The Boy Haunted by a Poltergeist: Johnny Brophy’s Story
At the beginning of the 20th century in the town of Madison, Wisconsin, USA, lived a boy named Henry John Brophy, known to everyone as “Little Johnny.” His father had died, and although his mother was alive, he did not live with her but with his grandparents, the Lunds, in their large, wealthy two-story house. His mother had moved to a nearby town after remarrying following Johnny’s father’s death.
In 1909, Johnny turned 11. He was an ordinary boy, except that he was “of rather average intelligence” and a bit awkward—early in his childhood, a cart had run him over, breaking several of his bones. The strangeness in his life began on March 9, when he was returning home from a walk. Suddenly, a snowball hit him in the back so hard that he fell. When he got up and looked around, no one was there.
The next day, the same thing happened—another snowball hit him hard. Johnny complained to his grandparents, and they went out to inspect, but again found no one.
Then on March 11, while Johnny and his grandparents were having dinner, small objects like cups, soap bars, and spools of thread began flying around the room on their own, as if tossed by invisible pranksters. Everyone was frightened, but the strange activity soon stopped.
On March 12, Johnny’s mother came to town for a funeral. That evening she visited her son at the grandparents’ house. While they all sat in the living room, the poltergeist activity started again. This time, it escalated—heavy furniture began to move. The shock was so great that Johnny’s grandfather nearly had a heart attack.
The next day, they invited Reverend Mostrom and a family friend, Sam Thompson. As soon as they entered, a thick Bible flew off the table and landed at the reverend’s feet, seemingly in mockery. Unfazed, Mostrom began reading prayers and then played a hymn on the household organ. This appeared to anger the spirit—soon a sharp meat knife flew past the priest and stuck in the floor, followed by a hatpin.
After the priest left, the poltergeist became even more violent: smashing light bulbs, slamming doors, unscrewing hinges until doors fell, and tossing lumps of coal from the kitchen.
Eventually, the grandparents noticed that the strange activity only occurred when Johnny was in the room. At first, they suspected him of playing pranks, but they and the neighbors quickly realized that someone of Johnny’s limited mental ability couldn’t have orchestrated such things so flawlessly.
Various theories emerged—some suspected electricity or telephone wires were involved, others thought Johnny might have been hypnotized and acted unconsciously. To confirm the connection, they sent him to visit his uncle Andrew in Springfield. The moment Johnny entered, a water bucket began spinning, and a large mirror fell and shattered.
Now everyone understood something strange and sinister surrounded Johnny. People began avoiding him, even his childhood friends. When playing marbles, the marbles moved on their own, and some even disappeared. If Johnny chased the fleeing kids, clumps of mud flew at him from nowhere.
The whole region soon heard about the “possessed” Johnny, and local newspapers covered his story. Shopkeepers banned him because candy jars would fall and break whenever he entered. Even the family cat began avoiding him.
Once, Uncle Andrew brought home a basket of eggs. One egg flew out and smashed right on Johnny’s face—proof that the invisible entity hated him deeply.
Eventually, Johnny was taken to a hospital where many doctors examined him. They found nothing wrong. Dr. George Kingsley, interested in spiritualism, suggested Johnny might be a gifted medium who couldn’t control his abilities. Another spiritualist claimed there were three spirits constantly around Johnny—two women and one man.
Soon journalists, psychics, and curious onlookers swarmed the Brophy home, forcing Johnny’s grandfather to publicly ask people to leave them in peace.
For the next few years, the poltergeist continued to torment Johnny, though with decreasing intensity. By 1917, Johnny was an adult and married. He was, by all appearances, a completely normal person.
