Last Podcast On The Left
Last Podcast On The Left
"The main psychical researcher in this story, a man named Harold Chibbit, made the messages Donald's central characteristic when Chibbit wrote about the case. The title Chibbit chose, however, was extremely underwhelming. His book, which he spent years writing, he had years to come up with a title for this, was called the Poltergeist that can write." — Marcus Parks
"The fact that it's a prince is the most unbelievable part of all of it to me. You know, just like, why is it always like, whenever you talk about the afterlife for like, people's past lives, it's always like, you were Abraham Lincoln. It's never like you were just subdued." — Henry Zebrowski
"But as it often goes, the haunting only escalated after Shirley's life began falling apart. In late February, Shirley reported that she was in bed and she felt her sheets being yanked away from her. She called for her father, Wally, who tried tugging them back, but his efforts were reportedly met with an unknown force pulling the sheets in the other direction." — Marcus Parks
This episode of Last Podcast on the Left introduces the Battersea Poltergeist case, a 1956 incident involving 15-year-old Shirley Hitchings and a purported poltergeist named Donald. The story rapidly gained national attention due to the obsessive British press, with Donald allegedly communicating extensively through written messages and physical disturbances. The primary investigator, Harold Chibbit, focused on Donald's prolific writing, titling his book "The Poltergeist that can write," a title the hosts found notably underwhelming.
The narrative contrasts this case with the Enfield Poltergeist, highlighting the Battersea case's focus on communication and its "middle-class" setting compared to Enfield's "working-class" victims. The hosts discuss the poltergeist's claimed identity as a French prince and its alleged motivation to help Shirley achieve fame. The transcript details the Hitchings family's initial experiences, including mysterious keys and persistent knocking, and Shirley's characteristics: quiet, shy, imaginative, and an obsession with TV actors, potentially sharing dyslexia with Donald.
The episode also touches on the family's background, their adherence to the Church of England, and the initial skepticism of Shirley's father, Wally. The involvement of amateur spiritualist Harry Hanks and his family, an attempted exorcism, and the subsequent media frenzy, including sensationalized articles and the introduction of a "big toe" theory to debunk the haunting, are explored. The story concludes by setting up the next installment, promising further developments, more deaths, and a deeper dive into the psychological aspects of the case.