Poltergeist or ESP? Binbrook, Lincolnshire, England

At the turn of the last century, the Reverend A.C. Custance said bizarre things started happening at the rectory in Binbrook, Lincolnshire, England. In December of 1904, the Reverend reported objects began moving of their own accord -- some even caught fire. But it was in January of 1905 that a farmer in Binbrook walked into his kitchen to discover the servant girl sweeping the kitchen, unaware of the flames leaping from her back. He rushed to her aid and smothered the fire, but she was badly burned.

These cases seem to suggest Dæmonic activity, as poltergeists are generally associated with a specific place or person. Poltergeists are also rarely associated with fire but often associated with girls -- specifically, adolescents. Could it be that the servant girl mentioned in the account, recorded by famed Phenomenalist, Charles Fort, also worked, or attended services at, the local rectory and was the source of all the associated phenomenon the small village of Binbrook experienced in the early 1900s? Or was Binbrook perhaps host to a Supernatural entity?

© C Harris Lynn, 2010