Mysterious Hail of Stones
A most extraordinary occurrence has thrown Marcinelle, a large town near Charleroi, into a state of utter confusion (says the Brussels correspondent of the “Telegraph”). Since Wednesday last a persistent rain of flints and stones has been falling upon the roof of a certain merchant’s house, smashing tiles and windows, and so far it has been impossible to trace the source or origin of this plague of projectiles. The incessant rattle of the stones on the house is shattering the nerves of all the neighbours, who, at a loss to account otherwise for the annoyance, tell each other with bated breath that Satan himself must have a hand in it.
While the police and the gendarmes are unwilling to subscribe to the theory of the infernal origin of the stones, the fact remains that the enquiries which they have diligently pursued for the last five days have neither put an end to the mischief nor revealed its author.
Birmingham Mail, 3rd February 1913.
Mystery of a “Haunted” House
Puzzles the Police
The mystery of the so-called haunted house in the little town of Marcinelle near Charleroi (says a Brussels correspondent), is as far off as ever from being solved.
The rain of stones and other missiles has recommenced after a night’s calm, and the owner of the house, M Jacob van Zanten, an export merchant, finds his home quite uninhabitable. It was only a few days ago that the mysterious shower of stones and lumps of brick first came crashing about the windows at ten o’clock in the morning, greatly frightening Mme Van Zanten and her servant.
At first they thought it was an accident, but the showers of missiles continued till midday, smashing windows on each floor. From twelve to two there was a cessation, but from then till 6.15 it went on again.
The police were called in, and thoroughly searched every garden and house behind the house without finding the smallest trace of anyone who could be throwing stones. Everyone declares that the house is haunted, and the neighbours are insisting that the evil spirits should be driven out by religious rites. The police kept watch all last night. Nothing happened till 5 a.m., when showers of stones and bricks fell rapidly, and despite the darkness, with unerring aim, smashing only the windows.
This continued all the morning and afternoon, no fewer than 30 projectiles having been thrown against one window, until not a pane of glass remained. The stones appear to come from about 600 feet off, and there is a suspicion that the ghost is a clever catapulter.
On Saturday the bombardment continued, and a very large piece of brick damaged the wall. M Van Zanten has been obliged to send his wife and children away. He is said to have no enemies, and the extraordinary affair is greatly exciting the neighbours.
Dundee Evening Telegraph, 5th February 1913.
Belgian haunted house.
Mysterious hail of stones.
The mysterious rain of stones on the haunted house at Marcinelle, near Charleroi, which caused so much annoyance to the inmates at the end of January, has recommenced, and the windows which had been repaired have once more been smashed. It is believed that the missiles are thrown from some very large catapult, though the superstitious of the countryside insist that the trouble is cuased by spirits as a punishment to the residents.
Meantime the poor householder and his wife and family live in a state of fright, for the stones are large, and half-bricks are thrown also. The Charleroi police are now on the spot, and are determined to find out the cause of the trouble this time.
Dundee Evening Telegraph, 19th March 1913.
House bombarded with stones and windows broken.
A number of the inhabitants of Marcinelle, a suburb of Charleroi (Belgium) are about to leave the town because they believe it is infested by malignant “ghosts.”
The residence of the Van Zanten family has been the principal target for “ghostly” attacks, which have resulted in the partial demolition of the building and the smashing of all the windows.
M. Van Zanten endured mysterious showers of stones and other missiles for several days, without being able to discover the perpetrators. He then complained to the police.
Captain Vandermersch, chief of the gendarmerie, with six men, went to the house to assist in the search for “ghosts.” The gendarmes were stationed in various rooms, yet the strange attacks began immediately after luncheon, in accordance with the usual custom. Showers of stones and pebbles rained against the windows, and the crash of broken glass sounded in all the rooms.
Captain Vandermersch and his men were driven from one room to another by the heavy fall of debris, apparently flung from outside. They were unable to discover any person in the vicinity, and although they even climbed on the roof, there was no satisfactory explanation of the attacks.
One afternoon the shower of stones continued from noon until 3.45, at two-minute intervals.
M. van Zanten and his family have left the house, which is now in a semi-ruined state, with shattered walls and gaping window frames.
Eastern Districts Chronicle (Australian paper), 18th July 1913