Cave's mysterious voices drive frightened villagers away

Mysterious voices believed to come from a cave near the village of Al Jeer have driven 50 families from their homes in fear. Families in the area believe that the cave has been haunted for 150 years. So frightened are they that no one has dared to enter it.

Mohammed Saleh, headman in Al Jeer, yesterday confirmed that strange sounds had been heard coming from the cave regularly, but no one in the area had been able to identify them.

He said many people living in the village were frightened and urged officials to investigate. Every night residents gather outside the cave from dusk until dawn to try to determine the source of the voices, but no one had the courage to go in.

A local resident, Ahmed Alawy, said in the past week a sound resembling a man breathing heavily could be clearly heard. "People are very scared of the voices," he said.

Many explanations have been concocted. Some claim the noises come from a huge snake living in the cave. Others say they come from a large bird which can be heard from far away.