Liverpool’s Penny Lane has long been the centre of paranormal goings-on, including a suspected witch, a haunted house and a mysterious little ghost girl, writes RICK HALE
When I was growing up there was always music in the house. At any given time of the day, everything from Elvis to Smokey Robinson could be heard spinning on the record player.
But it was my uncle’s taste in music that formed my early love for music. KISS, Alice Cooper and Deep Purple could be heard in his room, but it was The Beatles that really wowed me.
One day while babysitting me, he put on The Magical Mystery Tour and the Song, Penny Lane became an instant favourite.
Its upbeat music and lyrics of fond memories of Paul’s life on Penny Lane will forever live in my memory.
Nevertheless, not everything on Penny Lane in Liverpool is a happy childhood memory.
According to local stories Penny Lane was the site of a frightening haunting mixed with malicious poltergeist activity.
In fact the activity was so violent, it caused one family to flee for their lives and their sanity. For whatever reason their home became ground zero for this nuclear blast of supernatural horror.
The Activity at Penny Lane Begins
As far as anyone knows, the high strangeness that plagued Penny Lane began in the late 19th century, around 1890.
Residents along Penny Lane were treated to a bizarre sight that would cause chills to run down anyone’s spine.
People caught a glimpse of a white and blue ball of light that would float up and down the street only to vanish behind trees for a short time. And then reappear moments later.
Folks who lived and worked along Penny Lane were of course frightened. But when the strange apparitions proved to be nothing malicious, they chalked it up to either a trick of the light or a friendly ghost.
Of course, those sentiments would change when this ghost story took a turn for the terrifying.
A Suspected Witch
As the years went by, the activity on Penny Lane took on a whole different attitude.
Delivery men discovered no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t get their horses to walk down Penny Lane.
Due to this, milk and beer deliveries spoiled and became undrinkable. This turn caused many people to revert back to old world superstitions and believed the activity may have been caused by a witch.
Whatever this supernatural evil was had to be dealt with. But how could they deal with something they could neither see, nor touch?
Number 44
At the start of the 1930s, the so-called ‘Witch of Penny Lane’ claimed the house at Number 44 as a place to focus all of its rage.
Those who lived near 44 Penny Lane would often hear cacophonous bangs issuing from the house at all hours of the day.
Strange and disturbing noises were also heard and the floorboards were said to rigorously shake as if some giant was shaking them.
The family who resided In the house at the time, found themselves fleeing the house of horrors. Whatever was there clearly did not want to share its domain.
The Witch Goes Dormant
As is the case with many poltergeist hauntings, the activity at 44 Penny Lane suddenly went dormant.
Throughout the 1940s, not a single sound was heard coming from the notoriously haunted house.
Some think area residents lost interest due to fighting the war on the continent and the ever present threat of Nazi invasion. Maybe the witch had gone away. Or maybe not.
The Little Girl
By the mid 1950s, with the war over and the reconstruction of Britain coming to completion, the Penny Lane horror reappeared. But this time it took on a much different persona.
People who lived along Penny Lane reported a curious sight. While passing by the otherwise empty house at 44, the apparition of a little girl with long blond hair appeared in the windows.
No one has ever been able to put a name to this ghostly child, but those who remembered the history of the haunting knew this was just the witch attempting to fool those who would take pity on the apparition.
The Printing Press
Once again, the unexplained activity came to a halt and the sinister child vanished. However, in the early 1970s, a printing press was opened and, pardon the cliche, all hell broke loose.
Unwitting employees found themselves coming face to face with the unnerving ghost child who would appear and play cruel pranks.
Loud bangs and noises once again filled the building. Not a day would go by where the owners weren’t stopped in the streets as people complained about the machines being left on at night and causing a ruckus.
The owners of course insisted that they turned their machines off at the end of the day. Obviously the witch was up to its old ways.
The activity became so extreme, the owners hired a group of ghost hunters to come in and find answers as to what could be haunting their business.
Following a long night of bangs and intense poltergeist activity, along with appearances of the little girl, the ghost hunters found themselves coming up short for answers.
Whatever this malicious force was that lurked at Number 44 Penny Lane, is still a mystery to this day.
Today, whatever haunted this building appears to have gone away for good. Or may just be sleeping until the time when new life can be breathed into once again.
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