From: rhinoceros (rhinoceros@freemail.gr)
Date: Thu Apr 08 2004 - 14:32:15 MDT
I wonder whether Michael Shermer's ghostbusters have been notified about this:
Sicilian Blazes Put Science to the Test
Mon Apr 5,10:38 AM ET
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=6&u=/nm/20040405/sc_nm/life_italy_fires_dc
A series of spontaneous fires started in mid-January in the town of Canneto di Caronia in about 20 houses. After a brief respite last month, the almost daily fires have flared up again -- even though electricity to the village was cut off.
An endless flow of scientists, engineers, police and even a few self-styled "ghostbusters" have descended on the town searching for clues to the recent spontaneous combustion of everything from fuse boxes to microwave ovens to a car.
<snip>
From the start, Gabriele Amorth, one of the Catholic Church's exorcists, suspected the devil was at work.
"I've seen things like this before," he told Il Messaggero daily. "Demons occupy a house and appear in electrical goods," he said, urging the parish priest to take action.
The local priest, Don Antonio Cipriani, decided together with residents to let scientists have a first go at the fires.
After a brief visit to Canneto di Caronia, the head of the Committee for the Control of Paranormal Claims has ruled out demons or poltergeists -- at least for the time being.
<snip>
A host of three-legged instruments to monitor geomagnetic, meteorological, electromagnetic and electrostatic indicators sit in apartments and next to lemon trees in the gardens. Colored markings on the street indicate the presence of volcano experts.
Police ruled out a possible prankster or pyromaniac after they saw wires burst into flames.
The hypotheses now range from a build-up of electrical energy caused by grounding wires running off the railway to a rare "natural phenomenon" in which surges of electricity rise from the earth's core.
The fires have even consumed unplugged lamps and an entire apartment. Black scorch marks still scar the apartment walls.
Italy's big utility, Enel, cut off electricity to the town and hooked it up to a generator -- but that caught fire as well.
More recently cellular phones and cars have also been acting up, with lock and alarm systems being set off without any apparent reason.
<snip>
Spinnato, the mayor, sounds just as desperate.
"Someone wrote to us saying the solution was to sacrifice a black goat and collect its blood. At some point, that's going to start looking like a good idea."
[rhinoceros]
Here is someone else who has been trying to figure it out.
http://www.ebicom.net/~rsf1/canneto.htm
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