Submitted by Nocturnos on
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It began one rainy night in October 1963, just when the Francis Martin family of Methuen, Mass., had settled down for a quiet evening of TV. A few minutes into the program they noticed a small damp patch forming on the den wall between two bookshelves. The spot grew quickly from the size of a nickel to that of a large dinner plate "That's odd." Francis Martin remembered telling his wife as he got up to investigate the curious spot. His first thought was that a pipe had frozen and burst. But that didn't seem possible since it was only early October. Nor did a drain backup seem likely either, since he'd had the system cleaned out only a few weeks before. What could the strange spot be, he wondered as he ran his fingers across the sticky surface of the wall. His wife and children joined him, and soon they were oohing and aahing over their mysterious discovery. Then came a loud popping sound -- "like a small caliber pistol being discharged." A split second later a spout of water burst from the wail, soaking them all wet. "It pretty well drenched us," Martin told a reporter. "The water was freezing cold -- the coldest water I've ever felt." A few seconds later the gushing spray of cold water stopped. After cleaning up the mess, Martin promised his wife he would phone the plumber first thing in the morning. The next day, however, another spot appeared on a different wall. Soon a fountain of water was pouring in. forcing the family to rearrange furniture to keep it from getting soaked. As before, the mysterious stream of icy water lasted about 20 seconds before suddenly stopping. After several days of popping sounds and mysterious fountains of water – usually occurring every 15 minutes at various places – the Martin's house was so much awash that they moved into the home of Mr. Martin's mother-in-law in Lawrence, not far from Methuen. Unfortunately, the water gremlin pursued them to Lawrence, and in a short time five rooms in the mother-in-law's place were drenched too. "Water was everywhere," Martin recalled. "The walls, carpets, furniture, everything was soaked.'' The deputy fire chief was asked to investigate and the house was checked for leaky pipes; there were none. At least one official a deputy named Mains - was present when a jet of water suddenly burst through a plaster wall and shot two feet into the room. He also heard the curious popping sound. "It was like a nightmare," Martin told the press. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think some kind of water demon was after us." Rather than inflict their problems on his mother-in-law any longer, Francis Martin loaded up his wife and kids and moved back to their Methuen home. This time the water supply was turned off at the main and the pipes were drained. Their first night back home nothing happened. Then, next morning, another wall exploded in a shower of ice-cold water. Then another, and another. In the days that followed, damp spots would appear on several walls simultaneously. Then as suddenly as the spots had appeared, the wails would erupt with streams of water at the same time, none of them lasting longer than 20 seconds. Once again the house became unlivable, and once again the Martins returned to Lawrence. But, just like before the "water demons" followed them, eventually forcing them to return home. "It was as if whatever was causing the problem was ordering us back home," Martin noted. "It wouldn't tolerate us leaving our home" In time the watery assaults on the Martin family gradually came to an end. A few more spots appeared, but no more leaks or showers shot forth from the walls. To their dismay, the Martins never did discover the source of their "watery haunting." How -- or why - gallons of water would suddenly jet from the dry plaster walls of their house would remain a mystery. Equally perplexing was the gradual cessation of the phenomena. "Moisture buildup" was the official explanation. To this day, however, no official has been able to explain how moisture buildup can result in showers of icy water gushing forth for 20 seconds. One psychic investigator theorized the bizarre activity was the work of a poltergeist – a kind of troublesome ghost that takes delight in wreaking havoc in the lives of mortals. "This particular poltergeist probably favored working with water." the investigator noted dryly. "A true water demon "
E. Randall Floyd
Source: Herald-Journal, Spartanburg, South Carolina, Sep 11, 1993, page 48
http://www.soul-guidance.com/houseofthesun/showerswater.html