Martin Luther and His Poltergeist

Martin Luther (1483-1546) will forever be remembered for his famous tacking up his writ of the ninety-five theses in 1517 on the door of the Wurtemberg church that effectively marked the beginning of protestantism and his lifelong campaign to bring the Bible to the common people.

Through his translation of the Latin Bible to German he would secure himself a firm place in the history of the western world. Little known to the student of history is the paranormal and supernatural events that occurred to this famous man.

Luther apparently was visited by the devil himself while he worked on his Bible translation at Wartburg catle in 1521. When Old Nick appeared he began taunting Martin Luther. Luther then threw his ink stand at the devil. The stain left by the ink remains to be seen to this day.

Luther often reported that he battled voices and visions of the devil. He was convinced that the devil had appeared to him as a sow in the yard and a dog in his bed while at Wartburg castle. He reported that neither animal lived there at that time.

Luther wrote about other paranormal experiences he had in the room he inhabited at Wartburg castle in the same year. First, he recorded that a bag of hazelnuts that began to jump around by itself and then the hazelnuts rose up and hit the rafters on the ceiling of his chamber. Then his bed began to rattle. The brave cleric was unaffected by the activity and went back to sleep.

He was rudely awakened by loud crashing noises that sounded like many barrels rolling and tumbling down the stairs outside his apartment. When he investigated he found no barrels on his way down the stairs nor at the bottom landing and he inspected the front door to discover it was firmly locked with a chain from the inside as it had been when he retired for the night.

After Luther had vacated the castle, a woman who now resided in the chambers also had a similar experience as he did with the sound of barrels rolling down the stairs, as well as no evidence of any barrels or human involvement in the incident.She described the sound as proof that a thousand devils were active in the castle.

Luther later related in his writings two more poltergeist events, both of these while in the monastery at Wittenburg. He reported that on one instance that he heard noises in his cell and on another occasion he heard noises above his cell.

As with most accounts of poltergeist activities, there is room for the skeptic to find that the revered man of letters was at best imagining these events or at worst that he was perhaps mentally ill.

On the other hand, if poltergeist and demonic events were to be a factual reality,then what better target for diabolical harassment than the man who was in the midst of working on the bible for common people to read and who almost single-handedly changed the Christian faith.