Are mythical creatures just that, mythical? Or is there something more behind the myth? Could it be that some crimes are so heinous that it is unfathomable for mankind to comprehend that another human being was capable of committing such acts. Thus over the centuries through tales and folk-law were these criminals metamorphosised into mythical monsters? Did ever an event occur which was so miraculous that it was not plausible a human being could conjure such a deed and likewise it was then deemed a miracle, an act of god. 

I grew up in a village in the south of England where the famous tale of the Witch of Nantucks Lane would terrify my friend’s and I as youngsters.

Legend has it that if you walk down Nantucks Lane at midnight on a full moon, you will witness a witch’s severed head roll down the lane. For it was on Nantucks Lane that a witch had been decapitated on a full moon. When I grew up I discovered that the real story was far from the tale that frightened us as children. In the 17th century, in a village close to Nantucks Lane a local mother drowned her three children. A crime so harrowing that the local townspeople couldn’t comprehend it. The only rational explanation was that she was a witch, a Satan worshipper, possessed by malevolent forces and thus this mythical monster was born. And so was my obsession with monsters and miracles.

Pennyville pays homage to both the believers and the skeptics. Those who believe there is more than just this plane of existence, that there is a heaven and a hell, that both good and evil spirits roam among us. And those that do not, the ones who will go to any lengths to find a rational explanation for every strange occurrence, the one who believe the only thing to fear is our own minds for that is where we conjure up these conspiracies of ghosts, monsters and miracles to disguise deeper psychological problems. 

Writing Pennyville has been a long process, my original idea was to create a seven episode anthology series. The series featured nine short films illustrating the stories of Pennyville’s patients interwoven within the main narrative. As I developed the script overtime, I found that certain short films complimented the arch of the main narrative more than others. I made the decision to focus on these stories, it then became clear that Pennyville was meant to be a feature film. For me, an integral part of the process in creating Pennyville was to ensure the short films and the main narrative were as compelling and engaging as each other. The short films and main narrative had to be able to each stand alone as an enthralling experience and when brought together they create a seamless anthology film where each element compliments and enhances the story as a whole.