The Witch Board

By David J Cooper

How far would you go to contact loved ones on the other side?              

After the tragic death of a friend, a group of teens try to communicate with her by using a Ouija board. They soon discover that they are not in contact with her. As the Ouija board moves on its own, they accidentally release an evil spirit, a spirit that wants all of them dead. To keep themselves alive, they must find a way to send this spirit back to where it came from. One by one they start experiencing paranormal activity so they go and talk to Penny Lane, a local clairvoyant, for help.

Penny tells them that some things aren’t meant to be played with, especially the ‘other side.’

Can she do something to prevent this entity from taking their lives?

This is the first novel in the spooky Penny Lane, Paranormal Investigator series.

If you are into the paranormal and like the unknown, take a journey with Penny Lane and join in her adventures where good fights evil.

Download The Witch Board today and watch an ordinary young woman battle with the powers of evil.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David J Cooper
• Release date: Mar 2, 2019

David J Cooper

David J Cooper, a British author, delves into the realms of the paranormal, horror, suspense, and mystery with an expert touch. Originating from Darlaston, West Midlands, his diverse journey from engineering to teaching and local politics has imbued his writing with a rich tapestry of experiences. His literary venture began with an unforgettable mark—a featured poem, "God's Garden," acclaimed in the Best Poems and Poets of 2012 anthology. Currently residing in a tranquil Mexican town, David shares his home with four loyal dogs—Chula, Sooty, Benji and Princessa — and a vibrant parrot named Muchacho. David's novels are an enigmatic treat for those with a taste for the eerie and the unexpected. With a knack for weaving gripping suspense and unforeseen twists, his narratives promise an enthralling journey that beckons fans of authors like Stephen King.

Book preview

THE

WITCH BOARD

DAVID J COOPER

THE WITCH BOARD

Copyright © 2019 by David J Cooper.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

ISBN 978-1491062883

Printed in USA by Amazon (www.amazon.com)

Dedication

For Clare Corner a very dear friend who has been given the gift of clairvoyance.

Foreword

According to a Gallup Poll, three out of four Americans believe in the paranormal. Another poll showed that 71% of people have had a paranormal or unexplained experience.

Many people who have had this type of experience are afraid to talk about it for fear that people think they are crazy so I believe that more people have experienced this than the polls try to make us believe.

I never used to believe in this and always thought it was poppycock until I had my first paranormal experience some years ago when I was living in Brixham in south Devon. I actually saw a ghost!!

This was confirmed by a friend of mine who also saw the same spectre in my apartment a week later.

I have since had other experiences which although didn't frighten me but did make me feel somewhat nervous.

Since these experiences I have become an avid fan of paranormal documentaries which are shown on television.

So, I have decided to write this series of books entitled Penny Lane - Paranormal Investigator.

Some of the stories in the series are based on true facts and others are fictitious.

I hope all of you readers enjoy this, the first in the series.

Preface

This story is based on fact and concerns a group of teenagers who are fooling around in the school break and accidentally injure one of their friends. As a result, the friend dies from her injuries and they all feel guilty.

Sometime after her funeral they decide to dabble with a Ouija board to see if they can contact her to ask her for forgiveness.

The consequences that follow result in mysterious and tragic circumstances.

Names are fictitious and any similarity to persons living or dead is pure coincidence and is not intentional.

The Setting

Buckleigh is a picture postcard village nestling in the rolling south Devonshire countryside on the edge of Dartmoor and within easy reach of the seaside towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham.

The village could never be entered into The Prettiest Village in England competition because it wasn’t big enough to be called a town; in fact, it wasn’t even big enough to be classified as a village.

The nearest category Buckleigh could fall into was a hamlet!! But, regardless of this, the townsfolk didn’t mind – after all – they were proud that, in reality, they were living in the prettiest place in England anyway.

Some of them had come to settle here from London and the remaining were true Devonshire locals.

The village green consists of a pub, called The Bale of Hay, a church, a post office, a village shop, tearooms, and a doctor’s surgery.

It’s the type of place where you would think that everybody would know each other’s business, but they all went about minding their own. With the exception of one – Peggy Baldwin – the village busybody. What she doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing. She is always first in line with the news, even before it becomes common knowledge!!

She never married and lives in a small, thatched cottage with her seven cats – each one of them named after one of the seven dwarfs. She keeps the cats to keep the field mice away!! as she puts it.

When she isn’t out and about looking for gossip she is peeking through her net curtains at the sign of any movement outside.

Well, her curtains are made of lace and not the common net, as she says. She can’t stand anything cheap and tacky. Neither does she have the time for people who lived in council houses.

She also has the habit of eavesdropping and has been told, on more than one occasion, that one day she would hear something that she wouldn’t like and it would be about her.

Nonetheless, she's never going to change.

Pebble Mill tea rooms are where Penny Lane and her Aunt Molly live and work.

It’s called Pebble Mill because the chimney is constructed of pebbles taken from the nearby River Dart. It used to be a flour mill but was converted into a cottage. It is a typical south Devon cottage made from cob – a material consisting of mud and straw.

Father Gordon, a very modern day vicar, was born in nearby Dartmouth. He has been the parish priest of St. Lawrence church for almost fifteen years.

Dotted around the village green are the cottages, mainly thatched, where the locals live.

The other two nearby hamlets are Ansley, one mile away, to the west of the village, and Luscombe, one mile away to the south. Dartbrooke is the nearest village, two miles to the east.

Buckleigh looks like a photo of a place that you would see on the lid of a chocolate box.

There are no modern buildings because the town council voted that it would remain a conservation area and many of the buildings are listed.

It is a quaint, typically English countryside setting where nothing unusual seems to happen. Until now.

CHAPTER ONE

Penny Lane had been orphaned as a child when her parents, Steve and Grace, had been tragically killed in a car accident on the M6 motorway.

She was only three years old when it happened and her aunt Molly, her mother’s sister, took her into care and finally adopted her.

She suffered meningitis when she was six years old and it was touch and go whether she lived or died. During her recovery she came into contact with the Spirit world. She couldn’t understand or explain what was happening and when she told her aunt Molly, she told her that she had been blessed with a gift from God.

Penny always says: You don’t contact the dead. When spirits want to contact you, they will.

She always avoids the word dead as she says: We don’t die; we pass on to a spiritual plain.

In England it's unusual to be so hot. It was like a horrible ever present heat that lasted day in and day out. In this heat even the leaves on the trees were drooping, flaccid as old lettuce. The sun was no longer a summertime friend, it was an oppressive presence. All uses for water other than drinking had been banned.

There hadn’t been any rain in south Devon since the middle of May and now it was the middle of June.

The residents of Buckleigh were taking advantage of the nice weather and it was good for Penny’s Aunt Molly because