The Humpty Doo Poltergeist
You may think that a poltergeist referred to as ‘Humpty Doo’ might be fun-loving and perhaps even a little goofy. However, Humpty Doo is an Australian slang term that means everything is being turned upside down...and, fittingly, it is also the name of the town where these events took place.
This particular story takes place in Australia in August of 1997, when Jill Summerville and her partner Dave Clark moved to a new rental property at 90 McMinns Drive in Humpty Doo, a town located near Darwin, Australia. For month’s the couple enjoyed their new home in relative peace and normalcy. However, this changed when, in January 1998, a new family moved in with them. Andrew and Kristy Agius, along with their nearly one-year-old daughter Jasmine, moved into the home on McMinns Drive in January 1998.
Shortly after they moved in, activity began. Objects like glass, bottles, and even knives would fly through the air with an unseen force. Those in the home felt that these objects were directed at them and that they were under attack. In an oddly unique poltergeist moment, the couples witnesses “gravel and sea shells raining down from the ceiling.” As time wore on, they believed the entity behind the attacks attempted to communicate with them by using Scrabble tiles to spell out words.
The activity increased and scratches could be heard from inside the walls, appliances were destroyed, and stones and gravel seemed to rain from the ceiling or show up in piles, with no known source. Jill said, “It completely freaked us out; it was like something was actually inside the walls right next to us. We couldn’t sleep; we were crying. We would have left the house but we had nowhere else to go.”
Soon, the media began to hear about the strange going-ons at the house and rumors began to swirl. The couples decided to call a local priest, Father Stephen de Souza, for help. According to de Souza, “As I walked away, one of the residents called ‘Father!’” When he turned to respond, he saw a knife that had been on the kitchen counter flying straight for him and he felt he didn’t have time to react. However, when it was just a few feet from it the knife “stopped just as though it had hit something,” and fell at his feet.
But, this was not enough to calm the poltergeist. So, Father Tom English, the parish priest, was called upon four times. He noted that the behavior of the poltergeist seemed not to “follow the laws of physics.” He had no experience dealing with a poltergeist, so he blessed the home and spread holy water all around. On his last visit, the activity was overwhelming and he left a crucifix, bible, and some vials of holy water for the residents. This offering seemed only to drive anger to the poltergeist - the crucifix was thrown throughout the house and a container of holy water was thrown against the wall. The poltergeist kept the entire household up all night with incessant noises.
Several other religious figures came to the home, but they only seemed to further aggravate the Humpty Doo poltergeist.
As mentioned before, words began to be spelled out in gravel or with scrabble pieces. These words grew strange and even terrifying: fire, skin, help, and troy were among them. The couple believed this to be a reference to their good friend Troy Raddatz, who had died in a fire caused by a car accident just a few miles from their property in January 1998.
Remember, this was a rental house and as the media began to cover the story, especially after the visit from the clergy, their landlord reached out. He was shocked by the amount of damage and decided to take the couples to court to have them evicted. Oddly enough, the Judge deemed that they could not be evicted as the damage to the property was caused by the poltergeist...which, seemingly, the judge believed in.
Despite the stay of eviction, the couples decided to move away from the home.
Cropster, behind the Fortean blog and cited above, got the chance to attend the home and experience the madness for himself. Cropster writes, “A few of my experiences at the house still puzzle me 20 years later. The first occurred as I was sitting at a table facing two of the female residents as they washed up at the kitchen sink only a few feet away. They were still talking when I heard two sounds; the first a handful of gravel stones (from their driveway) hitting the corrugated tin roof of the house and then the kitchen floor where they scattered. Two loud, distinct and separate sounds. Neither of the women had thrown anything and the stones had fallen between me and where the girls were standing. It appeared that the stones had come through the both the roof and the plaster ceiling.” He also mentions his favorite story, “One small segment I did record in the house is a personal favourite. Kirsty, Andrew, Tony Healy and I are in the main room talking and you can hear Kirsty in the background saying “… you don’t know what its going to do, its just does what it wants to do…”.BANG. A knife ricochets off a wall, and everyone talks excitedly. Nobody in the room threw anything.”
Once cleared, the landlord had the home repaired and renovated. Accordingly to the local inquiry, no activity has occurred in the home since.
One thing I think I find particularly interesting about this poltergeist tale is the lack of adolescence. In many cases, for example, the Black Monk of Pontefract, there are adolescent or teenage children in the home. It is believed that sometimes the energy created by these changing children can cause and/or attract poltergeist activity. Additionally, these children are usually the focus of the attacks and are largely the focus of the poltergesit’s attention. However, in this case, there were 4 mid-20s adults and a baby. It seems the baby, Jasmine, was never a pointed target. So, is this activity an exception to the rule? Or, is this a kind of non-adolescence poltergeist activity something that deserves its own investigation. Perhaps the energy of the couples’ friend’s untimely death created the elements necessary?
The above image is from Wikimedia Commons. It depicts Arnhem Highway, near Humpty Doo, Northern Territory taken by Bidgee. It is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
