From the back cover: It's dead silent-then a sharp bang rattles the walls. A cold breath brushes your neck. You spin around, but nothing's there. Poltergeists arrive without warning. They tear through the quiet, leaving terror in their wake. For centuries, people have endured this nightmare. From the mocking knockings of Cock Lane to the vicious assaults of the Bell Witch, from the haunted rooms of Epworth Rectory to the relentless siege of the Enfi eld case, the poltergeist has made itself known... and feared. Here you will encounter the Black Monk of Pontefract, one of Britain's most terrifying modern hauntings; the meticulous research of famed ghost-hunter Harry Price; and the groundbreaking interpretations of Colin Wilson, whose ideas continue to shape how we understand the unexplained. In this unnerving study, John West steps into the heart of these disturbances, piecing together historical records, eyewitness accounts, and chilling modern parallels. Are poltergeists the dead, the living, or something far older-something that feeds on fear?