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The only issue I have is that headline is very click-baity, making you think this is some crazy family cult or something. Its weird, but not Texas Chainsaw Mass

The only issue I have is that headline is very click-baity, making you think this is some crazy family cult or something. Its weird, but not Texas Chainsaw Massacre / Heaven's Gate weird. The article doesn't detail anything other than they lived "underground". A child moving into the basement of their house lives "underground". You can design homes that go underground. Furthermore, the 25-year-old went to the pub, not to the police or anywhere. If he was being held against his will, I doubt the pubs the first place you go.

Scarblac 7y ago
The father and six kids hadn't been allowed out for nine years. If this isn't a cult, it's a huge abduction story. The 25 year old was amazed at the sight of a pub and told them that daylight was very bad for him, that he was only able to get out that night and that he couldn't go back anymore. Apparently he was astonished that there were still any other people in the world. I think the idea of going to the police was completely alien to him.
- im3w1l 7y ago
  If it was at night, maybe the pub was what was open.
- morningseagulls 7y ago
  >The father and six kids hadn't been allowed out for nine years. If this isn't a cult, it's a huge abduction story. It's now been reported[0] that the father was an ex-member of the Unification Church[1]: >Local television station RTV Drenthe earlier said the Austrian man, identified only as Josef B, the father and the captive family were all part of South Korea’s controversial Unification Church, dubbed “Moonies” after their late founder Sun Myung Moon. [0] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/17/dutch-police-arrest-father-of-family-held-at-farm-against-will https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/17/dutch-police-a... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_movement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_movement
catalogia 7y ago
It's a lot weirder than you're making it out to be: > "Officers visited the remote farmhouse and carried out a search. They discovered a hidden staircase behind a cupboard in the living room that led down to a basement room where the family were housed." My parents have a fully furnished basement. That's not weird. Even having a bedroom in a basement is slightly weird but not terribly so. But when you throw in the context of the hidden staircase it all becomes much much weirder.
- aerique 7y ago
  Not in the Netherlands and definitely not on a farm. There's usually a small basement for storing food stuffs.
- rurban 7y ago
  The weird thing in this context is that the carpenter who took care of all of them in their cellar was a Josef from Austria. Remember the Fritzl case?
djrogers 7y ago
> If he was being held against his will, I doubt the pubs the first place you go. I dunno - 9 years without a beer and I might have different priorities...

Scarblac 7y ago

The father and six kids hadn't been allowed out for nine years. If this isn't a cult, it's a huge abduction story. The 25 year old was amazed at the sight of a pub and told them that daylight was very bad for him, that he was only able to get out that night and that he couldn't go back anymore. Apparently he was astonished that there were still any other people in the world. I think the idea of going to the police was completely alien to him.

im3w1l 7y ago
If it was at night, maybe the pub was what was open.
morningseagulls 7y ago
>The father and six kids hadn't been allowed out for nine years. If this isn't a cult, it's a huge abduction story. It's now been reported[0] that the father was an ex-member of the Unification Church[1]: >Local television station RTV Drenthe earlier said the Austrian man, identified only as Josef B, the father and the captive family were all part of South Korea’s controversial Unification Church, dubbed “Moonies” after their late founder Sun Myung Moon. [0] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/17/dutch-police-arrest-father-of-family-held-at-farm-against-will https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/17/dutch-police-a... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_movement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_movement

catalogia 7y ago

It's a lot weirder than you're making it out to be: > "Officers visited the remote farmhouse and carried out a search. They discovered a hidden staircase behind a cupboard in the living room that led down to a basement room where the family were housed." My parents have a fully furnished basement. That's not weird. Even having a bedroom in a basement is slightly weird but not terribly so. But when you throw in the context of the hidden staircase it all becomes much much weirder.

aerique 7y ago
Not in the Netherlands and definitely not on a farm. There's usually a small basement for storing food stuffs.
rurban 7y ago
The weird thing in this context is that the carpenter who took care of all of them in their cellar was a Josef from Austria. Remember the Fritzl case?

djrogers 7y ago

> If he was being held against his will, I doubt the pubs the first place you go. I dunno - 9 years without a beer and I might have different priorities...