From the British Inquirer: Religious and scientific experts are baffled by mysterious fires which have been destroying computers and other electrical items in a village in Sicily. Canneto di Caronia has been largely abandoned after “demon-fires” that cause computers and electrical devices to spontaneously combust.
Scientists and religious experts swooped on the 20 houses in the village to investigate the fires, which started even after the power supply to the village was cut.
The Catholic Church’s top exorcists suspected the devil was at work as they told the media that they had experience with demons manifesting in electrical goods before, but they drew a blank.
The [Italian organization] Committee for the Control of Paranormal Claims has ruled out demons or poltergeists.
“The fact that the phenomenon occurs only when there are people present makes it hard to believe that it is a natural, or even supernatural phenomenon,” it said in a statement. CICAP scientific sponsors include Nobel prize winners Rita Levi Montalcini and Carlo Rubbia, scientists Silvio Garattini, Margherita Hack, Tullio Regge, Giuliano Toraldo di Francia, and it enjoys the public support of Umberto Eco. The TV journalist Piero Angela was one of the founders.
Other hypotheses now range from a build-up of electrical energy caused by grounding wires running off the railway to a rare “natural phenomenon” in which surges of electricity rise from the Earth’s core.
Update [2004-4-6 8:0:52 by rickyjames]: Just for fun, here’s a Google Italian-to-English translation of a local article on this subject.