My Experience at the farm#
The summer of ‘72 was very memorable. It was my first summer vacation from the University of Dayton, and I flew back home to São Paulo, Brazil. I visited my high school, Mary Immaculate, to say hello to everyone. Other than that, it was a fairly uneventful vacation—until one day.
In late July, an article appeared in Jornal Paulista (パウリスタ新聞) about a farm run by a Japanese family. The article described strange phenomena happening at the farm: objects were disappearing and reappearing right in front of people’s eyes. It stoked my curiosity, and I thought I would love to see it.
A few days later, my dad’s friend Mr. Yamada came to visit. He was very excited and told my dad, “Oh my god, Mr. Lu, my friend Okabe’s farm has a ghost! Let’s go and see it!” My dad hates anything spooky, so he replied, “Well, my kid Tsuguto is back from the US for vacation. It will be a good souvenir story for him. Why don’t you take him?”
Talk about synchronicity! I immediately asked, “When can we go?”
In early August, Mr. Yamada and I departed for Ponta Porã in his Toyota Land Cruiser. I didn’t pack anything—not even a toothbrush—assuming it would be a quick trip. It ended up taking all day. We had to stop somewhere along the way (I don’t recall the name of the place, but I vaguely remember a brothel with young women walking around).
We finally arrived at Mr. Okabe’s farm around 9:00 PM. The family welcomed us and showed us to the guest room where Mr. Yamada and I would be spending the night.
Two futons were laid out side by side on the floor. When Mr. Okabe’s son showed us into the room, we all gasped! On top of my futon lay a bicycle—the very one that had been parked outside near the first-floor entrance.
Mr. Okabe just smiled and said, “Oh, they are welcoming you!” He then carried the bike back downstairs.
We both went to bed. I was tired, but many thoughts crossed my mind. Then I heard the sound of something dropping near my pillow—one after another, four times in total. I got up and turned on the light. Mr. Yamada sat up and asked, “Did you hear that sound?” I looked around and spotted four wrapped candies on the floor.
The next morning at the breakfast table, I told the Okabe family what had happened. Mr. Okabe’s son said, “Oh, that’s where they went! The other day when staff from the Japanese Consulate visited with a gift, the box was empty.” He said it was supposed to be a box of candies. I wasn’t sure what to think. Then, the salt shaker on the table right in front of me suddenly disappeared—just as my eyes shifted from the table to my plate of eggs. I looked up and saw it sitting on a trough under the roof. I just wanted to go home.
After breakfast, we thanked the family and left. It was spooky.
Ever since this experience, I have been a firm believer in interdimensional interference. In addition, some biblical stories no longer seem so improbable.
Recorded Events#
This event is commonly known in parapsychology circles as the “Paraguay Poltergeist” (or O Poltergeist do Paraguai). While it technically occurred just across the border on a farm in Paraguay, it is deeply tied to Ponta Porã, Brazil, which served as the closest major city and the base for local reporting.
The case was heavily documented by Hernâni Guimarães Andrade, one of Brazil’s most famous parapsychologists and founder of the Brazilian Institute of Psychobiophysical Research (IBPP).
The Katsumi Okabe Farm Case (1969–1972)#
The phenomena centered around a 100-hectare farm owned by a Japanese immigrant named Katsumi Okabe, located roughly 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border town of Ponta Porã.
- The Timeline: The activity began quietly in 1969, subsided, and then returned with an intense, aggressive surge in July 1972. It caught widespread public attention after journalist Kazunari Akaki published a detailed report in the Jornal Paulista (a prominent newspaper for the Japanese-Brazilian community) on July 28, 1972.
- The Manifestations: Unlike many poltergeist cases that happen mostly at night or around a single bedroom, this case was relentless, occurring day and night across the plantation fields and the main house.
- Massive “Apports”: The most bizarre aspect of the case was the sheer size and variety of objects that spontaneously moved or materialized out of nowhere (known as apports). Investigators and witnesses recorded the teleportation and throwing of:
- Small stones and large rocks
- Heavy truck tires
- Sections of steel railroad tracks
- Wheelbarrows and entire rolls of fencing wire
- Household items like bottles and cans
- On one occasion, two caged parrots were moved completely outside of their enclosures without the cages being opened.
The Impact#
The activity became highly disruptive to the family’s livelihood. While they were working in the fields cultivating tomatoes and vegetables, stones and even their own harvested tomatoes would fly through the air, targeting the farm workers. Several employees were struck, including one who sustained a notable foot injury from a thrown rock.
Parapsychologists like Andrade categorized the event as a classic case of RSPK (Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis), where chaotic physical energy is unconsciously generated by a living person (often a stressed or repressed individual in the household) rather than a literal “ghost.”