experiencing minor earthquakes.

But the activity intensified beyond any natural explanation. Objects flew across rooms. Stones appeared inside the house despite closed doors and windows. Fires broke out in clothing and bedding. The phenomena matched descriptions from poltergeist cases across Europe.

The activity centered on the teenage daughter, occurring most intensely when she was present and decreasing when she was away.

Investigation

Word of the phenomena attracted attention from researchers. The region’s unique position meant that both French and German investigators took interest. This brought together different methodological traditions that had developed separately.

German psychical research had a strong tradition through figures like Albert von Schrenck-Notzing. French investigation had developed along different lines, influenced by the Paris-based Institut Métapsychique International. The Mulhouse case brought these traditions into contact.

Investigators documented the phenomena systematically. They observed object movements, recorded the pattern of activity, and noted the connection to the adolescent daughter. Their findings were consistent with the developing understanding of poltergeist mechanics.

Cultural Complications

The case was complicated by cultural tensions. Some saw the phenomena as French—the return of repressed energy now that the region was free. Others saw them as German—a manifestation of the cultural trauma of losing the war and their national identity.

The teenage focus complicated matters further. She was a child of both worlds, raised German but now becoming French. Some speculated that her internal conflict about identity contributed to the psychic energy driving the phenomena.

These cultural interpretations may have projected more meaning onto the case than warranted, but they demonstrate how poltergeist phenomena are always understood through local contexts.

Resolution

The phenomena ceased after several months, following the typical poltergeist pattern. The family remained in Mulhouse and experienced no further disturbances.

The daughter grew up, married, and lived an unremarkable life. The poltergeist episode became a strange incident in her past, something she rarely discussed.

Assessment

The Mulhouse poltergeist was a typical case in terms of phenomena but unusual in its cultural and historical context. The intersection of French and German research traditions, the regional identity tensions, and the post-war atmosphere all contributed to how the case was understood.

The phenomena themselves—object movement, stone-throwing, fires, adolescent focus—matched the universal pattern. Whatever causes poltergeist activity, it operated in Mulhouse in 1922 just as it operated everywhere else such cases occurred.