The Thornton Road Poltergeist refers to stone-throwing incidents in a residential area of Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and the subsequent police investigation.

History

In 1981, Ward End

Ward End

Ward End is an area of Birmingham, England. It covers the area between Saltley, Hodge Hill and Stechford and includes Ward End Park, a public park that has been open for over 100 years.-Ward End territory:...

 residents at Thornton Road told police they could not locate the source of stones being thrown that were causing significant damage to windows and roof tiles. Chief Inspector

Chief inspector

Chief inspector is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police .-Australia:...

 Len Turley investigated, saying his team went to great lengths to catch the individual or individuals responsible. Officers camped outside overnight and reportedly employed night sights, image intensifiers and automatic cameras, but failed to find the source of the stone throwing, prompting some writers to ascribe the incident to a poltergeist

Poltergeist

A poltergeist is a paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity. Such manifestation typically includes inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the...

.

Literature

• Fairley, John & Welfare Simon 1984: Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers pages 31–34. ISBN 0002166798.
• Time Life Books 1989: Mind Over Matter pages 53–54. ISBN 0809463369.