Ghost Writer ! Michael Pennington claims to be dead - but is his story fact, fiction, or an elaborate hoax?
Now, his story is about to be published. And judging by the interest shown in the website which first revealed his story - 100,000 hits in four weeks - it could become a huge success.
He claimed to have been battered to death on a canal towpath in the Oldbury district of Birmingham in 1971. After his murder, his body was thrown into a shaft, which was later bricked up. There it supposedly lies, still undiscovered 33 years later.
"I've lived in a very old house for a number of years now", he wrote on the message forum. "On March 19, 1971, I was walking along the canal bank. It was a typical spring day and the weather was bright and sunny. It was around 2pm in the afternoon.
"I'd just passed the doorway of this old boatyard building, the very same one I live in now. Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind, and I could hear agitated voices and felt a sharp pain in my back.
"I was beaten to a pulp and thrown down the coal shaft. Birmingham is a busy place, so I waited for someone to pass the building so I could shout and attract attention. I was feeling weak, miserable and in considerable pain. What happened next was really weird.
"I found myself looking down on my own body. There was a pool of blood around my lifeless figure. I looked stony cold. I really did look a mess. I could hardly recognise myself.
"I realised the wall had a rubbery sensation. The ground had that same creepy feeling to it. In fact, I couldn't actually touch anything properly. This wasn't an out-of-body experience at all. I'd actually died.
"But why was I even able to see my own lifeless corpse? Was I a ghost? What are ghosts supposed to do? Was I destined to spend an eternity in this dingy trap that had become my prison?"
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Responding
Michael also revealed he'd been unable to communicate his story until workmen arrived to renovate the property and turn it into offices.A consultancy firm moved in and, at that point, he somehow managed to make contact with one of its employees, a lady called Janet, via her laptop. |
Owner of the website, Andy Staveley, said, "For a while, the 'ghost' was actually responding to messages, and we had to close the board because some people were clearly disturbed by the story. "People have tried to find out if someone called Michael died in Oldbury in 1971, but, so far, everyone has drawn a blank."
Publishers Pen Press have given permission to print Michael's tale in paperback format. Spokeswoman Joanna Anthony claimed, "Even we don't know who the author is. We were offered the writings and told they came from someone acting on behalf of Michael Pennington. The whole thing is shrouded in mysteryand we're simply taking it at face value," she added. "It's a story full of twists and it does sound very convincing. We think the book will be a huge hit." Wall to Wall is published in August by Pen Press.
by John Barrett
Manchester