MAGDALENA'S GHOST: THE HAUNTING OF THE HOUSE IN GALLOWS LANE by PEPPI HILTON Read Free Book Online

but that was no longer there. A valuable and unique piece, it was elaborately decorated in black and gold, with two dials above the clock face giving a choice of settings. A cord drawn from the side would allow it to play a choice of music. But mother had it set at her favourite piece, which was the one that Billy had first learnt to play; a masterpiece which for a six-year-old was unheard of. She had listened to it constantly after Billy had disappeared, no doubt imagining him sitting at the piano playing for her. The haunting melody had almost driven Beryl mad. The thieves must have been canny to get that out of the place without mother knowing. She recalled how her mother had shut herself away, spending her days and nights in the rocking chair in the scullery, gazing into the fire and waiting for Billy to return. She had always believed that her husband would return with Billy once he ran out of money, and she never locked the front door just in case.
    But they never came back.

5
NOW
    Anton and Lucy had eaten in the van, tidied up, explored the hamlet, and wandered around the caravan park whilst waiting for seven ‘clock to come so they could return to the pub and give the keys back to the old man. There wasn’t a great deal to do to while away their time, as there was very little in the hamlet of interest and due to the time of year it was pretty dead. The weather was miserable, it had been constantly drizzling for most of the afternoon, and Lucy was feeling peeved that they had missed out on their planned day because of what appeared to be an old and decrepit empty house.  They had returned to the van to read, but Anton was edgy and couldn’t settle.
    “Could we still not set off to our village after we’ve given the keys back?” Lucy asked hopefully.
    “I had thought about it, but we couldn’t take the planned route as it will be too dark and it’s a road we don’t know. We could go back and pick up the road which we normally take. We’ll arrive there late, but we should still be able to pull in. Everything will be closed no doubt.”
    “The pub will be open.”
    “Yes I suppose we can always spend an hour in there and then have an early night. We can set off early to walk in the morning.”
    But Lucy knew his enthusiasm had somewhat wilted and she knew it was all due to Juniper House. She knew him well and it was obvious that his mind was permanently on that property. He had continually checked his watch, but only because he couldn’t wait to get back to the old man to ask him more questions. She sighed, knowing full well that they would end up staying the night in the hamlet so he could explore again the next day. But whilst the house was drawing him in, she felt it was pushing her out.
    Her mind continually focused on the old woman she’d seen when peering through the glass. They had stared at each other, albeit for only a few seconds. She was old and her clothes very ragged and she looked pretty feeble; but her face had an aged beauty about it, and although her eyes seemed younger than her years they were full of sadness. Her hair was white and reminded Lucy of freshly fallen snow, and there was a gentle elegance about her despite the rags which were hanging from her frail body. It’s quite amazing how much detail the mind takes in within such a short space of time, and how much the memory retains. But the vision had remained with her, and left her with a feeling about it that she couldn’t explain. That was the reason she had been so adamant about her existence.
    She would much prefer to get out of there and away from it all. The house was unfriendly and uninviting, and whilst it was seemingly empty Lucy had felt a presence when she was inside it as if someone still lived there. Maybe she was being foolish, it was probably just an atmosphere about the house that had got under her skin, but it was deep enough for her to feel scarred already. She had begun to dwell on her relationship with Anton,