The Rosenheim Poltergeist

The Rosenheim poltergeist case of 1967-1968 is considered one of the most well-documented poltergeist cases in history. The phenomena, centered on a young secretary named Annemarie Schaberl, were investigated by police, physicists, and parapsychologists, all of whom witnessed events they could not explain.

The Setting

The events occurred in a law office in Rosenheim, Bavaria, run by attorney Sigmund Adam. Beginning in the summer of 1967, the office experienced strange electrical disturbances. Fluorescent lights flickered and exploded. Fuses blew repeatedly. Developing fluid in the copying machine spilled spontaneously.

Most notably, the office telephone system malfunctioned continuously. The phone would register calls to the speaking clock service, sometimes four calls per minute, even when no one was using the phone. The telephone company documented thousands of such calls.

Investigation

The local utility company investigated but could find no cause for the electrical problems. They installed monitoring equipment and observed massive power surges occurring spontaneously. The police were called and conducted their own investigation.

Physicist F. Karger from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics and Dr. G. Zicha from the Technical University of Munich conducted extensive studies. They confirmed the anomalies were real but could not identify any conventional cause. Equipment recorded power surges that should have been impossible according to known physics.

Annemarie Schaberl

Investigators eventually noticed that the phenomena only occurred when nineteen-year-old secretary Annemarie Schaberl was present. When she was absent, the office functioned normally. When she returned, the disturbances resumed.

Witnesses reported lights swinging when Annemarie walked beneath them. Pictures on walls rotated. A heavy filing cabinet moved on its own in front of multiple observers. The phenomena appeared to center on the young woman.

Resolution

When Annemarie left the law firm in January 1968, the phenomena stopped immediately. Similar disturbances reportedly followed her to her next two workplaces before gradually diminishing and eventually ceasing entirely.

The Rosenheim case is significant because of the quality of documentation and the credentials of the investigators. Physicists, police, and utility officials all confirmed phenomena they could not explain, making it one of the most credible poltergeist cases on record.