The Church Poltergeist: It’s the Village Mayor
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News & Comment
Joe Nickell
Skeptical Inquirer Volume 23.4, July / August 1999
“Just in time for Halloween,” was the wry comment of Leon Harris, news anchor for CNN’s “Early Edition,” October 22, 1998. Harris was responding to spooky events reported in a church in Delain, France, a village of 200 inhabitants in the foothills of the Alps.
According to news sources, fifty people had witnessed poltergeist-like phenomena, including toppled statues and candles flying across the nave. The church was soon closed, while an exorcist was called in to drive out the sinister force.
Then came a follow-up from the Associated Press. The November 1 report explained that the village mayor, Thierry Marceaux, 32, had been detained by police after admitting he was responsible for the apparently paranormal events. He had produced all of the effects, lurking in shadows and tossing the objects, then appearing moments later to feign horror.
Local authorities, threatening to charge Marceaux for wasting police time, freed him on condition he see a psychiatrist. He apologized for his mischief - supposedly intended to amuse - through his attorney.
