Catholic World News News Feature

Australia Priest Says Strange Things Happening At Humpty Doo April 02, 1998

HUMPTY DOO, Australia (CWNews.com) - An Australian priest in the far-flung Northern Territory said on Thursday that he believes a poltergeist is haunting a house in remote Humpty Doo.

"I have certainly seen a few strange things happening at that house, and the last time I saw a few things flying around," Father Tom English said. "This mercurochrome bottle came flying out of the bathroom and there wasn't anybody in the bathroom, it was very strange stuff, I have never seen anything like it," he said. Father English, who has lived in the area for about 20 years, said he had blessed the house five times to try to rid it of what the residents believe is a troubled spirit. "I had never seen anything like it before but another priest who has lived in India said he had seen many things like it," Father English said. "I think it perhaps happens more frequently in non-Christian countries and as Australia rejects Christianity more, these sorts of things will happen more and more."

Kirsty Agius, 32, one of the residents of the house, said at first she was scared when rocks mysteriously flew at the house and messages appeared written in gravel or board game pieces. "At first we were scared but now that we realize it won't hurt us we just get angry with all the cleaning up we have to do."

"The priest told us that we shouldn't be afraid because it feeds off our fear so now we just sort of tolerate it but it does get annoying because it is always breaking stuff," Agius said, pointing to a glass cabinet criss-crossed with orange tape and to the shattered kitchen window. "And we can't move because the owner is in Queensland somewhere and he won't believe us and will probably think we have just trashed the joint during a party or something and he won't give us our [security deposit] back."