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Fortean topics have a certain place in the media, but it is rare that one acts as a vehicle for getting a health promot­ion message across, or goes on to win prestigious awards. But this was the case when a group of 12- and 13-year-old boys from De La Salle school in Croxteth, Liverpool, obtained a £5,000 lottery grant to make a five-minute film. Buried Above Ground uses local folklore about William McKenzie, a compulsive gambler who lost his soul to the Devil in a game of poker and whose ghost is said to haunt Rodney Street in the city centre. The pupils developed their ideas in scriptwriting workshops with Tony Ealey, from Liverpool-based animation studios Eek Films. The resulting film is set in the present and points to the dangers of gambling and gambling addiction, particularly on the Internet, which has seen a major expansion of gambling sites in recent years. It won “Best Animation by 13–16 Year Olds” at the Kids For Kids UK 2009 Festival, and represented the UK at the Kids For Kids International competition in Belgrade at the end of the year.

If you venture along Rodney Street, you’ll come across the derelict church of St Andrew’s, and an eye-catching pyramid – the tomb of William McKenzie, who died in 1851. Rather than being buried, he’s said to be sitting upright at a table inside the pyramid, clutching a winning hand of cards. The reason for this is that the Devil had said that he would only take McKenzie’s soul once he was laid to rest in his grave; by keeping his mortal remains above ground, McKenzie sought to cheat the Devil.

However, there are two completely different stories about how McKenzie came to be involved with the Devil in the first place. One says that he asked for the Devil’s help to win a high-stakes poker game; the Devil agreed, in return for his soul. The other version has McKenzie becoming an atheist on the premature death of his sweetheart and leading a life of drinking and (successful) gambling. One night, he meets his match playing poker, in the form of the mysterious Mr Madison. McKenzie loses literally all of his money, and Madison invites him to play one last hand. McKenzie protests that he has nothing left to gamble with, but Madison asks “What about your soul?” McKenzie initially refuses, now suspecting who ‘Mr Madison’ really is. Madison chall­enges him that if he is an atheist then he cannot believe in the reality of the soul, and therefore has nothing to lose. McKenzie finally agrees, and of course loses the game. Madison says that he will take McKenzie’s soul after he is buried, and immediately vanishes.

The pupils from De La Salle adapted the second version, in which the danger of losing money (or more!) through gambling is clear. They also incorp­orated the part of the folklore about how McKenzie’s pact became known. This has a Rodney Street doctor (Rodney Street is sometimes referred to as the “Harley Street of the North”) meeting McKenzie’s ghost, who gives him a warning and the name “Jefferson”. The doctor visits Jefferson, who tells him the story of McKenzie before confessing that his own riches were ill-gotten and that when his time comes he will “have hell to pay”; cue Internet sites such as “Bet 666”.

But is there any foundation for the ghost story? Certainly, there are enough different versions to please a sceptic, but William McKenzie did exist and was a successful railway contractor described as “one of the most important figures in the civil engineering world of the second quarter of the nineteenth century”. When he died, after an extended period of ill health, he was certainly not penniless, as he left a £383,500 estate and a widow called Sarah. But there is no evidence that he was a gambler – so how did the legend develop? Well, any unus­ual edifice – such as a pyramid-shaped tomb – is bound to attract speculation and folklore, and there’s nothing Scousers like better than a good yarn; so, why let facts get in the way of one?

What’s good to see is fortean subjects, like local ghost stories, inspiring creativity among young people from an area that’s had more than its fair share of problems. De La Salle School and Eek Films should be congratulated on their excellent project, which is well worth a view. One positive outcome is City Council funding for a further animation, which touches on environmental and immigration issues and involves the adventures of a group of voles.

And what about William McKenzie? Is he really sitting at a table within his pyramid holding a handful of cards? St Andrew’s churchyard has long been eyed as having excellent redevelopment potential, so perhaps one day we’ll find out…