MAGDALENA'S GHOST: THE HAUNTING OF THE HOUSE IN GALLOWS LANE

by Peppi Hilton

  They clung to one another as they slept in each other’s arms. Lucy knew that in time they would be able to rub out the past events of Judge Fields and put it all behind them. One day it would be a forgotten story, and their happiness would be set in stone. She could put all her faith and confidence in whatever Anton chose to do, because once more he was her rock and she adored him.

  The first thing they did when they set off back, was to call in at the agent’s office to see if they had any properties on their books which they could move into fairly quickly; and they were both elated when they were told that their old flat was available. Without hesitation the agent gave them the keys and told them that they would draw up a lease in the next day or two, whilst they got the flat organised with utilities etc. Lucy kept pinching herself to make sure she was awake and not the victim of a cruel dream. When they arrived back home, the police had gone and there was little evidence of them having been there, apart from the carpet and its contents having been removed. As there was little or no change in Juniper, they both decided that they would remain in the house for at least a week or two, in order to pack up and get everything sorted in readiness for their move back to the flat. Anton promised her he would not leave her in the house alone again, and with him by her side Lucy had no problem with the arrangement.

  A week later Anton called in to see the police and he was told that the remains were at least fifty to sixty years old, and possibly more. They had been easily identified by items of clothing, jewellery and dental records, as those of Magdalena’s husband. They could confirm that he had been stabbed to death and they had found the weapon wrapped in the bundle with the skeletal remains.

  The police had been able to check their archives and had discovered in the records that Sinclair and the boy had gone missing in nineteen-fifty-eight, but with no suspicious circumstances. The boy was presumed to be with the father who had deserted his wife and daughter. Back in the fifties it would not necessarily have been considered a crime, as the husband’s rights would outweigh those of the wife. Therefore the records were filed away and closed. If indeed the rumours had been true, that there had been three men seen by villagers to enter the house and remove the child, there was absolutely nothing they could do about it now, it was too long ago and they would all be dead. Maybe they did take the child abroad, as was rumoured, and maybe he lived out his life with a good family somewhere. There was even a chance he could still be alive, after all he would be just another old man by now; but the bottom line was – no-body cared. It didn’t matter to anyone in their jurisdiction, so as far as they were concerned that was the end of it. It was another closed book.

  Anton and Lucy knew that none of it was their responsibility. They had bought the house, not its past, and sometimes the past is best forgotten. They had concluded that when the police removed the body, they had removed the silent stirrings of evil which had remained within its walls, undisturbed, until they had moved in.

  There was only one thing left to do in order to rid it of its tragic past. They had both agreed to donate the sculptures, and other valuables, to a charity for the protection of children to be auctioned for their benefit. Magdalena, surely, would have been happy with that and should rest more peacefully in her grave wherever that might be. They both believed that they had been drawn to Juniper for a reason that day. It was destiny that they had to move there in order to uncover the tragic events of so long ago, so that its spirits could finally rest in peace. Whilst they could never know the answer, they believed that they were the chosen ones who could enter that world and come out at the other end unscathed. Their job was done, and now it was time for them to move on and get on with their own lives. And whilst Lucy knew that there were still many pieces missing from the jigsaw, they were happy to walk away; their life together in the future was more important than something buried in the past.

  Somehow Magdalena had been caught up in a time-warp where everything had simply stood still; it happened when she was alive and again after she’d died. All that time she had spent her days waiting for Billy, something she’d never been able to come to terms with. Knowing her husband to be a bounder, and having her own private earnings, his loss would seem inconsequential in comparison to that of her beloved son. Probably in her mind her husband had stolen him away from her, and her hope was that one day Billy would, of his own accord, find his way back to the loving home he had known with his mother. But it was Billy’s spirit which had returned as a child to guide Lucy to the truth of what had happened to his father; in her view he had to have known about it. But the one thing that puzzled her was why he hadn’t led her to the truth of where he, as a child, had gone on that fatal day in nineteen-fifty-eight. Perhaps the rumours were true, that he had been taken abroad and kept by the people whose debts the father could not repay. It was a tragic story involving cruelty and treachery by the very persons Magdalena had loved, trusted and cared for.

  The police, meanwhile, had their own theory. They believed that when Magdalena and Beryl went off to London, the men who had been witnessed by the residents of Judge Fields had seized the opportunity and taken the boy out to their car whilst they killed the father. They no doubt discovered that Sinclair did not have the money to pay what he owed. They will have taken the boy away before returning to clean up and conceal the body behind the fireplace, knowing it was unlikely to ever be discovered. They had, from all reported facts, disappeared without trace and it was therefore presumed they had gone abroad with the boy. They thought it unlikely that the boy had been murdered, if, as it was rumoured, they had taken him in payment of the debt.

  Apparently it was also rumoured that Magdalena had ordered workmen to seal up the door in order to protect her valuable works of art. Because she continually left the door unlocked for her son to return, she became the victim of many break-ins, whereby most of her contents were removed. Later investigations had revealed that Magdalena had made a will in favour of Billy, in case he returned after her death. He was to have the house and its contents, and the sculptures would have given him security for the remaining years of his life.

  But Beryl had cheated Billy out of his inheritance and had committed the cruellest of crimes against her vulnerable mother; and when she’d abandoned her at a time when she needed support, surely she must have known in her warped mind that she had disinherited herself from the estate. Magdalena, however, when she’d had the door sealed up, might well have known, or guessed that Beryl would return one day. Perhaps she wasn’t as mad as everyone thought. By hiding away the valuables, she had succeeded in tricking Beryl to believing that everything of value, including the amazing antique musical clock, had been stolen. At least she didn’t reap the benefit of her mother’s incredible talents and hard work, and therefore Magdalena had outwitted her in the end.

  Magdalena would have had no idea that her husband’s body had been sealed up behind the fireplace, and her deteriorating frame of mind, over the years, would allow her memory only to be penetrated by the loss of Billy. Living there alone she would have gradually been forgotten, and curiosity from the villagers would eventually die with them. When the daughter returned all those years later, no doubt prompted by the rumours that the old lady had lost it, she seized the opportunity to take what she believed was rightfully hers. There was no-one to question her actions, therefore the crimes all went unpunished and unsolved. Poor Magdalena, Lucy thought, she didn’t deserve what she went through – what a tragic story of events.

  Anton and Lucy had one more night to stay at Juniper, and the following morning they would move all of their belongings back to the flat. They decided to have an early night in readiness for an early start the next day.

  Anton checked that everything was secure before joining Lucy who had already settled down in bed for a good night’s sleep. They cuddled up together, happy in the knowledge that soon they would be back where they belonged. It took no time at all for them both to nod off.

  During the course of the ea
rly hours, the sound of music could be heard in the distance and Lucy was the first one to wake up to it. She sat up in bed and concentrated to make sure she wasn’t hearing imaginary sounds. But she knew without doubt that she could hear the piano playing a beautiful but melancholy tune; she recognised it as the same tune as on the musical clock.

  “Anton, wake up,” she whispered, as she rocked him and shook him until he opened his eyes.

  “Huh? What’s wrong?” his words were slurred as he tried to wake up.

  “Listen, can’t you hear it, it’s that music again.”

  Anton sat up and listened until the musical notes eventually reached his ears.

  “Where’s it coming from?” he asked, still groggy from having been forced awake.

  “Someone’s playing the piano downstairs.”

  At that moment Anton seemed to wake up with a start. He jumped out of bed, and Lucy followed as he stopped at the door. He took a deep breath and stealthily opened it. He walked out onto the landing and listened. Lucy joined him.

  “It sounds like it’s from downstairs,” he whispered. “You wait here and I’ll go down and take a look. I’ll get the hammer out of my tool box. ”

  “What for?” exclaimed Lucy looking at him, and wondering if perhaps he wasn’t really awake after all.

  “In case it’s a burglar, that’s what for,” he answered, puzzled as to why she should question his actions.

  “You don’t need a hammer to protect you from ghosts. They won’t do you any harm.”

  He looked at her questioningly, and after grabbing his dressing gown he proceeded to go downstairs with Lucy following close behind. He made sure he retrieved the hammer from his tool box in the hall on the way through. The music was coming from the sitting room and he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. But Lucy was unfazed. She was no longer afraid.

  Anton stopped dead in his tracks as he recognised the old man sitting at the piano playing like a master of music. Lucy stood beside Anton and grabbed his arm to stop him going any further. She held onto him tightly, as they both watched and listened. The music was mesmerising, and the silence of the house in the dead of night further enhanced the beautiful sounds. Neither of them had ever heard, or experienced, anything so beautiful before and they didn’t want it to end. The only distraction a few minutes later was the old woman coming from the scullery and entering the room. She walked slowly towards the piano as if in a trance, but the most amazing and incomprehensible thing of all was what followed. As she approached the piano, the old man began to change into a small and delicate child of around six-years-old. He had blonde hair and small features, and he continued to play the masterpiece uninterrupted. The old lady began to change too, and they witnessed her transition from the old ragged person she had become, to a beautiful, elegant and sophisticated young woman. Holding a violin at her side, she moved towards the piano as if floating on air. Her smile was radiant and her loveliness captivating. Anton and Lucy became awestruck with her beauty and the accomplishments of them both, as she began to play to the magnificent sounds being produced by the hands of the genius child.

  They both listened in silence as if rooted to the spot, unwilling and unable to move, knowing that they were privileged to share those rare and precious moments between mother and son.

  Anton slid his hand into Lucy’s, his body trembling with emotion at what they were seeing. Lucy didn’t feel any fear at all, in fact the emotions from Magdalena seemed to flood her mind and the happiness spread throughout her whole being.

  When the music ended, it was followed by the most unimaginable experience they could ever have thought possible. The child slipped his hand into his mother’s, and together they walked from the room and disappeared through the closed door of the entrance hall and out of the house altogether. It was as if Anton and Lucy did not exist in their world and never could have.

  For a while, neither of them could speak. It was as if the story had reached its climax and all had been revealed to them in those few precious moments. Magdalena had found her child. He had returned, who knows when, or how, but they were clearly together in spirit. Their visit was intended to show the young couple how their story had ended, and to let them know that they would have no need to return again to the memories of the past. The house was finally rid of its ghosts, its presences, its mysteries and there was nothing more to be feared. Although the jigsaw was incomplete as far as Anton and Lucy were concerned, the last page of the story had been turned and read. And as far as any missing pages were concerned they would have to invent their own version.

  15

  Everything was packed up and stacked into the Transit van which they’d hired. Lucy jumped in beside Anton, and as they drove out of the grounds Lucy glanced back for a few seconds, just sufficient time for her to whisper: “Goodbye Magdalena.”

  She had to admit to a brief moment of sadness as they disappeared out of Judge Fields and onto the main road which took them back to their former home. Anton had showed no emotion whatsoever, he seemed relieved as if a burden had been taken from his shoulders, but Lucy felt that she would be leaving a little piece of fondness behind in Juniper, primarily because she had experienced some very strong emotional tugs during their time there, and particularly when the boy had appeared before her. That final visit from Magdalena, as she would have been when the boy disappeared, and the vision of her as she declined into old age and despair, would stay with Lucy for a long time, possibly the rest of her life. She felt enormously privileged to have witnessed the traumatic life of such a talented and amazing woman, which had been cut short by a tragedy which had turned her into an aged and mentally-unstable recluse. She took away with her a strong piece of emotion which she felt would be hard to shake off for many years to come, or perhaps even never.

  Lucy had grown up during their time at Judge Fields, she had learned that life was not meant to be a bed of roses and that nothing could remain perfect forever; and she intended to learn from that experience to help make her a better and more unselfish person. Before Juniper, she had doted on Anton without feeling that she should make more effort, convinced that what they shared could not be tested, or dented in any way, and she had taken it all for granted. But she was wrong, Juniper had proven that. Her love for Anton was much stronger and deeper than before, because it had grown into something more meaningful, and she knew that Anton felt the same. She’d heard many times that love would either deepen, or fall apart, during the test of time, and it was important to shake off the fantasies of youth and to accept those changes if they wanted it to survive. She now understood that in its true context. They had both moved into Juniper House as a naïve pair of romantics – just a boy and a girl. But they moved out as man and woman, both of them much wiser and stronger and their relationship much more stable.

  Over the next month or two, Anton worked hard on getting the house ready for selling. The estate agents had suggested they put it up for sale immediately, whilst he carried out the necessary work. Much to his surprise the house sold quickly, so he had to put extra hours in to get the work done. As expected, the new purchasers wanted to install their own kitchen and bathrooms, and that cut out a lot of work for Anton as he put the finishing touches to what he’d already done.

  Anton continually passed through Judge Fields as he went back and forth to the house, and on one occasion he noticed a large banner had been draped across the front of the old pub, which read: Opening soon - under new management. He didn’t think too much about it apart from his mind drifting back to the old man – the one he saw reappear in the house. None of it made sense to him, and he just couldn’t understand the connection to the boy or the woman. He’d always presumed the old man was dead after he failed to appear again in the pub, and he’d presumed the pub had just closed for the winter months, not for good. But he didn’t allow himself to dwell on it for long, as it was too complicated as far as he was concerned. In his view Lucy was too emotional about such things. She had a habit of al
lowing them to take over her mind, which then became over-imaginative. He thought it better to forget the whole thing and that’s what he’d done.

  The closure of the sale came soon enough. Anton had completed the necessary work which he’d promised to do before exchange of contracts, and the purchasers, a couple with three children, were delighted.

  On the week of completion, he’d suggested to the agents and solicitors that he would leave the keys behind the bar of the old pub, which he’d noticed when passing had re-opened. He hadn’t been inside it since they had moved into Juniper, and it felt somewhat strange, although familiar, when he walked into the bar area. The new landlord was standing behind the bar drying some pint glasses. He greeted him on entry with a beaming smile.

  “Hello son, what can I do for you?”

  “I’m from Juniper up the road. I’ve just sold it and I wonder if I can leave the keys here for the new owners. It’ll give them a chance to get to know somebody at least, before they move in.”

  “Aye, you’re right there lad. Yon house is a bit hidden up there behind all those trees, in fact hardly anyone passing would know it’s there if they’re not from the village.”

  “Well we came across it accidentally I must admit.”

  “Spent some time doing it up, have you?” he asked, whilst he continually dried a pint glass to a shine.

  “Yes, it’s been hard work but worth it.”

  “As long as you make a profit, that’s all that matters. Property developer are you?” he quizzed.

  “I’ll have a glass of lager please.”

  The barman served him with the drink and walked over to the till to deposit the money. Anton looked wistfully across the bar to where the old man used to stand.