A
supernatural phenomenon which
manifests itself as a
force that moves objects around, sometimes in a
destructive manner. While some theories identify the poltergeist as a
ghost, others say that it is the
unconscious use of
psychokinetic powers by a
resident of the afflicted
house, often an
adolescent. (Poltergeists do seem to frequently pop up in houses where a
teenager or a child nearing puberty lives.)
Also a 1982 film directed by Tobe Hooper and written by Steven Spielberg in which a suburban family is terrorized by angry ghosts. The lines "Go into the light" and "They're heeere..." are from Poltergeist.
The word comes from the German, roughly translating as "knocking spirit".