Poltergeist: A ghost or other supernatural being supposedly responsible for physical disturbances such as loud noises and objects thrown around. In 1965, 11-year-old Maria Jose Ferreira found herself the playmate of a poltergeist.
Maria Jose Ferreira was your typical 11-year-old girl, growing up in a traditional Catholic family in Jaboticabal, a municipality about 200 miles north of San Paulo, Brazil. One night in December, 1965, Maria and her family were in their family home when a brick seemed to materialize out of thin air, and fly through the room.
Immediately, the family assumed someone was playing a joke on them, as they had a pile of similar looking bricks outside in their backyard. However after several days, and a continuation of flying bricks, some weighing as much as 8 pounds, the family knew something else was going on. Especially when the pile of bricks in their yard had not decreased in size.
Not only were bricks manifesting and flying through the room, they inflicted damage on the home and their household belongings. They targeted Maria. And it wasn’t just bricks. In a short amount of time, she was suffering scratches, slaps, and bites. She was battered and bruised. Maria appeared to be the only target.
The family contacted their local priest for help with what they believed to be a force of evil infesting their home. The priest performed an exorcism, which only served to anger whatever malevolent spirit was residing. It was evident they were dealing with something more powerful than they had anticipated, leading many to believe it was a poltergeist.
Aside from the continued assaults, Maria found herself set on fire in public places, in full view of unsuspecting witnesses.
With the failure of the exorcism, the Ferreira family sought the help of a spiritualist. A neighbor, João Volpe, was not only a dentist, he was a spirit medium. After meeting with the family, Volpe determined that Maria had been a witch in a previous life. She was now suffering the consequences of that previous life. The spirits of the people she had sent to their deaths with black magic wanted their revenge.
Volpe took Maria to his home, where he could study her further in an attempt to rid her of the evil spirits. During their time, he learned that she was being haunted by many spirits, most of which were friendly. He told her she was a natural medium, and should be able to communicate with the spirits.
Volpe called for the spirits to leave Maria alone, and afterward they experienced several days of peace. But then the violence started up again.
Stones began to appear and flew around the home. On one notable occasion, a stone fell from the ceiling and split in half on its way down. The pieces flew in separate directions, but when picked up and put together, they fit perfectly. Not only that – they appeared to have been magnetized and were attracted to each other.
As mentioned before, not all the spirits were bad, and Maria found that if she asked for small things, such as candy, they would materialize at her feet.
But the violence was always there, and the severity began to grow. Glass and kitchenware were thrown about and smashed. Maria found herself the target of flying furniture such as chairs and a large sofa. One night as she lay sleeping, a cup appeared over her face, as if to suffocate her.
Then she was attacked with common sewing needles. The needles would appear deeply embedded in her flesh. On one occasion, 55 needles were extracted at the same time. Bandages placed to cover her wounds were always torn off.
On March 14, 1966, Maria was at school having lunch when she was suddenly engulfed in fire. That same day, Volpe’s bedroom caught fire, and Volpe was badly burned.
Maria stayed with Volpe for a year, with little to no progress being made in ridding her of the spirit. She was taken to Brazil’s best known medium, Chico Xavier. She was treated with prayer and magnetic hand passes. After months, Xavier proclaimed that he had succeeded in the removal of the spirits that surrounded her.
Finally, Maria, who was now 13, was allowed to return home. But that was not the end of her story. The spirits were not gone and just 3 days later, Maria was found dead in her room. Her autopsy showed that she had consumed a pesticide laced drink, and her death was ruled a suicide.
After the death of Maria Jose Ferreira, no more poltergeist activity was reported by her family.
Looking for more evidence of poltergeist activity. Read about Doris Bither and the Entity.
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