© europics.at

19. 08. 09. - 16:30

• more Panorama news
• RSS Feed Panorama

19. 08. 09. - 16:30

'Ghost' picture taken at Fritzl house

By David Rogers

A British mum who made a pilgrimage to fiend Josef Fritzl's "House of Horror" has told how ghostly images have appeared in photographs she took of the home.

Single mum Annette Walker, 43, made a photographic record of her visit to the property in Amstetten, Lower Austria, where monster Fritzl kept his daughter Elisabeth imprisoned for 24 years and two of his cellar children died.

But she was horrified when she looked at the snaps of the trip and found what look like ghostly figures peering out from the windows of the house.

"It looked so normal and although I'm not someone who has ever before thought about ghosts or spirits the whole scene made my hair stand on end," Manchester-based Annette said.

"I just had the feeling I was being watched. It was a really eerie feeling although I stood and stared at the windows for several minutes I couldn't see anybody but I really had the feeling I was being watched.

"The house is empty with old newspapers piled up outside and it's clear there is nobody there. But I couldn't shake off the feeling.

"I didn't see anything at the time and I asked my son to stand over the other side of the street and take a photograph.

"It was only when I got home and looked at the photos that I realised there was a face in the window of a baby. It's so clear it's impossible to deny it's there," she added.

Annette had been in Austria visiting family when she decided to go to the notorious Fritzl family home.

This picture - taken as a curtain in a shut window billowed to one side - shows what looks like a baby's face seemingly peering out at Annette.

It was taken by her son Oliver, 13, who was on the opposite side of the street.

Annette - who works for Victim Support - said: "I was really shocked like millions of others when I read the story. I couldn't stop thinking about what Elisabeth Fritzl had gone through and the incredible will to survive that she must have had.

"In my job I come across victims of crime but nothing could prepare me for the feeling at this house."

Annette is the same age as Elisabeth and her young son is the same age as the twin son Michael, who Fritzl allowed to die in the underground jail after he was born with breathing complications.

Fritzl - who was jailed for Michael's murder - tossed the infant's body into the incinerator rather than give him a dignified burial. Another child died when Elisabeth miscarried during her decades in the dungeon where she gave birth to seven children by her pervert father, now in jail for life.

Annette told how she felt drawn to the house by her bond with Elisabeth.

"I was in Austria to visit my family and I knew I had to go to the house and see it. I walked from the train station and when I reached Ybbsstraße my heart started pounding and my legs turned to jelly.

"Although it's supposed to be a busy road I didn't see any traffic while I was there. It was as quiet as a grave," she explained.

"I looked down the street and I could see the house instantly. It just looked so normal," she said.

Austrian Times

Related articles: quirky Austria

1. WWII bombs call AC/DC gig into question

   » Panorama 2010-03-18

   A concert by Australian rock legends AC/DC at an Austrian airport could be cancelled because of unexploded WWII bombs.

2. Fritzl finds friends in jail

   » Panorama 2010-03-18

   Incest beast Josef Fritzl has made his first pal in prison – a notorious killer serving life for slaughtering seven helpless victims.

3. Hitler's gift causes renewed controversy

   » General News 2010-03-17

   Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler’s 1942 gift to the city of Linz of a duplicate statue of Greek goddess of love Aphrodite is causing renewed controversy.

4. Robber uses betting shop loo to mask up

   » General News 2010-03-17

   A man who used a betting shop toilet in Vienna-Floridsdorf then held up staff at gun point yesterday (Tues) evening, police said today.

5. Polar bears get government godfather

   » Panorama 2010-03-17

   Polar bears at Vienna’s Schönbrunn Zoo got a new godfather yesterday (Tues) in the shape of People’s Party (ÖVP) Environment Minister Nikolaus Berlakovich.

6. Polar bears get government godfather

   » Travel 2010-03-17

   Polar bears at Vienna’s Schönbrunn Zoo got a new godfather yesterday (Tues) in the shape of People’s Party (ÖVP) Environment Minister Nikolaus Berlakovich.

7. Crash diets can lead to crashed cars, says doc

   » General News 2010-03-17

   Crash diets could lead to car crashes, car club ÖAMTC doctor Heimo Vedernjak warned today (Weds).

8. Doctor burglarises patients' homes

   » General News 2010-03-16

   A trainee doctor who broke into his patients’ homes and nicked their belongings while they were in hospital was arrested, police announced today (Tues).

9. Austrian elite forces join international 'parachuting dogs' training

   » Panorama 2010-03-16

   Austrian soldiers have taken part in an international military exercise parachuting with explosives sniffing dogs.

10. Austrian men have the most sex partners

    » Panorama 2010-03-15

    Austrian men have the most sex partners in the world, according to the British newspaper The Sun.

Related articles: Fritzl

1. Fritzl finds friends in jail

   » Panorama 2010-03-18

   Incest beast Josef Fritzl has made his first pal in prison – a notorious killer serving life for slaughtering seven helpless victims.

2. Kampusch kidnapper pal faces trial

   » General News 2010-03-16

   The best mate and business partner of Natascha Kampusch kidnapper Wolfgang Priklopil is facing charges for complicity in suicide, it emerged today (Tues).

3. Fritzl fears murder plot

   » General News 2010-03-08

   Incest beast Josef Fritzl has had two prisoners transferred after he became convinced they were plotting to kill him, it has been claimed.

4. Fritzl's hair-raising pleas revealed

   » General News 2010-02-15

   Incest monster Josef Fritzl is begging his family for cash behind bars so he can afford special shampoo for his hair transplants.

5. Fritzl dungeon may be filled in

   » General News 2009-12-29

   The cellar prison in which incest beast Josef Fritzl held his daughter captive for 24 years may be filled in with concrete, it emerged today (Tues).

6. Fritzl may receive Christmas blessing

   » Panorama 2009-12-17

   Incest monster Josef Fritzl could be given a Christmas blessing from a local bishop, it has emerged.

7. Headline-hitting crime cases book by court reporter

   » Panorama 2009-11-10

   A veteran court reporter has released a book on Austria’s most spectacular crime cases of the past 20 years.

8. Fritzl not suicidal, shrink claims

   » General News 2009-11-03

   Incest monster Josef Fritzl will not commit suicide because he wants to "take responsibility" for his crimes, a leading psychiatrist has claimed.

9. 'Second Fritzl case' in Lower Austria

   » General News 2009-10-21

   A 60-year-old Lower Austrian has been arrested after his daughters claimed he molested them for years.

10. Rammstein reportedly sing about Fritzl case

    » Panorama 2009-10-16

    German scandal rock band Rammstein is set to cause controversy again as a new song allegedly deals with the incest case of Amstetten.

Jennifer Rostock to strike twice
German punk rock stars Jennifer Rostock will perform in Austria twice as part of their current tour, it has been announced.

Salzburg boy foils attempted abduction
A 10-year-old school boy had a narrow escape on Monday when a man tried to abduct him on his way home from school.

Siemens lay-offs may hit Austrian workers
Munich technology firm Siemens announced yesterday (Weds) that it would lay off 4,200 workers in its IT division SIS.

Schwarzenegger Museum to open in summer
The house where Arnold Schwarzenegger was born is to open as a museum.

Car dealers spared by downturn
The economic downturn has had minimal effect on Austrian car dealers as the number of newly registered cars soared last year.

Minister calls for CO2 emissions tax
Austria's environment minister has called for the introduction of a carbon tax that he says would bring in 1.5 to 2.0 billion Euros of revenue annually, according to today’s (Thurs) edition of the newspaper Die Presse.

Seasonal workers number cut
There will be 3.5 per cent fewer foreign seasonal workers in agriculture and forestry this year than in 2009, Social Democratic (SPÖ) Labour Minister Rudolf Hundstorfer said today (Thurs).

Google Street View cars to roll over Austria again
Google Street View cars are expected to drive all across Austria again this weekend as temperatures are expected to rise.

Asylum seeker tries to torch himself
An Afghan asylum seeker tried to burn himself to death at a petrol station in Hall in Tyrol’s Innsbruck-Land district yesterday (Weds), police said.

Majority believe in some kind of God
Sixty-nine per cent of Austrians believe in some kind of God, according to results of a new poll by Linz public opinion research institute IMAS released today (Thurs).