Manifestations of Fives, Near Lillie (North)The Independent of Douai, from July 6th and 8th, 1865 reads about the events that have just taken place in Fives:
I
“For about fifteen days some unexplained events have been taking place at Rue de Prieure, events that are causing great commotion in the whole neighborhood. At certain intervals and in the backyard of two houses in that street, there is a rain of projectiles that sometimes break glasses and hit the people, with no indication of the origin or the persons responsible for throwing them. Things got to a point that one of the tenants had to screen his windows out of fear of being hit.
In the beginning those involved observed the phenomenon carefully but later on the call the police that provided a careful investigation for days. That did not stop the abundant throwing of pieces of brick, charcoal, etc. in both backyards. An officer was even hit on his back at the time when he was trying to explain to one of his subordinates the parabola drawn by the objects before they reached the grounds. On the day before the glass-worker that was replacing some of the glasses on the windows was equally hit on his back. He was upset and swore vengeance but, like the others, he could never find the culprit.
More recently there has been a reduction in the volume of the projectiles but they are more frequent, so that the movement continues. Nonetheless the mystery is expected to be sorted out soon.
II
The bizarre phenomena that take place at Rue de Prieure, in Fives, since Thursday June 14th, and that we had already reported since Saturday, are now entering a new phase, says the journal from which we took the first article.
It is no longer just projectiles with an extraordinary noise thrown at doors and windows and less violently against people. Here is what is now happening in one of the two houses we talked about because the other one now is perfectly quiet: Last Saturday saw eight cents and five coins of two Belgium cents falling in the yard. The lady of the house saw several pieces of furniture moving around and chairs falling; she called neighbors to see. They put the chairs back on their feet but they fell again for several times. They also saw a pair of clogs left outside by the servant of the house moving, as if someone were wearing them and dancing. At night a calendar placed on the fireplace jumped and floated in the air; shoes left on the floor were jumping and falling upside down. The owner of the house, Mr. M…, came at night and remained vigilant. As soon as he was alone there was a noise; it was a lamp falling onto the fireplace; while he was picking that up a ladle fell on the ground; he bent to pick that up and another lamp fell on his back. Those events happened for part of the night. Meanwhile the maid that was sleeping on the upper floor screamed for help. She was found so scared that nobody doubted her honesty when she affirmed that someone had slapped her. She was sent downstairs to rest on a adjacent room; soon they heard her crying and even the sounds of the slapping on her. That young lady fell ill and had to return to her parents’ home.
There was still Belgium coins falling on Sunday morning. In the afternoon Mrs. X… left with some friends after having examined the whole house and found nothing unusual. The main door was carefully locked. Nobody could have gotten in. When she returned she found a large number eight drawn with socks and cloths that were locked in a wardrobe.
At night she did a thorough search with her husband, her nephew and a tenant that were the only dwellers, checking every room. Next morning, in the room previously occupied by the maid, she found a strange drawing formed by hats and ten steps of the stairs covered with jackets from her husband, her nephew and the tenant, all extended with a hat on top.
On Tuesday another Belgium cent fell in the yard. They intended to give it to the poor with the others that fell before but suddenly the box where they kept it fell from the furniture and the money disappeared, as well as the key to the desk. While they were sweeping the floor in the dining room they suddenly saw two knives thrown at and stuck on the floor and another one on the ceiling. Then a key fell in the yard. It was from the main door; then came the one from the desk; then shawl and scarves that had been missing for some time appeared folded and tied in knots. In the afternoon they saw a circle formed with clothes on Mr. M… bed, and in the cellar, they found a similar drawing formed with an old jacket and a basket.
All these events, together with the ones we reported on Saturday, are confirmed by the persons that live in the house whose characters are trustworthy and far from delusional. All that seems really strange even more when we consider that it is a nice neighborhood with active surveillance for three weeks.
One can imagine the suffering caused to those in the home. After having locked the windows that look to the backyard they decided to abandon the rooms where the reported phenomena took place, so that they are now camping in two or three remaining rooms, waiting for the end of all that nuisance.
Chronicle by Th. Denis.”
As one can see, these events have a certain analogy with those of Poitiers, the Boulevard Chave in Marseille, of those at Rue des Gres and Rue Noyers in Paris, those of Hoerdt, near Strasbourg, and several other places. The most stringent surveillance was established everywhere, with the support of the police. Thanks to their multiplication they will end up being an eye opener. If they did happen in a single place we would be led to believe that they were due to a local cause but since they occur in so much distant places and at different times, we are forced to acknowledge that the cause is in the invisible world since we cannot find it here. Given these largely multiplied facts that, consequently, have so many witnesses, the denial is no longer possible, and we see the news limited to mere reports. The Spirits had announced that manifestations of all sorts would be produced everywhere. In fact, if we examine what has been happening for some time we will see that they have plenty of information to attest their presence. The skeptical demand facts; the Spirits give it to them all the time, with even more value considering that they have not been provoked and are produced without the help of the commonly known mediums, and in most cases among people that are oblivious to Spiritism. It seems that the Spirits are telling them: You accuse the mediums of deception, fraud, hallucination; we give you facts that are unsuspected. If you do not believe, after all that, it means that you want to keep your eyes and ears closed.
The manifestations of Fives, besides, are reported by Mr. Mallet, from Douai, a high-ranking officer and a man of sciences, that attest their reality locally, together with the persons involved. We can then guarantee their perfect accuracy.
