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What is the definition and characteristics of poltergeists? Can they be harmful? Can they be permanent? Is there a way to control or get rid of them?

Any and all insight is appreciated.

Poltergeists are the ghosts that are harmful, or just create a lot of activity. Depending on the circumstances, acknowledge they are there, and if they are harmful, then try and get them out.

Are Poltergeists the result of a human spirit or something completely independent of humans?

If I recall, they center around a main person, whereas hauntings affect the whole area of the house.

I have them in my home many years ago. I would wake up and find my salt and pepper shakers at opposite ends of the table.

Oh yea, and they are called, prankster ghosts. ;)

Poltergeists suck. I had them in my home.... etc.

I believe they are very real. I have seen pictures and read articles about them and their damage.

What 'damage' have they done?
And can you get rid of them?

Some of them actually throw things around and break things and I've seen shows on Discovery Channel where people actually get hurt by them--either by an object being throw or something really touching them. Getting rid of them would be under the same classification as getting rid of a ghost of any kind I would imagine.

Some Poltergeists have been known to go after children. If they do that then GET OUT

Are they known to make noises?
I have heard that they are capable of such things.
I have also heard of them attatching themselves to adolescent teens... and that they come and go for breif periods of time?

Wouldn't that be considered a possesion?

from answers.com:

"Occultism & Parapsychology Encyclopedia: Poltergeist

The name of unexplained rappings, noises, and similar disturbances. The term poltergeist (Polter Geist, or rattling ghost) is indicative of the character of these "beings." It is believed poltergeists rarely cause serious physical injury, but can cause much damage by breaking fragile objects and occasionally setting fire to pieces of furniture or clothing. Supposedly a person may be pulled out of bed or levitated.

Most psychic manifestations require darkness, but poltergeists act in daylight. However, the movement of objects usually happens when no one is looking. One frequently reported claim is that objects rose or fell through the air slowly. Otherwise objects are often seen in flight but seldom beginning to move.

Supposedly the poltergeist is not indigenous to any one country or any particular period. Author Andrew Lang claimed several cases belonging to the Middle Ages and at least one dates back to 856 B.C.E. In different cultures around the world, the reported phenomena are similar regardless of the country of origin.

Believers claim the disturbances are particularly active in the neighborhood of one person, generally a child, a young woman, an epileptic, or a hysterical subject. According to the theory advanced by Spiritualists, the center of the disturbances is a natural medium, through whom the spirits desire to communicate with the world of living beings. In earlier times, such a person might be regarded as a witch, the victim of a sorcerer, or even an evil spirit. Some believe the poltergeist developed out of witchcraft and is a direct forerunner of modern Spiritualism, possibly a link between the two."

Several reports of poltergeists have been when a child was in the home or building.. subconsciously or on purpose have caused many of the above in the article.

No, a possession is when an entity begins to control a human, if I'm not mistaken.
But I am pretty sure an entity can attatch itself or be attracted to a human without trying to manipulate it.

Possession is different then attaching itself to someone....attaching is just hanging around the person all the time...bugging them...harrassing them...possession is when it inhabits the body of the person.

philip the ghost is a good place to start, toronto canadians made a ghost ... google it.

servitors are also under the same ilk....

we also make them.... you will find.

cant wait to get back from work to talk about this more

I've heard of Phillip. Quite interesting, really.

And I've also heard of us making them, with excess emotions that we have but do not express, or something of the sort.

Do you believe that one can subconciously create a poltergeist/servitor?

I just ran across this......just thought I'd add it to the thread:


Hauntings are spirits of deceased human beings appearing frequently in certain places. Poltergeists may not be spirits at all. Some theories are that poltergeists are mass forms of energy that a living person is unknowingly controlling. In some cases extreme poltergeists activity has been linked to demons. Hauntings are usually related to a specific place or tragic way of death.

The differences between Poltergeist activity and a Haunting can be hard to distinguish. In the early stages of a poltergeist is may be impossible. Haunts and poltergeists do share basic aspects, (apparitions, strange noises, odors, moving or disappearing objects, etc.).

There are also some points that make them very different: Poltergeists however, are usually linked directly to a specific person or object. Hauntings are appearances of ghost(s) in areas known to the deceased before their deaths. Poltergeists can be triggered by a living person's trauma in any area, at any time. Haunting activities are continuous over time, concentrated in the same area..

Poltergeists build up over time to a climax, then start over. They can travel anywhere. Haunting are not violent. Most poltergeists nearing the climax of their energy can become dangerous to the living. Inflicting both mental and physical terror in extreme cases. If you happen to meet with one of this kind, deal with it with the utmost care.
http://ghosts.monstrous.com/haunting_and_poltergeist.htm

I wonder really what the actual statistics are of how common they can be. Doesn't seem that they can be too common. Otherwise we would have a reality series with it.

Well, we have reality series about everything else!

But poltergeist hauntings are very common, it's just that those households who have them tend not to want to draw attention to it as they fear ridicule and press invasion.

I used to know of a house back in my home town which had a poltergeist. Unlike most which tend to manifest around a teenager, or other family member, this lingered in the house through various families living there. I've heard of about 4 families moving there within 2 years, the longest any lasted was 9 months. This PG would throw ashtrays, books, plates, anything which could hurt people, and one grandfather living there with his daughters family nearly died after a kitchen clock 'fell' off the wall and clobbered him on the head.

As far as I know the house is still haunted by this nasty spirit, and when you walk past it you can feel the menace exuding from it. I think I'l look in to the history of it someday and find out when it started...

There was one in the house I grew up in, it would hide things turn lights on and off, but it was never harmful, so we never got rid of it. Usually if you acknolwedge them they are nice. If that is not your case, then a house clensing might help.

poltergeists, harmful or harmless depending upon the level of energy of the ghostie involved...some hurt, some are harmless, these are spirits that inhabit a dwelling, NOT a person...that's Posession and a totally different Topic.

I believe they are the largest classificayion of para normal experiances and though their are a few other explainations for them the consistancy in reports from witnesses is phenomenal.

and that's why Ghost Hunters is so damned popular a show; they've used Science to prove the existence of paranormal activity.

I always believed that they were just prankster ghosts that liked attention. We had one in our house that just did things like take all the dishes out of the cupboards and little things like that but never caused any harm.

they can be pranksters, but they can also be kinda dangerous as well. usually a polterguist feeds off of someones fear, stress, ect. the more energy u put into thinking about it, more often than not, the more it can bother u or somebody else.

I have always understood it as a ghost haunting and is unharmful. I would suspect that anything harmful would be something above a mere ghost.

Poltergeists can be very harmful. They aren't always permanent. You can get rid of them but seek a perfessional.



Lady horror

sometimes intervention with the person that is attched to the Geist is needed Fodor Nándor writes about this in Between Worlds I lived once in a place with two early teen girls on either side of his apatment and whoe I have witnessed water jumping out of sinks before...paint on a model blister and a few other things that drove me bonkers that I seldom mention.

these guysa re actually as far as my knowlegde goes the ones that are harmful. Though I have never had one in my house or anywhere I have been i ahve had friends with this problem. We performed a bunch a rituals to remove them. when those didnt work we again went to our coven masters...not the ones here on VR but Real ones and they took care of it.

What is the definition and characteristics of polterguise?A polterguise ois a spirit that inhabits a place. They can be harmful depending on what they see as thier agenda. It is said that some spirits are bound to a certain place. And they can be removed by doing an exorcism or to have them banished

A poltergit is a spirit or energy that possesses a place. I don't know if they are harmfull or good in anyway. Im sure they are like a swarm of bees. If you leave them alone, they will leave you alone.

Poltergeists are harmful, considering the pranks and other things they do. Which do cause harm.

A way to get rid of them is probably similar to an exorcism of sorts.

They are harmful yes. I have never seen them before or felt them before.

Mm, never had any experienced with them. But from the stories i've heard, some are violent and some are just...there.

Poltergiests can be harmful. They can be refered to as "Noisy Ghosts" and their name literally means "Racketing Spirits". I have always heard that they don't haunt a certain building or property, they attach themselves to people. They follow these people from place to place, and they usually target adolescents who are said to posess a strong psychic ability.

http://www.pararesearchers.org/Ghosts/Article_Five/article_five.html

That is a link to an article on The Philip Phenomenon, an experiment which resulted in a manifestation of a fictional historical character. It's very interesting.

There is also a book of fiction (I forget the author's name) called Poltergeist, in which a female private investigator is called upon to investigate poltergeist activity. The author seems to have based portions of the book on accounts of Philip and similar scientific experiments.

A lesser known way to dismiss a polterguise is to create a portal for its passage they represent dream catchers but without the webbing they must be made custom and everyone that has witnessed the activity needs to contribute to the crafting of the portal.when it is done it is hung in a hall way or foyer.

I think it depends on the hostility at your home... It seems that a poltergeist could draw on that negative energy and use that to project things or feelings... Sometimes it could just be a minor poltergeist that just likes to mess with your head, like where'd my house keys go... I thought I left that there... etc.
I'd like to think that I don't have experience with that but sometimes I wonder.

I believe in them and that they are the harmful type of ghost/spirit. I have had some experience with them myself but not much...I usually only see or feel the nicer spirits/ghosts like my brother.

A friend of mine was just telling me she thinks she has a poltergeist. Not long ago, I went over to her apartment to watch a movie, and we lost the cork to a bottle of port. We searched and searched, but couldn't find it. Later, we found it back in the bottle. She says other things have been moved around as well, but hasn't experienced any really hostile actions.

I have heard of people creating poltergeist. When someone is extremely depressed and gloomy, it can create poltergeist.
I don't fully understand it yet.

Poltergeists can be created by negative energy or feelings coming from a person, and they seem to attach themselves to younger teens or adolescence because of their repressed emotions and higher psychic vulnerability, I think one way of getting rid of a poltergeist is with an exorcism.

A Poltergeist is a ghost or spirit that manifests itslef by moving or influencing objects. A mischeivious spirit. Activity seems to happen around one person. Most focus is on pubescent children. Some say that the human mind can generate a poltergeist. I am sure they could be very harmful. I think it is possible that they could be permanent. I also believe that a poltergeist can be controlled if you control you own emotions and fears. Can they be gotten rid of? If maybe some sort of blessing of the home is done. It may also depend on the poltergeist.

From what I understand, poltergeists are generally energy, or spirits, depending on who you ask, that cause more active "hauntings"...things moving on their own, etc., where as a general haunting might entail mild disturbances, but nothing like things moving on their own.

MorbidCuriousity - It's often said that a poltergeist attaches it's self to a person, while I am not saying that that's a fact, but I don't believe that a house blessing would work...the blessing or exorcism would most likely have to involve the one person that's being targeted.

A poltergeist is a spirit that chooses to haunt a person or place -- sometimes known as being a miscivious spirit.

Yes it has been said that a poltergeist can attach itself to a single person. But it has also been said that it can attach itself to a home or certain place and if that is the situation a house blessing might work.

My understanding of them was that they were a prankster spirit that would attach to a person. Usually a child. In the stories and legends, simply moving wouldn't get rid of them because they would follow the family unlike a haunting. They usually didn't have any sort of form that you could see, they would manifest by moving objects often violently.

I also read another theory that suggested they weren't spirits or ghosts at all but psychic energy from a child often experiencing raging emotions. One of those things where they blame it on puberty since poltergeists always seem to disappear when the child they center on grows up.

poltergeists can be harmfull, and dangerous
they tend to throw items, knifes or other materials around and close enough to grab , I have polterguise activity in an old apartment i used to live in , I woke up to blood on my kitchen floor with a feather in the middle I took it to be anilized and it was no animal blood never really found out, I had a priest over to take care of it because my son was just born then , the preist wouldnt go near my daughters bedroom attic and the following week after he died
he said it was bad , i would hear furniture being thrown in the attic and there was nothing up there
blood foot prints on the front stairs going up to my apartment.
the kids would scream when stuff got thrown
we moved finally but some times they do manifest in your belongings and u cant get rid of them that easy but usuallyif u tell them to go they are suposed to

To my understanding a poltergeist is very dangerous and almost impossible to remove from its location. They linger causing disturbances, taunting those living with them. They are very angry spirits and very powerful. They can and will physically harm those who get in their way. In most cases the trouble they cause comes and goes but always lingers. I’ve never heard of a true poltergeist being removed form its location, even with the assistance of priests or holy people.

So is it that the poltergeist is attached to the home and will torment anyone who moves into that home? Or is it that even if that person moves if the poltergeist is attached to them it will go if they leave?

Can a polterguise be harmful, not to the apport (the center of activity, ) but if the polterguise is not revealed, and the under lying triggers are not dealt with, then they can come back to destroy the apport, or someone they love, like Tinas' baby.. I want people to read this case, it is an example of what is likely Para-Behavior as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Resch

As a ghost, apparition, polterguise myself, I will never hurt a soul, I have seen others create accidents, I have felt a bit careless. Road side spooks are dangerous as well, for reasons of distractions, people have been forced out of their home by activity as well (some of them needed to be forced out) Catching a polterguise in action, is the best way to defuse it.

I should add most activity that my ghost do depends on how maintained the house is, but slamming furniture is likely when my ghost are charged, and cued. pictures off the wall are a common activity of my geist, my ghost brush past people in hall ways or garages, usually a very cold brush, i have seen someone twist an ankle they spooked so intensly. I have also been knocked over by a ghost, flat on my ass. Sometimes to avoid being caught a geist will go to more subtle activity.

morbidcuriousity -


Usually poltergeists haunt homes that they used to live in.

This case at one time was the poster case, the smoking gun for spiritualist, they dragged out all their experts, even went so far as to film for a TV documentary. Then all of a sudden they lost interest, others still cling to it as proof (true believers). Some modern spiritualist even refuse to address it (as is common with exposed one time promising events). So what is your take on this case?

The follow-up is terrible, and some modern "shrinks" think Tina missed the opportunity to receive care for mental abuse as well as physical, all those para investigators were so bent on their "evidence" that they overlooked the suffering child.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Resch

So if the same thing happened in modern times. Perhaps even drawing a media frenzy? What should be done differently?

well I feel kids are more aware of them then adults are until they become very annoying and bothersome .. They can be dangerous as well or just wanting to bug ya LOL

People have so many questions regarding activity. Here is what seemed to be(and some still claim it to be so) poltergeist activity.

Yet all those that paraded the case as proof, have since shunned it (a common practice in the spiritualist fad).

I really want to address the Tina Resch case from a believer view. Does anybody believe after researching it that this is a case of actual poltergeist?

polteirguist activity can vary.. From things moving towards you, to visual entities in your sight.. it depends on the strength really..

This is a spirit, usually mischievous and occasionally malevolent, which manifests its presence by making noises, moving objects, and assaulting people and animals. The term "poltergeist" comes from the German poltern, "to knock," and geist, "spirit." Some cases of poltergeists that remain unexplained and may involve actual spirits. In other cases the phenomena may be produced by subconscious psychokinesis (PK) on the part of an individual.

Included in the most common types of poltergeist activities are the rains of stones, dirt, and other small objects; moving or throwing of objects, including large pieces of furniture; loud noises and shrieks; and vile smells. It seems that poltergeists have adapted to the development of technology. They are known to have caused interference in telephones and electronic equipment, and turning lights and appliances on and off. Some poltergeists are said to pinch, bite, hit, and sexually attack the living.

You can read more here:

Poltergeist

A Polterguise is a spirit they can be harmful and then again they could be playful. If u want them out of the house u will need to have a excorism or get ahold of someone who does banishing rituals

poltergeist by def. is a noisy ghost, a mischievous or menevalint spirit or entity...they can be harmful...they usally center around one person...the is having some kind of crissis...big or small....that is it's way in...some last others do not....i am guess white magik spells should get rid of...if you believe in the guardians and you know yours you could call upon him and your guardian would have no problem getting rid of it...

My poltergeist has harmed someone, I just was reminded last night..
It tripped someone that was getting out of hand.. I was at a corner seat, and I focused the geist to that area and moved , the person that was sitting across from me, got aggitated and in a fit moved toward the person they found caused them to be aggitated, the geist I charged to that area.. caught their foot and laid them out.. so in intense situations a geist can cause a person to increase the likelihood that they will be harmed by perliforating activity.

My ghost once made someone wet themselves as well.

The poltergeist in my moms old house, was named I Don't Know, he would do all kinds of things, my mom trained that gheist.. she would say "well I Dont Know had better never do it again...

i believe if we just leave them alone theyll leave us alone so i dont really look into them

Darkened -


Poltergeists do what they do just to mess with people -- leaving them alone won't do anything.

some say you have to be firm with it, and whatever your experiencing will lessen.. but still not go away..

Well I think it's kind of like the old saying. "He who believes in the devil already belongs to him" by believing in evil spirits or poltergeist, you are giving them power. ignore them, and they will disappear.

I have not seen them but who knows maybe one day but there not fun to mess with trust me be carefull.

I found this this link which gives a bit of interesting information.

As does this article.

some are just tricky and love to play games some can case a lot of trouble and some can and will harm you just depineds on what on it is

Polterguise are normally ghost that tend to play games. They pull pranks and have fun with you. They dont seem to worry about ppl knowing they are around.

Has anyone named their geist? in my moms house the geist were, "Not Me" and "I Dont Know" so when my mom asked the four of us, "who did this?"
We'de say "IDK, Or Not Me.. she had a way of dealing with that, she would avow that IDN, and Not Me Better not do it again..

So sometimes giving a geist a name, and using it in "Trigger Company" can dispell it, if all else fails get a corner fish eye camera, and you are likely to catch your geist at their favorite activity.. notice that some geist will focus on one disturbing action, notice as well that it is usually when someone is distracted.

"Poltergeist" you mean, well I heard a couple of days ago them being described as 'manifestations of negative energy'. They are active, violent, noisy, and seem to be a spirit with a personality. The word means 'noisy ghost'. I've never before though of them to be the spirit of a single dead person, but I agree with the possibility that they are a manifestation of negativity. A collection of bad energy or spirits strong enough to influence the physical world.

Oh yes and they can do damage, I heard of someone having their head slammed to the ground by one and then requiring stitches. They can throw things at you too. Since no one really knows quite what they are, I don't think there is yet a way to get rid of them. They are physical, they are real, and seem to have some sort of connection to electricity, or static.

I don't know how to explain them, although I'm sure that someone has already explained.

All I know is that they scare me badddly. I've heard of stories where they haunt little kids and all that stuff.
Creepy.

CherryAdvocate -


Wouldn't an exorcism type thing work just as well with them as it would with a demonic spirit?

I was a victim of a polterguise when I was younger. Some people believe that teenagers that are going through tubulent time can start them without the child even knowing. Though this may not be the case.

Your best bet is too get rid of it if you have on by a house cleansing, I have never heard of a spirit being able to stay permanently. If the spirits comeback after the cleansing say a few weeks or months do it all over again and reclaim you space. They can be dagerous so do, becareful.

it is believed that a Poltergeist is an angry spirit that feeds of emotions.... that is why Poltergeists are so violent when manifesting themselves.... they frighten people so they feed off the powerful emotional energy.....

also they typically haunt pre-teens and teenagers because of their heightened emotion states....

I have read reports about Polterguise being both helpful and being very evil.

I know a poltergeist that got two very sweet girls taken out of harms way, the father was a very violent person.. the geist distracted him from them, wearing his nerves down and making him lose control around people he would have usually remained calm about..

After reading the posts in this thread there seemed to be some confusion regarding potergeists and hauntings so I decided to google it and this is an article I found at www.zerotime.com...

Poltergeist Activity: A malevolent, mischievous spirit or form of energy which manifests with characteristics such as strange noises, moving or disappearing objects, and abnormal odors. The word poltergeist is a German word, literally translated means, “Noisy Spirit.”

The earliest known reports of poltergeists date back to the ancient Romans. Other poltergeist records can be found in the medieval times of China and Germany. The reports indicate unexplainable events such as throwing dirt, flying objects, awful smells, loud noises, unexplained lights and ghostly apparitions. All of which are very similar to the still ongoing reports of modern poltergeists. Why exactly poltergeist activity occurs has been under debate by experts and scientists for decades. Poltergeists usually begin and end abruptly. The typical incident can last for several hours or several years.

There have been hundreds of independent studies done on poltergeists. A majority of the cases revolve around on individual or “Agent,” as they are called. The phenomenon seems to be linked to a type of subconscious psychokinesis (PK) on the part of the agent. The studies have discovered that most of the poltergeist agents are females under the age of twenty who are totally unaware that they are involuntarily directing the poltergeist energy.

While still not much is known about the way that poltergeist work the investigations have uncovered a link between the agents and states of poor mental or physical health. Emotional problems associated with agent personalities are anxiety, hysteria, anger, obsessions, phobias and schizophrenia. In some cases with psychological help to relieve the emotional tensions the poltergeist energies diminish and disappear.

It should be pointed out that while a majority of poltergeist cases revolve around unstable human agents, there are cases where all of the people involved are psychologically stable and don't seem to have any control over the poltergeist energy. These cases remain a mystery. Some paranormal researchers blame them on other supernatural forces including Demon influences.

The differences between poltergeist activity and a haunting can be very hard to distinguish. In the early stages of a poltergeist it may be impossible. Haunts are poltergeists do share basic aspects, (apparitions, strange noises, odors, moving or disappearing objects, etc.).

There are some points that make them very different:

Haunting: Involves the ghosts of deceased human beings appearing frequently in certain places and times.
Poltergeist: May not be ghosts at all. There are theories are that poltergeists are mass forms of PK energy that a living person is unknowingly controlling. In some cases extreme poltergeists activity has been linked to demons.

Haunting: The appearances of spirits in areas known to the deceased before death.
Poltergeist: Can be triggered by a living person's trauma in any location, at any time.

Haunting: Activities are continuous over time, concentrated in the same general area.
Poltergeist: Activities build up over time to a climax and then start over. Poltergeist energies can travel anywhere with anyone.

Haunting: Are not violent by nature.
Poltergeist: Nearing the climax of the energy cycle poltergeists can become dangerous, inflicting both mental and physical terror in extreme cases.

If you feel that you are encountering poltergeist activity don't wait to look for help. Find a priest or local paranormal research group in your area. Some poltergeist cases can be exorcised before they have the chance of becoming dangerous. If you think that the poltergeist is linked to an object in you possession get rid of that object right away. Don't try to move or run away from a poltergeist. It's a waste of time. If the poltergeist is linked to a person or object it will follow right along with you. The best thing to do is seek out professional help as soon as you can. It shouldn't cost you a penny to do so. If you find someone that wants to charge you a fee, look for someone else.

I know my house has some serious jokers who move stuff all day long... Although they may find it funny, I do not. They also keep turning stuff on and off..crazy...

a mischeif causing spirit........usually caused by someone projecting pent up feelings....usualaly an adolescent female

radu -


Where exactly did you come across these reports?

no spirit or ghost can actually harm you! Well not seriously they can scratch you or leave red marks but that is it!
the most a ghost or spirit will do is let you know that they are thier!
a poltergiest is basically noisy ghost it is merely a disruptive spirit that is trapped and it doesn't want to be thier!
However some spirits or ghosts will never harm us or even try to harm us they are playing a game!
Moving things from one place to another taking something then making it reapear when you've looked everywhere for it!

Now I notice there is alot of information on them but I still have not seen a post as to how a poltergeists comes into being??????????????????????????

i believe they can get violent,but sometimes they do stuff to scare people,thats what i believe though :D

I do not know if this answers the question of where poltergeists come from but I believe it could be close to an answer....I found this at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poltergeist#Poltergeist_activity_originates_with_agents

Poltergeist activity originates with agents
Poltergeist activity tends to occur around a single person called an agent or a focus.[1] Foci are often, but not limited to, pubescent children. Almost seventy years of research by the Rhine Research Center in Durham, North Carolina, has led to the hypothesis among parapsychologists that the "poltergeist effect" is a form of psychokinesis generated by a living human mind (that of the agent). According to researchers at the Rhine Center, the "poltergeist effect" is the outward manifestation of psychological trauma.[citation needed]. This could mean either the agent himself has fabricated such a belief/experience, or the poltergeist may have been discovered by people other than the principal agent himself and passed along to him(with or without his knowledge)

I have had myself a few poltergeists, I used to create them myself which drove my mother nuts but she always knew what mood I was in *giggles*. She called my Grandfather to dispel them by blessing our homes. Most of the activity was when I was a teen but I have had a few incidents as an adult. Nothing really harmful during my adult years, but my teens years the poltergeist did a lot of damage.

Sometimes when an Agent is dormant, a secondary Agent is likely to become interfaced to the events as well. It would be best to separate the two, at least in the setting of the house. another way to limit their activity is to assure that things are secured. so how uncluttered and congested the house is makes a difference.

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