Jaboticabal Poltergeist

Death by ghost...is it possible?  Some may argue that if an entity has the power to move an object, it must certainly have the ability to do harm to a living person.  Whatever your theory or belief, this is one case where an alleged entity DID cause the death of a young girl...although perhaps not in a way you expected... 

 

Jaboticabal is a small municipality north of Sao Paulo Brazil.  The name comes from a Tupi language, but the area is overwhelmingly Catholic, being the seat of the local Roman Catholic Diocese.

In 1965, a series of incidents would rock this small community (literally) and secure its place in the annals of ghost research.  That December, 11 year old Maria Jose Ferreira became the victim of one of the worst poltergeist attacks on record.  At first, the entity seemed playful, and Maria would enjoy having it "fetch her things."  Soon, though, it turned malicious, and after several days of bricks coming out of nowhere and being thrown through the house, the family was convinced they were dealing with an evil entity, and called upon the local priest for an exorcism.

An exorcism was performed, but the activity only got worse. In addition to the bricks, now stones, eggs, dishes, furniture, and other miscellany constantly rained down on the family on their home, but Maria continued to feel the full brunt of the attacks.

Maria was constantly under a physical battle with an unseen attacker.  She was bit, slapped, bruised, and even stuck with needles, which suddenly appeared embedded in her skin.  She was even almost set ablaze one day at school while eating lunch.  On March 14, 1966, as she sat there eating, her clothes began to smolder and smoke.

During this time, a neighbor and Spiritualist had taken Maria into his home in an attempt to help cure her of this phenomena.  Joao Volpe and his family kept Maria for about a year, but were never able to fully ease the symptoms.

Maria, the Volpe's, and her family dealt with these attacks for nearly a year before Maria was taken to a local medium, who made an outrageous claim.  Chico Xavier claimed that the spirits had told him that Maria had been a witch in a past life, and she was now being stalked by the ghosts of her victims!  This ghost had dedicated his afterlife into making Maria suffer for her past sins.

Nothing the medium or anyone else did could lessen the attacks on Maria, and at age 13 she returned home to live with her mother. She suffered for five years until one day her body was found, dead of an apparent self-inflicted poisoning by drinking a soft drink laced with pesticide.  It was rumored that she took her own life to end the suffering of the relentless attacks.  After her death, the activity immediately stopped.  Did the ghosts finally have their revenge on Maria?