The Tropication Arts Poltergeist

In January 1967, Tropication Arts, a wholesale novelty business in Miami, became the site of dramatic poltergeist activity. Parapsychologists William Roll and J.G. Pratt documented over 200 incidents of objects moving without apparent cause.

The Business

Tropication Arts dealt in souvenirs and novelty items. The shipping department contained metal shelving stocked with inexpensive items including glass objects, mugs, and small trinkets. These items began moving from their positions systematically.

The Activity

Objects did not simply fall from shelves. They moved horizontally and landed at distances inconsistent with gravity alone. Items broke in patterns suggesting deliberate targeting. The phenomena occurred repeatedly throughout January.

The Investigation

Dr. William Roll from the Psychical Research Foundation and Dr. J.G. Pratt from the University of Virginia investigated. They documented 224 separate incidents. They placed objects and recorded their movements. They ruled out vibration, drafts, and deliberate fraud.

The Focus

Analysis revealed that all phenomena occurred when shipping clerk Julio Vasquez, a nineteen-year-old Cuban refugee, was present. When Julio was absent, nothing moved. Psychological testing showed Julio was frustrated and unhappy in his job.

The Interpretation

Roll and Pratt concluded that Julio was unconsciously causing the phenomena through an unknown psychokinetic mechanism. His suppressed frustration may have found outlet through poltergeist activity. When he left the company, the activity stopped.

Assessment

The Miami case established a pattern seen in many poltergeist investigations: a troubled young person at the center of activity that seems to express their unconscious emotions through physical movement of objects.