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Doomsday farm family were speaking in ‘fantasy language’ when rescued

The Dutch family who lived on a secluded farm for nine years, waiting for the world to end, could barely speak and communicated in a “fantasy language” when authorities rescued them, according to a new report.

Investigators revealed Tuesday that they had trouble understanding the family of six — retiree Geet van Dorsten and his five adult children, ages 18 to 25 — when they responded to the out-of-the-way farm in the rural province of Drenethe Sunday, according to the Daily Mail. Parts of their speech were “incomprehensible,” the outlet reported.

Meanwhile, Austrian carpenter Josef Brunner, 58, has been arrested for allegedly keeping the family locked inside the remote property as they prepared for doomsday, according to various reports.

A former neighbor, Sandra Soer, who lives in Hasselt, south of Ruinerwold, told the outlet that Brunner used to live next door to the family before the entire brood moved.

Brunner, also known as “Josef the Austrian,” will appear in court Thursday, the outlet reported.

He faces charges of deprivation of liberty and prejudicing the health of others.

Brunner’s brother, Franz, told Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung that his sibling “was with a sect [and] felt himself better than Jesus.”

“For 10 years, we have had no contact,” Franz said.

Investigators say they are still trying to piece together basic facts of the case — including whether Brunner held the family against their will, the Mail reported.

Authorities have yet to comment on reports that the family held apocalyptic beliefs.

The family’s bizarre living arrangement was discovered when the eldest of the young adults, Jan Zon van Dorsten, 25, turned up at a pub in Ruinerworld.

At the bar, he ordered and downed five ales — and then asked for help, according to initial reports.

In the months before he came forward about his living situation, Jan posted sporadically on social media, beginning in June, according to the Mail.

The farm near Ruinerwold, The Netherlands.
The farm near Ruinerwold, The Netherlands.ANP/AFP via Getty Images

Neighbors told local media that they never saw signs of other people living in Brunner’s home, the outlet reported.

He was described as an “odd-jobs-man” who asked neighbors for renovation tips but appeared to do all the work on his own.

Locals also claimed Brunner kept surveillance cameras around the property, locked the gate and kept watch using binoculars, the Mail reported. He’d reportedly chase away anyone who came too close to the secluded property.