1962: Is 9 Coronation Street haunted?
The Black Hand Gang was a squad of four young boys who made the vacant 9 Coronation Street their hideout in 1962. The gang accessed the house using their leader Billy Makin's dad's key from when he was considering buying the house, and met there in secret, leaving notes for each other. Eventually, the neighbours started hearing noises from inside the property and clues appeared which pointed to the house being occupied, notably a milk bottle which Martha Longhurst swore she saw on the doorstep and a circular meant for a house streets away put through the letterbox. One theory that went around was that the house was haunted. The mystery was solved when Elsie Tanner let herself in using Linda Cheveski's old key and found the gang's leftovers along with a demonic-looking mask and a note reading "Coming back. Help yourself. Billy". Minutes later, Len Fairclough caught the gang in the backing and Harry Hewitt apprehended Billy, dragging him inside by the ear.
Their cover blown, Billy and his cohorts abandoned the house but they remained a nuisance in the area; in January 1963, the gang tried to break into the bubblegum machine outside the Corner Shop.