He haunts the internet and tells about his murder near
a Midland Canal
Do you know who Michael Pennington is? Or do you know who his
ghost-writer is? Ring the Sunday Mercury on 0121 235 5567 or email
SundayMercury@mrn.co.uk
a fortune is he is able to come forward
A Book written by a Brummie ghost is set to be published –
after it sparked a worldwide internet frenzy.
The spook reveals how he has haunted a Birmingham building
for 30 years since he was murdered. His mysterious messages have already been
read by hundreds of thousands of fans on a Brum website.
Michael Pennington claims he was battered to death while
walking alongside a canal in Oldbury in 1971. Ever since then he has haunted a
derelict building nearby, unable to rest in peace.
When a computer firm moved in, the ghost was able to
communicate with a woman named Janet through her laptop computer. In January, a
message posted on a website www.birminghamuk.com
asked if anyone knew any good local ghost stories. A week later Michael
Pennington logged on.
“I have lived in a very old house in Oldbury for a number of
years now,” he wrote. “It is by a canal and has been in a dilapidated state for
over 30 years, having once been used as a repair boatyard for those using the
newly opened canals.”
Describing his murder, he said: “ I was beaten to a pulp and
thrown down the coalshaft of this particular property. I soon realised that I
couldn’t actually touch anything properly. It was then that I became paranoid.
This was not an out-of-body experience at all. I had actually died. I was
dead”.
If the author isn’t the ghost of Michael Pennington, then
his identity remains a mystery – and he could miss out on a fortune.
Only if the ghost-writer comes forward will he be in for a
windfall from the book’s royalties, which are expected to be substantial, such
is the interest in the website.
Publishers Pen Press said that they were given permission by
the website to publish the extracts although they didn’t know who wrote them.
Pan spokeswomen Joanna Anthony said: “It’s a riveting story full of twists and
turns. And it does sound very convincing. “ Even we don’t know who the author
is. The website contacted us and offered us the writings. We were told they
came from someone acting on behalf of the estate of Michael Pennington. We think the book will be a huge hit. It
will be on sale in a few weeks in all the major book stores”.
Website owner Andy Staveley from Birmingham, said: “The site
received more than 100,000 hits within the first four weeks. For a while the
“ghost” was actually responding to people’s messages. In the end we closed the
message board because there were people who were clearly quite disturbed by the
story. We even had ghost-hunters turning up on our doorstep. I know a lot of
people have tried to find out if someone called Michael Pennington died in
Oldbury in 1971 but so far everyone’s drawn a blank.”
One fan said: “I think it’s really realistic. I know people
think I’m insane I do think this is a real ghost. Until somebody proves
otherwise I’m still going to believe it.”
Message
From Beyond The Grave?
|
“ I cried, thinking about what relatives might be
wondering. The first few days were the worst. Stuck there. Nothing happening.
No hope. No visitors. “Crazy as it may sound I am scared of the dark and I
was worried about venturing into the dark unknown. As if I wasn’t already
there.” |
“A consultancy firm moved in and I know every character
and name. I know what the manager gets up to after hours in his office and I
know that the cleaner is having an affair with the sales executive. One day
Janet turned up. The thing with Janet is that she knows I’m here. She is very
receptive. She has a sixth sense but she is not fearful of my existence. She
comes from Dudley. Imagine my surprise one day when I sat down beside her and
she turned towards me and said quietly ‘I know you are there, I can feel that
you are around’.” |
“I leapt up and down and screamed at them – anything to
try and communicate. Nothing. “Then imagine my surprise when one of the men
looked straight at me an stared with a puzzled look. I ran towards him,
shouting and screaming and trying to push him, staring into his eyes,
pressing my face right up close against his. Then he said: ‘This place gives
me the creeps. I keep feeling as if there’s someone else here with us’.” |
“No-one ever came. That was so lonely. For years no one
paid any attention to the building at all. I don’t really know how long it
was before the first visitor came. It was a rainy dayand the two well-dressed
gentlemen turned up in one of those new fancy cars. I imagine it was someone
from the council and a surveyor.” |
Source: Sunday Mercury July 4th 2004