Poltergeist in Freud's Bookcase

In 1900, the 25-year-old Jung was hired at the prestigious Psychiatric Clinic at the University of Zurich. Here he performed substantial research on word association, developed his theory of "complexes," and successfully initiated a "patient-friendly" approach to working with psychotics and schizophrenics. During his tenure, he also began a collaboration with Freud. From 1906, when their correspondence began, until 1912, when their friendship ended, Jung was a staunch supporter of Freud's work and actively promoted it. However, there were problems. One involved the famous poltergeist in Freud's library. Visiting Freud in Vienna in 1909, Jung asked him about his approach to parapsychology. Freud was skeptical and dismissed the field as nonsense. Jung disagreed and, sitting across from his master, began to feel his diaphragm glowing as if red-hot. Suddenly, a loud bang came from the bookcase. Both men jumped, and Jung said to Freud, "Here is an example of the so-called catalytic exteriorization phenomenon!"—Jung's long-winded term for a poltergeist or "noisy ghost." Freud replied, "Nonsense!" Jung predicted that a second bang would immediately follow. And so it did. From that moment on, Jung said, Freud became increasingly distrustful of him. Reading Freud's letter to Jung about this incident, one gets the impression that Jung himself was responsible for everything.This wasn't surprising—Jung exhibited numerous paranormal abilities. Lying in his hotel bed after a lecture, he witnessed the suicide of a patient who had experienced a powerful "transference" (a communication between minds without the use of sensory input—Ivellios's note). The patient relapsed into depression and shot himself in the head. Jung awoke to a strange pain in his forehead. He later discovered that his patient had shot himself in the exact spot where he felt the pain, at the same time Jung awoke. Furthermore, one of his guests once mentioned Jung's "external libido" and how "when an important idea arose, of which he was not yet fully aware, the furniture and woodwork throughout the house would creak and crack."