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The Riberio

Brazil has been described as ‘the world’s most psychic country,’ and this is true in almost every area of the paranormal, to varying degrees. In The Flying Cow Playfair examines, among others, extraordinary accounts of mediumship, psychic surgery and reincarnation.

Researchers in the modern, technological paranormal, including those phenomena embraced by the term ‘UFO research’, are well aware of the strangeness of South America, and Brazil in particular, not only in terms of the high number of cases reported but also because of their unique qualities. Furthermore, the areas of São Paulo and Minas Gerais around the town of Sorocaba have provided some of the world’s most extraordinary UFO abduction stories, including the first ever reported alien abduction, that of farm worker Antonio Villas Boas in 1957. Playfair recorded the following poltergeist story which brings out two important points about the phenome non.

On 18 July 1972 the home of Mr Fernando and Mrs Alda Riberio and their six children in Sorocaba, west of São Paulo City, became the initial focus of poltergeist activity Characteristically, the first indications of the poltergeist were knocking noises and household objects flying around and occa sionally breaking. During the course of the activity ‘almost every single piece of furniture in the house [ overturned, some of them more than once’, Playfair describes in The Flying Cow, how on one occasion a large motor tyre outside the house rose three feet into the air and hovered there, frightening Mr Fernando. An investigation was undertaken by the Brazilian Institute for Psycho-Biophysical Research (IBPB) led by Hernani Guymeraes Andrade. Sounds were recorded on tape; in particular the investigating team had been in the house — and every one of the household was under observation — when there was an enormous crash from the kitchen. On investigation a heavy wooden shelf — far too heavy for the family dog to have knocked over — had crashed to the floor injuring the dog’s paw.

When the family moved out of the house to stay with relatives, the poltergeist activity went with them and a neighbour com mented, ‘It looked as if a tractor had driven through the place.’ Probably to the relief of the relatives, when the family moved back to their own house the trouble went back with them. There were signs that this poltergeist was physically dangerous; despite the potential danger of poltergeists this is actually a very rare occurrence. Alda Riberio was hit on the head by a flying brick and one of her daughters was scalded by water from a kettle which was torn out of her hands when she was making coffee. One of the important points about the case was brought out by Playfair: it normally took three men to lift the concrete water tank that the poltergeist had overturned; on that basis polter geists could presumably be a lot more destructive than they are.

Twelve-year-old Yara was suspected of being the focus, having been present on all occasions of activity, but the case was never solved as the family fled the area, not to be heard of again. Playfair made the important observation that the poltergeist apparently did not like to perform at night when there were lights switched on but was content to do so during daylight hours; the lights may have indicated to the poltergeist that it was under scrutiny. Italy | New York | Wiltshire | Activity | Activity | Activity | Borley | Brazil | Brazil | Burma | Canada | Corney | East Drive | Edinburgh | Finland | France | France | Germany | Ghostly | Lincoinshire | Manchester | Middlesex | Northern ireland | Northern Romania | Nova Scotia | Paraguay | Phenomena | Poltergeist Information | Scotland | Scotland | South London | Suffolk | Switzerland | USA | Washington State | West Norwood | Whitechapel |