A cewar ƙamus, poltergeist fatalwa ce ko kuma wani abu na allahntaka wanda aka yi imani yana haifar da damuwa ta jiki kamar ƙarar ƙara da abubuwan da ake motsawa ko jefawa. Kalmar ta fito daga kalmomin Jamusanci "poltern," wanda ke nufin "yin surutu," da "Geist," wanda ke nufin "fatalwa" ko "ruhu."
