Chilling details of family ‘with fantasy language’ locked in room for nine years

A family-of-six allegedly imprisoned in a basement for nine years are barely able to speak following their ordeal, it is claimed.

Geert van Dorsten and his five adult children reportedly emerged from the farmhouse in Ruinerwold, the Netherlands, communicating in a ‘fantasy language’.

Police say parts of the victims’ speech is incomprehensible, adding that they slept and ate on the floor of their windowless prison, according to reports.

Some of the younger family members were reportedly convinced they were the only humans on earth.

It is now claimed that the handyman alleged to have held the family hostage while they ‘waited for the world to end’ lived next door to them at a previous home.

A former neighbour has described the suspect, dubbed ‘Josef the Austrian’, 58, as a hermit who never had a girlfriend.

The handyman was arrested after Mr van Dorsten’s eldest son revealed his family’s plight at a pub.

Jan Zon van Dorsten, 25, reportedly drank five beers at a bar near the home and told the owner about his ordeal.

A woman who lived near the van Dorstens when they resided in Hasslet has revealed that the alleged kidnapper was also their next door neighbour.

Sandra Soer told Mail Online: “Josef was never friendly. He never said hello. He wasn’t friends with anybody.

“He never had a wife. He never had a girlfriend. He would never go to a bar. He was just mysterious.

“When they left, I didn’t know where they’d gone. It was a total surprise to me that they were still in touch with Josef. This is a very sad situation for the family.”

Ms Soer claimed the suspect shared a passion for woodwork with Mr van Dorsten.

The neighbour recalled that Mr van Dorsten shocked her when he told her of his wife’s sudden death.

She painted a picture of his family as recluses, claiming the children did not attend a local school, although they left to go somewhere with their father every morning.

It has also emerged that the suspect lived in a caravan four miles away from the farmhouse where the family were imprisoned, according to Mail Online.

The handyman reportedly went to Lidl on a weekly basis to buy supplies, including bulk orders of toilet roll and food.

Residents claim the alleged kidnapper stood guard at the farmhouse, chasing away anyone who came to close and scanning the area with binoculars.