That's going to weigh on my mind. Maybe I should ask my neighbor, an English teacher, about this.

It’s science

Because it’s a German word?

“I before E except after C when the sound is E. Any other sound it’s the other way round.” You need to learn the whole rhyme. And it’s German.

Well, the word "receive" is also spelled with "ei" end is pronounced like "e". The pronunciation of "e" can be spelled in many different ways in the english language. Receive, believe, free, beat... Also, like many have said before: It is a german word deriving from a compound of "poltern" (rumble, rant) and "Geist" (ghost).