Poltergeist Case Report: The Joller Haunting

Subject: Melchior Joller (1818–1865) — Lawyer, Journalist, Member of the Swiss National Council

Location: Joller Residence, Switzerland 

Reported Activity Period: 1860–1862 (Culminating in August 1862)

Overview

This report chronicles a sequence of unexplained phenomena reported at the residence of Melchior Joller, a respected public figure. The manifestations, which began subtly in 1860, escalated over the subsequent two years into intense and varied disturbances. Despite early skepticism and attempts at rational explanation, the events eventually forced the family to abandon their home in 1862, never to return.

Description of the Property

The Joller House was a large, multilevel building:

• Ground Floor: Utility rooms (laundry, dairy, wine press), thick masonry walls, minimal windows.
• First Floor: Porch, hallway, main living room, kitchen, pantry, bedroom, bathroom.
• Second Floor: Joller’s study and four bedrooms, all connected via corridor.
• Attic Level: Upstairs living room, drying room, two small bedrooms (maid’s quarters), and storage space.

Timeline of Key Events

Autumn 1860

• First Incident: Maid reports knocking on her bedhead at night, interprets it as a death omen. Joller dismisses it as superstition.
• Subsequent Event: Joller’s wife and daughter Melanie hear knocking on a bedside table—knocking intensifies when addressed directly. This coincides with the death of a friend days later.

June 1861

• Oscar’s Encounter: Oscar (age 9) finds himself swooning after a white shapeless figure enters a log storage room on the third floor following unexplained knocks.
• Children Hear Floor Noises: Sounds like scratching or walking heard from above, dismissed as animals.
• Apparition on Stairs: Maid sees grey figures and hears her name being called from stairwell—followed by sobbing.
• Henriette’s Vision: Sees a cheerful child who transforms and vanishes.
• Change in Staff: Original maid dismissed, replaced with a 13-year-old girl.

1862 (until Summer)

• Persistent Noises: Boys report scratching on walls and heavy animal-like movements at night.
• Joller maintains these are natural disturbances.

Assumption Day (15 August 1862)

Major Escalation:

• Initial Manifestation: Children experience intelligent rapping responses to verbal challenges. A stone is thrown near them.
• Doors Open Unbidden: Cupboards, study doors repeatedly found wide open.
• Apparitions and Disembodied Voices:
• Maid sees human-like figure hanging from a sheet.
• Groaning voice from an upstairs room, audible outside.
• Musical haunting with voice singing "Camille’s prayer" from Zampa opera.
• Mysterious Object: White coin-sized object with features of a death’s head found near grindstone; quickly vanishes.
• Visit from an Old Woman: Stranger connects house to historic family tragedies, reinforces atmosphere of death.
• Fireplace Phenomenon: Flaming sugar-loaf-shaped object falls down the chimney, extinguishes fire but leaves jacket and kettle smoldering with strange blue flames.
• Transcontinental Coincidence: Distant relative in Germany reports identical unexplained knockings on the same day.

Tuesday, 19 August

• Evening (just before arrival):
• As Joller arrived home, his wife called from the corridor, asking him to listen to a peculiar knocking.
• Pantry Incident:
• From the pantry’s back wall, Joller heard 10–12 quick raps that sped up at the end—like nervous tapping, demanding admittance.
• The raps were repeated after short pauses and seemed to move position.
• Joller assumed it was a rat and struck the wall to scare it—but it replied with the same tapping, ending with two fist-like blows.
• Search and Reading:
• With a candle, he searched the room carefully—but found no trace of an animal or intruder.
• As he continued listening, the sounds moved through the corridor.
• After supper, Joller read from Zschokke’s Family Prayerbook, the chapter on ‘The Power of Superstition’.
• Knocking resumed during the reading, interrupting frequently with occasional strong blows.
• A knock came on the living room door—for the first time.
• Ground Floor Search:
• Armed with a candle and knife, Joller searched the ground floor and cellar thoroughly, even creeping about in the dark, but found nothing amiss.
• Nighttime Disturbance:
• He sent the children to bed; only the two eldest boys slept upstairs, the others gathered in the big chamber.
• Tapping resumed, moving from the west corner of the room toward the bed, ending with heavy blows on the footboard and a nearby chair.
• When Joller sat on the bed, he felt a light touch on his finger, while the bedstead shook violently.
• Blows continued even with the candle lit, but nothing was seen.
• By midnight, the house finally grew quiet.

Wednesday, 20 August

• Morning (6:00 AM):
• The racket resumed, starting under the living room door—2–3 quick, heavy blows like with a mallet.
• Heavy knocking spread to the living room, kitchen, and chamber doors, with pauses, increasing in strength.
• Search and Observation:
• Joller, familiar with every part of the house, conducted a meticulous search—but found no source.
• He placed his hand on doors during the knocks, feeling no vibration or air movement.
• Even when half-opening the door to view both sides, he observed the same unexplained rapping.
• Apparition Sighting:
• Around 10:00 AM, after adjusting the bedroom door latch, it was struck so hard it flew open.
• Joller glimpsed a dark form darting toward the chimney.
• His wife and son simultaneously saw a dark-brown, half arm-bone recoil from the door.
• A stringent search of the chimney found no trace or markings.
• Family Testimonies:
• Joller consulted his older sister, who had never experienced anything similar.
• The maid, disturbed in the kitchen, claimed to hear footsteps, a deep voice pleading "have pity on me," and saw a floating grey cloud that pounded on the bedroom door.
• The tenant's wife also witnessed unsettling phenomena.
• Clerical Visit:
• In the afternoon, a local priest arrived. Though experienced, he confessed this defied explanation.
• He advised discretion, blessed the house, and left.
• Evening:
• Violent noises resumed, finally subsiding by 10:00 PM.
• Joller consulted a dusty college text on experimental physics—but found no solution.

Thursday, 21 August

• Early Morning:
• Disturbances began very early with frequent, violent blows.
• Joller's family was in a state of abject terror; he could no longer calm them.
• People gathered outside, curious about the noise.
• A man arrived inviting Joller to a local meeting—his dog cowered at the sound of the blows.
• Court Business & Emergency:
• It was court day; Joller went to work, though reluctant.
• A child fetched him urgently—noises had escalated, and the family had fled the house.
• Return Home:
• At home, Joller observed blows at intervals of 3–5 minutes.
• The living room table shook, and items were displaced.
• The massive door burst open and slammed shut violently.
• Kitchen strikes threatened to shatter the bedroom door.
• Scientific Observation:
• Joller laid hands on doors—no air movement, yet the doors jerked violently.
• Objects in the kitchen appeared struck by metal.
• He summoned Councillor Zimmerman, who witnessed the disturbances.
• A group of local dignitaries (Dr. von Deschwanden, court president Odermatt, Judge Schallberger, etc.) investigated.
• Various hypotheses proposed: vulcanism, galvanism, electricity, etc.—none held up.
• By midnight, the phenomena subsided.

Friday, 22 August

• Early Morning:
• Disturbances resumed; Joller left briefly on business.
• Court president Odermatt and others observed more violent events.
• Visitor Reactions:
• A client ‘K.S.’ felt a sudden floor blow; mistook it for electrical equipment.
• Neighbour ‘A.J.’ and the tenant’s wife witnessed door hooks flung into a wall.
• Melanie saw a white, oval apparition at the kitchen door—Frau L. saw it too.
• Escalation & Witnesses:
• More people arrived, including provincial head Franz Zelger.
• Doors wrenched open and slammed shut again.
• From the mountains, Joller heard the knocks and rushed back.
• He notified the police; Inspector Jann confirmed the disturbances.
• Edward saw a white waving hand in the kitchen, then fainted.
• Clerical and Scientific Attention:
• Commissioner Niederberger, the priest, and others witnessed phenomena.
• Niederberger conducted tests—difference in sound and vibration suggested no natural cause.
• He concluded the phenomena were not hallucination or trickery.
• Evening Crowds & Rumours:
• Crowds surged to the house, many seeking proof.
• Blows continued but were less frequent.
• A rumour emerged that Joller’s son had learned ‘sorcery’ from Stöbe, an actor—published widely in local newspapers.

Saturday, 23 August

• Phenomena Decrease:
• Activity less intense.
• Scientific apparatus deployed—no effect.
• Odermatt went to Lucerne to consult Prof. Ineichen—unsuccessful.
• Isolated Incidents:
• 9:00 AM: Living room door opened and slammed.
• Afternoon: Isolated heavy blows recorded at 3:03, 6:10, and 8:45 PM.
• Crowds continued to arrive.
• Night Encounter:
• At midnight, Joller was touched while lying awake—a warm, child-like hand.
• He saw a dark form near the window.
• His wife and maid also experienced touch, curtain movement, and fluttering sensations.
• The maid fled the room in fear.

Sunday, 24 August

• Late Morning Activity:
• 11:00 AM: Heavy blows witnessed by several neighbours.
• 1:00 PM: More knocks; silence until 5:05 PM, when two more were heard.
• Evening Disappointment:
• Despite expectations, the night was quiet.
• Visitors left disappointed; some tried amateur exorcisms.
• Household routine disrupted; most children had left the home.
• Police guard increased to control the crowds.

Monday, 25 August

• Midday Resurgence:
• 11:30 AM: Wall rustling, then blows on the living room door.
• 1:05 PM: Blows from under the floor.
• 1:45 PM: Heavy kitchen-corridor door slammed on its own, twice.
• 3:30 PM: Strong blows under the floor, then door and kitchen slamming.
• A young doctor reported prickling skin—Joller attributed this to fear.
• Evening Disturbances:
• 5:45 PM: Two final door blows.
• Kitchen door slammed repeatedly until 8:30 PM.
• Official Response:
• Joller made his notes with police guards.
• Police reported to the weekly council.
• A government commission was formed to investigate (Zelger, Wursch, Jann).
• However, the investigation was not initiated that day, despite ongoing phenomena.

Tuesday, 26 August

• Early Morning (7:20 AM):
• The racket began with two knocks in the hall.
• After a nine-minute pause, knocks sounded on the living room door.
• The tone was somewhat harder than before.
• The noises were no longer heard upstairs, only on doors downstairs.
• Kitchen Door Incident (7:32 AM):
• The kitchen door flew violently shut.
• Followed by a pause until 10:07 AM.
• Mid-Morning (10:07 AM):
• More powerful blows were heard on the living room floor.
• Late Morning (11:25 AM):
• Four or five rapid, strong knocks on the slightly ajar living room door.
• The door was violently torn open, then slammed shut onto the latch.
• The kitchen door was similarly torn open and slammed shut within two to three seconds.
• Afternoon (12:13 PM):
• Three knocks on the living room door.
• Quiet prevailed until evening.
• Evening (8:00 PM):
• Two hard blows on the living room and kitchen doors.
• Same on the kitchen floor.
• Around twenty minutes later, the kitchen door slammed shut violently—the last disturbance of the day.
• Investigation Status:
• Herr Zelger, president of the investigatory commission, took no action despite immediate notification.
• Only police inspector Jann showed genuine interest, though his efforts were in vain.
• The reporter was disturbed by crowds of curiosity seekers and overwhelmed by professional duties.

Wednesday, 27 August

• Morning Start (9:20 AM):
• Two knocks on the living room floor.
• At 9:27 AM, knocks on doors.
• At 9:28 AM, kitchen door slammed shut.
• At 9:35 AM, living room door slammed in front of many witnesses.
• Late Morning (11:35 AM):
• Four knocks on the slightly ajar living room door.
• After the fourth knock, the door slammed violently shut.
• Afternoon (12:30 PM):
• Weak tapping heard in the hallway outside the study.
• Five minutes later, kitchen door slammed shut.
• Silence until 2:50 PM.
• Early Afternoon (2:50 PM):
• Double hard banging on the living room door.
• Light tapping on kitchen door, followed by a violent slam that threatened the hinges.
• Afterwards, quiet returned.
• Commission Response:
• The state commission still had not launched a formal investigation.
• Late evening saw the commission begin to act.
• The reporter was tasked with writing a detailed report.
• He was ordered to leave the house immediately with remaining family members.
• Police guard was replaced, expected to inspect thoroughly but without results.

Bitter Complaints

• The case escalated from local gossip to a national scandal.
• Public demanded explanations, resulting in a mix of superstition, skepticism, exaggeration, and rumour.
• The reporter felt persecuted, likened to being treated like a criminal.
• Even liberal Swiss press repeated harmful rumours instead of seeking truth.
• Despite decades of political service, the reporter’s reputation suffered.
• Appeals to loyal allies helped somewhat, but many abandoned or shunned him out of fear of ridicule.
• Support came from unexpected quarters: political opponents extended friendship and vouched for his integrity.
• Yet some former supporters distanced themselves—a reflection of human fear and denial.

September

Monday, 1 September — Proceedings of the Commission

• The racket ceased.
• The local authority, following the investigating committee’s recommendation, officially closed the investigation.
• The committee remained active, and the house was kept under police guard.
• The house was returned to the reporter, and government reimbursed eviction costs.
• The commission’s report suggested disturbances had stopped since Wednesday afternoon.
• No serious investigation took place: no questioning of credible witnesses, no expert input, no on-site inquiries.
• The reporter offered full cooperation for scientific examination, but it was ignored.
• The commission’s majority preferred to avoid further trouble.
• Upon return, only three of the reporter’s children dared to spend the night.
• The reporter himself was frightened but slept poorly; the night passed quietly.

Tuesday, 2 September

• Two children heard tapping on the stairs to the second floor.
• The rest of the day passed peacefully.

Thursday, 4 September

• Around 1 pm, while wife and daughter sat by the window, a powerful blow on the floor made a small table jump into the air; the family ran outside terrified.
• In the evening, maid and child heard heavy muffled footsteps in the entrance corridor; the front door bolts jolted and the door slowly opened. Both fled through a window, sustaining minor injuries.

Saturday, 6 September

• Morning: Two violent knocks outside the living room.
• Throughout the day: Light quick knocking on doors and walls, ending with three violent blows in the southwest corner of the living room.
• Incidents reported to the commission, but mostly ignored.

Sunday, 7 & Monday, 8 September

• Continuous rustling noises in corridors and walls
• Knocking on floors and cupboard doors in the presence of many witnesses, including a previously skeptical observer who became convinced.

Tuesday, 9 September

• At noon, three bangs on the living room floor followed by a strong bang on the half-open door.

Wednesday, 10 September

• While the house was empty (author away for court), neighbours heard violent blows under the living room floor.
• Wife and daughter witnessed a stool move and overturn violently; living room doors slammed loudly.
• Daughter saw a pale figure by the window, which disappeared mysteriously.
• Later: knocking in the little corridor, racket outside, violent knocking on living room door.
• Author heard sweeping sounds like someone sweeping the corridor with a broom, but no one was present.

Thursday, 11 September

• Loud racket through the house during the night and into the morning.
• Family left the living room briefly; when they returned, a heavy walnut table and two chairs were overturned.
• Saw a large insect-like figure (horsefly) hit the sofa.
• Found twigs falling on people from above with no wind.
• Shoes found jumbled; rapid knocks all over the house.
• Later, an upholstered chair moved and tipped over on its own, repeated with a second chair.
• Around 6:30 pm, a ghostly grey shawl-like form appeared and vanished near the sideboard; maid experienced it stroking and pulling her skirt.

Friday, 12 September

• Calm until 2:45 pm, then disorder discovered upstairs:
• Tableau, mirrors, fruit basket, glass sugar bowl overturned but unbroken.
• Furniture and lamps displaced, sun-blind stretched open.
• Neighbours witnessed the disorder; author convinced no human hand was involved.

Saturday, 13 September

• Greater disorder found in locked rooms:
• Objects overturned or hanging oddly, curtain twisted.
• Coins heard clinking in an empty room coinciding with author’s absence in Lucerne.
• Outside, children were pelted with stones, one struck but unharmed.
• Chairs inside moved slightly during evening meal.

Sunday, 14 September

• Rooms left undisturbed overnight; next morning:
• Footstool overturned, sunshade and red cloth oddly positioned.
• Garden room objects rearranged, mirror and plaster cast face down.
• A slate with a human skull drawing appeared on the bed.
• Kitchen utensils found spread out on the floor.
• Missing apron found in the cellar on a wine barrel.
• Author took family away briefly; on return at dusk saw a grey cloud-like form drifting.
• Around midnight:
• Family felt cold sensations and touches like icy fingers and claws.
• After crowd departed, author secured the house carefully.
• Suddenly, glass shards, tiles, rags, pears, and a hatchet appeared inside the bedroom.
• Both bedroom and living room doors found ajar.
• A neighbour saw a bright flame hovering near the house, which vanished suddenly.

Monday 15 September

• After lunch: Two children see a transparent fuzzy silhouette move from the front door through the corridor to the living room. Loud knocks on the open living room door; door slams shut.
• Around 1 PM: Sweeping sounds in the dark corridor near the open door; heavy muffled footsteps walking away.
• Shortly after: Spinning wheel noise in the study’s adjacent closet, whirring thread and spindle sounds; the maid reports similar spinning noises before.
• Upstairs: No disorder; downstairs: unusual occurrences by a "satyr."
• ~2 PM: Wife’s hat disappears from the living room sofa; found hanging above an oil painting in the chamber. Portrait of the narrator turned face down repeatedly despite human presence nearby.
• Evening: Three acquaintances arrive to keep watch. Candles extinguished, wife and children feel ice-cold fingers touching their faces and necks; wife faints after feeling cold stroking on forehead.
• Visible: Silhouettes of wriggling hands at the window seen by narrator, but no disturbance felt by him or guests. Spectacle stops when lights are turned on.
• Midnight: Guests leave; unusual objects (axe, sickle, iron ring) found inside stove pipe along with a maize kernel. Maid finds pears and broken knitting needle tangled in her hair net and is pelted with pears.
• Night: Child complains of cold fingers grasping throat and face; candle must be kept burning all night. Sensations of weight on bed foot and blanket tugging reported. Youngest child acts disturbed. Cold sensations persist into the next morning.

Tuesday 16 September

• Morning: Part of the family sent away due to fear. Narrator plans an official investigation with friends.
• ~8 AM: Apple seen hopping down stairs, corridor, kitchen; thrown out window but returns repeatedly.
• Shortly after: Pear falls near narrator with strong impact; maid is alone at hearth.
• 12 PM: Boy hears muffled footsteps near his chair.
• Afternoon: Stove pipe found stuffed with horse harness and chain, objects from different parts of house.
• Evening: While narrator reads newspaper, maid is spoken to by a deep voice from hall saying "I shall come no more!" Maid screams in terror. Wife feels ice-cold breeze and wrist stiffening, a sensation experienced by others at various times, day and night.

Wednesday 17 September

• Knitting needle repeatedly moves rapidly between rooms and is thrown out window but returns.
• Midday: Light knocking on outside garden wall.
• ~1 PM: Boy hears knocking upstairs.
• Evening: Strong banging on floor outside bathroom.

Thursday 18 and Friday 19 September

• Relative calm, no phenomena; narrator plans departure for refuge.

Sunday 21 September

• Narrator returns from trip; wife fends off unruly crowd from Lucerne. Crowd breaks in via window using a human ladder.
• Guard reports loud water tap noise in kitchen with no visible cause.

Monday 22 September

• Noon: Daughter pelted with stones at well; stones fall around but don’t hit her.
• Stones fall from roof and chimney, including a heavy jagged stone onto clay pot, causing no damage.
• Around 5 PM: Household leaves house; outside observers see bedroom curtains move violently as if pulled by invisible hand.
• Child sees grey shapeless figure waving white handkerchief at open bedroom window.
• Melancholy sobbing heard from second-floor bedchamber.

Tuesday 23 September

• Evening ~7 PM: Gravel stones thrown down chimney, wet with dew.

Wednesday 24 September

• Morning: Stone falls between two girls standing outside without disturbing them.
• Evening: Daughter and neighbour see grey cloth waving through kitchen window, apparition vanishes when neighbour enters.
• More gravel stones thrown into kitchen.

Thursday 25 September

• Morning: Narrator returns from timber meeting; wife reports chopping wood sounds from ground floor with no one there.
• Afternoon: Daughter hears rolling sound like grandfather clock winding, then knocking in study.
• Children pelted with stones while returning to rented accommodation; no ghostly phenomena there.
• Evening: Children invite apparition to reveal itself; footsteps heard approaching living room door, occupants terrified; murmuring fades away. Narrator away at court until 9 PM.

Saturday 27 September

• Afternoon: Carpenter’s angle gauge thrown from ceiling near narrator and a furniture man, no cause found.
• Evening: Boy sees whitish apparition under hall window shaped like two arms with broad hands; apparition disappears.

Sunday 28 September

• Stone throwing seen from chimney to garden in morning and inside kitchen and stairs in evening.
• Two muffled blows on living-room floor in afternoon.
• Gnawing and knocking sounds heard under bathroom floor in evening.

Monday 29 September

• Morning: Gravel thrown in garden.
• Evening: Daughter hears loud knocking from study floor and window; no one found inside.

Thursday 30 September

• Evening: Fist-sized stone thrown down stairs and another into kitchen amid loud knocking; stones wet with dew.
• No further phenomena noticed after this.

Friday 3 to Saturday 4 October

• Disturbances occurred in the upstairs rooms during the night, including muffled steps heard in the summerhouse above the bedchamber.
• During the day, Emaline and Melanie heard clanking on the iron bars of the downstairs windows near the milk cellar.
• They witnessed a heavy stone falling into the basin.
• Edward saw a small, triangular white figure briefly appear at a window and then retreat.
• The house was vacated and locked up.
• Upon returning at around 2 pm, they found three armchairs tipped over, metal screws scattered, and an iron ring that was previously unseen.
• After the author left for the local fruit press in the evening, the locked cupboard door was found open upon return, with the pewter plate and food strewn around the armchairs, despite no one having entered.
• Repeated noises were heard moving in the upstairs rooms throughout the night.

Sunday 5 October

• Freshly torn twigs with leaves were thrown down the chimney into the kitchen, witnessed by the author and several household members.

Monday 6 October

• The family attended mass in Lucerne in the morning.
• At 9 am, children observed the outside door in the corridor swinging open and shut as had happened before.
• Knocking noises came from the corridor onto the living room wall.
• Children heard a deep voice calling their names and asking about their mother.
• Apparitions of a girl resembling the maid but dressed better were seen sitting at a table inside the house while the real maid was away.
• Melanie saw the figure at the window wearing a green jacket and hair net, looking melancholy.
• The figure crouched and vanished when called.
• The figure was later seen again through an open window, appearing to swing feet on the ledge before vanishing.
• An investigation found no source for the apparition.

Wednesday 8 October

• One last major incident: a mighty knock on the chamber floor in the morning.
• Afterwards, phenomena were limited to stone-throwing and footsteps in empty rooms.

Wednesday 22 October

• With the house packed up for departure, children were pelted with soot from the chimney.
• They were driven from the upper chambers by bits of wood, stones, and nuts.
• The author expressed deep sorrow at leaving the home filled with memories of family life and boyhood.
• The house was closed after departure, and by Spring 1863 had been rented out again with no recurrence of the phenomena.
• Since leaving, the family had no further encounters with such disturbances.

Aftermath

• Joller rebukes his family, forbids further discussion.
• Activity culminates in public scandal, press attention.
• October 1862: Family flees to Zurich, never returning.
• 1865: Melchior Joller dies in disgrace, career ruined.