CANNETO DI CARONIA, Sicily - The gate at the entrance to this tiny Sicilian village has come off its hinges and swings in the wind as cats wander into homes abandoned after a series of mystery fires.

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.

The blazes, originally blamed on the devil, have not hurt anyone.

"We're working in the dark. We don't have a single lead so far," said Pedro Spinnato, mayor of the trio of Caronia towns.

"Every time some new scientist comes to town, they arrive thinking the whole thing has been invented or that they're going to solve the mystery in two minutes. They've all been wrong."

Electricians and exorcists

The 39 inhabitants of the town halfway between Palermo and Messina were evacuated after the regional government declared a state of emergency in Canneto, which occupies a single street nestled between a railway line and the sea.

But after weeks of sleeping in a nearby hotel and houses rented for them by the government, they're getting desperate.
'I've seen things like this before. Demons occupy a house and appear in electrical goods.'

- GABRIELE AMORTH

Exorcist"I've seen an air conditioner burst into flames and burn down in 30 seconds. These are not normal events, but I think we're going to have to start looking for a different kind of help," said Antonio Pezzino, whose house was first hit.

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 the daily Il Messaggero. "Demons occupy a house and appear in electrical goods.".....

Full Report Link: From MSNBC.com

Gazz

Maybe there is some sort of natural gas in the air?
Maybe it really is ghosts...

nestled between a railway and the sea... hmm...

I'm reminded of something interesting in the book I just read. The Andromed Strain by Michael Crichton has a virus or bateria thing that mutates into something that depolymerizes polymers and also feeds off energy. I wonder if somehow some real life bacteria or virus or microbe has somehow turned out to be very similar only creates fires? Probably a bit far fetched, but it kind of makes sense after I read the book.