Everyone knows a good ghost story. Everyone knows someone who claims to have seen something odd that might have been "supernatural", or whose brother or sister or third cousin twice removed has supposedly encountered a strange presence or experienced an inexplicable happening at some point in their life. We love these stories. Even if we don't believe them. But there are some that we find ourselves wanting to believe more than others, especially if they involve people who have passed away who we would like to think are still with us somehow...like John Lennon. Since the former Beatle's death in 1980, there have been numerous stories involving sightings of his alleged spirit. None other than Paul McCartney claimed that he and the three surviving Beatles felt John's presence constantly when they were in the studio recording harmonies for "Free As A Bird" back in 1995. Perhaps, because the song was written and originally recorded by John, it was only natural that the other three Beatles would be overcome with the sense that their erstwhile bandmate was there in the studio with them as they added their voices to the original song mix. But, according to Paul, it was more than that. "There were a lot of strange goings, on in the studio, noises that shouldn't have been there and equipment doing all manner of weird things," he said. "There was just an overall feeling that John was around."
Things got even weirder when Paul, George, and Ringo posed for publicity photos outside the studio. Just as the photographer snapped the first photograph, a white peacock wandered into the frame. Paul is convinced that the bird was actually John making his presence known. And later, during the mixing process, there was another even eerier sign that the most controversial Beatle was still among the group. According to Paul, he and the others decided to include some backward masking on the song "to give all those Beatles nuts something to do." But as they played the tape back, Paul said, they were shocked to hear the words "John Lennon" amid the gibberish.
But, of course, Paul McCartney isn't the only one who believes that he encountered the spirit of the late John Lennon. In 1983, three years after John was shot by Mark David Chapman outside the Dakota in New York City, a musican called Joey Harrow, who lived nearby, was walking past John's former residence when, he claims, he saw the murdered Beatle, surrounded by an eerie light, standing in the front doorway of the building. A female friend who was with Harrow that night also claimed to have seen the spirit, adding that she felt an urge to go up and speak to it, but was held back by the expression on its face. "Something about the way he looked at me said 'No'," she explained.
Of course, not all encounters with alleged spirits include actual sightings. Liam Gallagher, front man for the English band Oasis, is probably just as famous for fighting with his brother and bandmate, Noel as he is for co-writing hits like "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova" in the 1990s. But along with his penchant for sparring with family members, Liam seems to have a bent toward the paranormal as well. According to the singer, he was staying at a friend's house in Manchester one night when he had a sudden, unexpected out of body experience whilst lying in bed. But there's even more to the story...Morning Glory. A long time admirer of John Lennon, Liam claims that, as he "fell back" into his body, he felt a presence and somehow knew insticntively that it was John Lennon.
Another, even more poignant account of a non-visual encounter with the ghostly presence of John Lennon comes from Julian Lennon, the musician's son by former wife Cynthia Lennon. It seems that Julian was in Australia some years ago watching an Aboriginal tribal ceremony when the tribe leader handed him a white feather. The otherwise innocuous gesture held huge significance for Julian since, according to him, his late father had once told him that if he ever died to "watch for a white feather." According to Julian, his father had explained that the feather would be a sign that he was there, watching over him.
And, last but by no means least, we have an account from May Pang, who worked as a secretary for John and Yoko in the 1970s before Yoko famously arranged for her to become John's mistress during a period of difficulty in the couple's marriage. May claims that she has often felt John's presence in the years since his death, especially whilst working on her book, Instamatic Karma, which was published in 2008. May says that she just has a way of sensing when "he is around", and that, although it is an eerie feeling, she has become used to it. However, on one occasion, it seems that her onetime lover made a personal appearance entirely for her benefit. It was a rainy night in New York, and as May was driving with friends across the Hudson Bridge, the conversation was of John, more specifically about May's belief that he was often with her in spirit. "But how do you know when he's around?" one of her passengers asked. Before May could answer, a large tour bus cut in front of her car, forcing her to slam on the brakes. As she was recovering her equilibrium and swearing under her breath, she looked up and saw the cartoon image of John's face on the back of the bus. Emblazoned next to the image were the words "John Lennon Educational Songwriting." Recounting the experience, May said that one of her passengers asked her how many buses there were with that logo printed on them. "Only one," she replied, with a grin, and then went on to explain that it was a bus that traveled all over the country. But for some reason, that night, it just happened to be in New York, at the exact moment someone had asked her
that question as she drove across the Hudson Bridge. Just as though John had arranged the incident to prove the point she was trying to make. But it makes sense. After all, one of the things that John Lennon was best known for was the pleasure he took in shaking things up whenever he could.
That's it for now....from beyond the pale.
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