Em " A Anatomia da Melancolia " de Robert Burton (escrito em 1621), os foliots são descritos como sendo uma espécie de poltergeist.
Another sort of these there are, which frequent forlorn houses, which the Italians call foliots, most part innoxious, Cardan holds: 'They will make strange noises in the night, howl sometimes pitifully, and then laugh again, cause great flame and sudden lights, fling stones, rattle chains, shave men, open doors and shut them, fling down platters, stools, chests, sometimes appear in the likeness of hares, crows, black dogs, etc.,' of which read Pet. Thyraeus the Jesuit, in his tract de locis infestis, part. 1, cap. 1 et cap. 4, who will have them to be devils or the souls of damned men that seek revenge, or else souls out of purgatory that seek ease; for such examples peruse Sigismundus Scheretzius, lib. de spectris, part. 1, cap. 1, which he saith he took out of Luther most part; there be many instances. Plinius Secundus remembers such a house at Athens, which Athenodorus the philosopher hired, which no man durst inhabit for fear of devils. Austin, de Civ. Dei, lib. 22, cap. 8, relates as much of Hesperius the tribune's house at Zubeda, near their city of Hippo, vexed with evil spirits, to his great hindrance [and to the great distress of his animals and slaves].