NORFOLK MYSTERY HOUSE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16590, 12 November 1919, Page 6

NORFOLK MYSTERY HOUSE.

A VISITOR’S STORY. OIL SHOWERS’ FROM THE CEILINGS. LONDON, Sept, 1. The, Norfolk “mystery house” _ bids fair to arouse a good deal of curiosity before its riddle is finally solved. It presents so many peculiar features that no one single hypothesis seems to account for all tho facts. There are one or two data that the superstitious might ho inclined to regard as supernatural, and the more incredulous would ascribe to human interference. Briefly the main facts are these. On the afternoon of a recent big explosion in France, some three or tour weeks ago, the garden of Swnnton Novers Rectory was redolent with the smell of sandal-wood oil. It was clearly noticed by more than one person. It has been perceived since in the scullery, tho odour climbing faintly to certain portions of the wall, xAt the time of my first visit it was still distinctly observable to any one who rubbed his finger on a particular spot and smelt it afterwards. •Shortly after the first appearance of this mysterious odour the main phenomena began. Petrol, paraffin, or water began to form in circular spots or patches on the ceilings, mainly of the bedrooms, which are on tho first floor. These bead-like patches suddenly seemed to condense, and a shower of petrol, paraffin, or water fell. Once the shower had taken place, the circular patch, as often as not, quickly disappeared, except in the case of pure water, the only mark left being a slight unevenness in tho plaster. In the case of one bedroom fears were entertained that the ceiling would fall, and the bed was 1 moved into the bay window, which, be- ; iug a more recent construction, seemed i to bo immune. It may he stated in parenthesis that j the house itself is a well-built mansion, I dating from about 70 years ago, and 1 otherwise in a good state of repair. .At I | first it was thought that these preoipii iations were duo to leakages in the 1 petrol-lighting plant, which has been ; installed for over 10 years. But this has not been used for tho past three weeks, and tho manifestations meanwhile are more frequent than before. Moreover, it seems impossible to lay the blame on the apparatus for various reasons. First because it is run entirely by petrol, and no paraffin is used. Secondly, had there been any leakage through some pipe or other, the presence of water in the pipe would at once have been detected by the flickering of the light, and nothing of the sort has occurred. OUTBREAKS OF FIRE. As these minor deluges increased, it seemed likely that some of the ceilings might come down, and the rector and his wife wove compelled to leave, the ; house and seek refuge in the village. ! They were also obliged to remove their ; carpets a.nd furniture, which threateni od to become seriously damaged. Again, ! ns the manifestations became more freI riuent, the danger from fire grow, and I in fact during tho last few days there has been more than one small outbreak of fire, notably in the kitchen, whore j the highly inflammable vapour rising ( through the brick floor was apparently set alight by a small oilstovo standing high above on an iron range. When this was discovered, the bricks were taken up and the small jet of flame traced to the ground below tho flooring. I myself have smelt the sandal-wood smell on the wall, which, however, was stronger at the time of my first visit. I have tasted and smelt the petrol and paraffin, and also witnessed a heavy fall in one of the upper rooms of absolutely purij' water without the faintest taste of oil in it. Several of these precipitations have boon caught. On the day of ray last visit about a pint of liquid had been secured in a bowl. It must have been very fine petrol, for it speedily evaporated with the exception of a smaU residue. Several of these precipitations have been submitted to Messrs. Mann and Egorton, of Norwich, who declare that, in tho ease of the petrol, it is purer than even that supplied to nircra ft; while one of those samples, which constitutes a further puzzle, was pronounced hv these experts to consist of methylated spirits. The water-supply, curiously enough, was until a day or two ago, entirely unaffected, but tho water drawn from tho pump contains a more or loss strong admixture of paraffin. On the occasion of my last visit-1 and* others pumped up a certain amount of water, which, when ' tasted, had a strong flavour of oil, though, according to the rector’s wife, other samples she had taken were far more strongly impregnated, floating oil being readily observable on the surface. In a couple of places in the scullery the vector’s sou had taken up the brick flooring, and in one of the holes below j paraffin had been observed trickling : down the side, and a. finger placed on 1 tho spot next day revealed a strong flavour of oil. Yet another astounding feature was the fact that in the case o'? paraffin or petrol, with or without an admixture of water, the oil admixture seemed in some mysterious way to bo entirely on the surface of the coiling. This was discovered by the plumber who has looked after tho house for years. Immediately after a downfall he took up the flooring of the room directly above the patch on the ceiling, and found tho laths on which the plaster rested and the plaster itself absolutely dry. One might, perhaps, hazard the guess that these patches form by external condensation, hut if that were possible in tho case of petrol, it seems very improbable in the case of the paraffin, and quite impossible in tho case of the water. TWO THEORIES. Two hypotheses have been put forward. One that from the village shop, some 300 yards away, which has sold paraffin for 40 years, there has been a steady, if small, leakage, which, after long percolation through the earth, has come up again to the surface through some secret spring under the house. But ns there is a slight depression between , the shop and the rectory, which clearly , indicates the headwaters of a stream, this seems a little improbable. Furthermore, a visit to tho village shop showed ■( that the paraffin had always been kept . in a zinc tank, and that no petrol or < metki’lated spirit had ever been sold < there. Tho other hypotheses is that ( Swanton, of which the known subsoils ; are clay and brick eayth, contains per- ] haps oil-bearing clays, such as have al- , ready been discovered at tho East Winch , and other parts of Norfolk, and that i the rectory, being built over this oil- , bearing strata, tho explosion mentioned i above has liberated some of the oil be- ; low. It is strange, however, that the 1 well, which absolutely on the ] house, bps only just been ■ affected, j

though a curious feature is that on the wall of one part of the house which was once attacked by dr}' rot, a large damp patch has now occurred. But even if the above hypotheses were true, can it he said to account for the presence of methylated spirit, as vouched for hy a firm of experts, and for the stronger odours of the sandal-wood oil? There was, indeed, a case years ago of a paraffin-saturated' house in Lincolnshire. One would like to know whether on that occasion there was also precipitation of methylated spirit and pnro water coming from apparently nowhere. One has to go back to Gideon’s fleece to find a parallel to the latter phenomenon, for when water mounts by capillary attraction, it mounts in masses, and l does not suddenly appear in catches in the midst of a dry ceiling.

There is also one other peculiar phenomenon. These visitations only occur in the daytime, roughly between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. The clergyman’s wife seemed to think they might be caused in part hy vibrations—i.e., by people moving about the house. This appears to be h. foasile theory, hut, when all is said and done, there are several phenomena that to the lay mind at least seem quite inexplicable.