Adrian's Wall
   
                             
   In the Fleetway comics, kids were always befriending strange
   or supernatural pals. Nobby had Odd Ball, Daisy had her
   Genie, etc. But poor old Adrian must have drawn the
   shortest straw because all he had was a ghostly wall
   for company. That's right, an honest-to-goodness bricks
   and mortar wall with legs!

   Of course, it wasn't just a wall, for in its squareness
   was housed the spirit of a Cavalier bricked up inside,
   centuries ago:

  

    Adrian met his Wall whilst touring a stately home with
    his parents and a droning Guide. A couple of playful
    knock-knocks from Adrian and suddenly - Zounds! -
    Mr Wall sprung into life. Wall took on the "Roundhead"
    Guide by dropping on the chap's toes. He then followed
    Adrian out to his parents' car and hitched a ride home
    with them all on the back bumper of the vehicle.
    Incredibly, although Adrian was aware of the Wall
    behind them his parents remained oblivious!

      

    Our Mr Wall was forever spouting Olde English, in true
    Cavalier fashion. Ne'er a panel went by without a "Zounds!"
    or "Gadzooks!". What we weren't told, however, was what
    this Cavalier's real name had been (and no, it certainly
    wasn't "Max"...). Given the Roman connection, spoofing
    the name of Hadrian's Wall, it's a surprise the originators
    didn't opt for a ghostly Legionnaire within the brickwork.
    But if they'd gone down that avenue you'd have missed
    the clever in-joke.

    If you've read the Shiver & Shake index page you'll
    recall that Shiver the Ghost and Shake the Elephant
    originally appeared in a wholly different guise in the
    pages of Cor!! comic...

      

    ...In their Cor!! appearances Shake was a spook, whilst
    Shiver was actually a gloomy Cavalier ghost who'd been
    run-through with a cutlass. So when Shiver & Shake comic
    launched the original Shiver returns bricked-up in a
    ghostly wall - smart, eh?

    Well, maybe not too smart. There were only so many things
    you could do with a brick wall, ghostly or not. Mr Wall
    dropped himself on several pairs of toes, Uncle Cyril, and
    others for just a few short weeks before the strip disappeared
    early in the comic's run. But our Mr Wall, or Original Shiver,
    returned for the 1974 Annual before finally breaking out of his
    mortar prison altogether and returning to the pages of
    Shiver & Shake yet again. This time, as the phantom Cavalier
    in The Ghost's Revenge...