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Modern Mysteries

Freakish fires terrorize family

By T.K. Randall
June 28, 2011 · Comment icon 12 comments

Image Credit: sxc.hu
Unexplained spontaneous fires are plaguing a South African family while fire-fighters remain baffled.
A heavily traumatised family is dealing with the loss of not only their home and possessions, but also the fact that nobody wants to accommodate them from fear of falling victim to the same thing. "One female fire-fighter just about wet herself when the fire started right in front of her eyes and said she had never seen anything like this," says ward councillor Bonginkosi Shange. "Just this morning we have put out at least three different fires."
Mysterious fires that apparently ignite spontaneously have over the past two weeks destroyed the homes and belongings of a family in Hopewell near Thornville. The freakish fires have burned through the Mthembu family’s main house, two low-cost houses in the yard and another low-cost house belonging to the children, across the street from the main family home.


Source: News24 | Comments (12)

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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #3 Posted by Rocketgirl33 13 years ago
When I was about 4 years old my grandmother started noticing these little fires all over the place at all times of the day and night. I remember her talking to my grandpa about it and they could not figure out how these little fires were getting started. One night I came running out of my room screaming about a fire. Well guess what? I was the one starting the fires at age 4. I found matches and figured out how to use them. I had pyro in my blood and loved a good fire! Thank goodness I grew out of it, but my point is, maybe the fires are coming from a non-paranormal entity. People do crazy thi... [More]
Comment icon #4 Posted by 27vet 13 years ago
If you mix glycerin and permanganate crystals, it will spontaneously ignite in a few seconds, so does a mixture of chlorine granules and brake fluid. There must be hundreds of similar combinations and some of them could probably be found in traditional medicine.
Comment icon #5 Posted by Yellow Jacket 13 years ago
Ok, if they keep starting up, spontaneously why aren't they catching it on camera? Documentation is the key here folks. Right now, it is just hear-say.
Comment icon #6 Posted by Juanita Rose Violini 13 years ago
But it has happened. Spontaneous fires are more common than you might think. 'Almanac of the Infamous, the Incredible and the Ignored' lists many such instances. On January 5, 1820 in London, England clothes and beds burst into flames. On April 16, 1963 in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia the home of the Douglas MacDonald family continually erupted in blazes, even after the electricity was cut off. On August 7, 1948, in Macomb, Illinois, the farmhouse of Charles Wiley experienced over 200 self-igniting fires in one week. Other locations for this phenomena include Ontario and Indiana. For more details se... [More]
Comment icon #7 Posted by ~C.S.M~ 13 years ago
I remember few years ago a similar situation happen in (if im not mistaken) Sicily. Where a internation committee of scientist were invited to inquiry. The result of the inquiry was the fire was caused by rare geological activity. Perhaps is the same thing going on?
Comment icon #8 Posted by The Black Ghost 13 years ago
Gas leak, flammable materials, dry environment, flammable particles in the air (sawdust, flour, grain dust, etc...). One little spark and BOOM! There are many explanations for the trained eye.
Comment icon #9 Posted by Getafix1 13 years ago
I live in South Africa.You are talking about a community where they believe in a mythical creature called the Tokkelosh. They stack there beds on bricks or paint tins, so that the Tokkelosh can not reach them when they sleep, seeing as it is apparently a beast of short stature. Arson is also a favourite past time and is used in service delivery protests and to exact revenge for all manner of disputes. A monkey was recently burnt alive in one of these low income areas because it was apparently a witch doctor in disguise.
Comment icon #10 Posted by Blackwhite 13 years ago
I remember few years ago a similar situation happen in (if im not mistaken) Sicily. Where a internation committee of scientist were invited to inquiry. The result of the inquiry was the fire was caused by rare geological activity. Perhaps is the same thing going on? In the 1980s a British woman, Carole Compton, was put on trial in Italy accused of being a witch and a sorceress who used supernatural powers to start fires in Sicily. This, remember, was the 1980s and not the 1680s. I've known about the Carole Compton case for a long time because it's in a 1988 book called "Death By Supernatural C... [More]
Comment icon #11 Posted by jaguarsky 13 years ago
It sounds to me like someone did not want to get married or did not want the marriage to happen; seeing as how it was the "bride money" that got toasted first. Pyrokineses or arson, I think it all comes back to the same cause. If, as related in a previous post, it is an area rife with superstitious beliefs, it would seem the ruse will work. And I agree that there are numerous ways to start "spontaneous" fires. Stick a lit cigarette in some furniture and in a little while the smoldering usually ignites a fire. Belief in spirits, demons and witchcraft often turn such mundane acts into curses or ... [More]
Comment icon #12 Posted by 27vet 13 years ago
It sounds to me like someone did not want to get married or did not want the marriage to happen; seeing as how it was the "bride money" that got toasted first. Pyrokineses or arson, I think it all comes back to the same cause. If, as related in a previous post, it is an area rife with superstitious beliefs, it would seem the ruse will work. I think you hit the nail on the head there mate. The burnt bride money (lobola) was probably fake and the real money already hidden away. As you say they probably didn't want to get married but so what better way to get out of the marriage but keep the mone... [More]
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