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The Haunted Black Forest of Fairy Tales

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The Black Forest in Germany is known for its haunted dark fairy tales from the brothers Grimm and the magical place has more than one legend about something magical and strange happening. But how haunted is really this place?

The Black Forest in Germany is not really a single forest, but a whole forested mountain range covering a large part of the country of dark fairy tales where around 60 % of the area is covered with some form of woodland. The Black Forest or Schwarzwald in German goes from southwest in Germany, down the Rhine Valley to the west, almost reaching the border to France and Switzerland, covering over 6000 km2. 

The place is mainly rural with a few large towns and many scattered little villagers around and has become a place where legends of the supernatural and fables are allowed to live between the brooding thick woodlands with miles and miles of a forestry trail. 

The Most Haunted Places in the World?

The place often pops up on lists of Most Haunted Places both in Germany as well as worldwide, but what exactly makes this entire place haunted as it is known as this dark and magical place for any outsiders? Calling the entire place haunted in the strictest sense doesn’t quite cover it all as the world enchanted does, with both the good and the bad. 

Read also: Check out all the haunted places around Germany: Here

The Black Forest with its ominous sounding name is said to house everything from wicked witches, hungry werewolf, beautiful nymphs and forest goblins between the dark trees. Many of the stories sound like they come from one of the Grimm brother’s fever nightmare, and a couple of the stories of the Grimm brothers actually take place in a place that looks a lot like the Schwarzwald. 

Stories like Hansel and Gretel losing their way in the forest and being captured by a witch, the menacing Pied Piper leading the children away from the urban town into the wild or the Little Red Riding Hood with the wolf knocking on the door. But do they actually take place here like the tourist guides would like you to believe? Have a bite of the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, and finish your glühwein, because many of these legends is like a super dark fairy tale.  

Background of the Black Forest

Walking through the landscape of the Black Forest you will see the romantic part of Germany with stout timber farmhouses and remnants of Baroque fortification from the 17th century, especially on the mountain passes. The highest peak is the Feldberg at 1493 meters above sea level before drooping down with its deeply carved valleys and rivers like the Danube river starts and continues through Europe. 

In ancient times, The Black Forest was known as Abnoba Mons after a Celtic deity, Abnoba. She was worshiped in the Black Forest and the surrounding areas and couldn’t encapsulate the spirit of The Black Forest better. She was of course a forest and river goddess, showing just how much of an importance the thick woodlands with its wispy waterfalls and evergreen meadows had for the people living there.

Historically the people living in this forest area were known for forestry and the mining of ore deposits. Today however it is tourism that is the primary industry. 

It was the Romans that gave the mountain range the name The Black Forest because of the densely growth of the very dark green conifer trees. 

Because of its long history, it is easy to believe like The Black Forest area has been this unchanged and wild place forever without any disturbances. However that is not the case and the area has been through many changes and has been thoroughly cultivated by the human hand.

It used to be a mixed forest until the 19th century, when the Black Forest was almost completely deforested by too much forestry. It was replanted, this time, mostly with spruce as the only type of tree. Then in the 90s, a series of windstorms, among them Hurricane Lothar in 1999, swept over the Black Forest and destroyed much of the replanted forest. Large areas were left to nature and have since grown into a natural mixed forest again, showing how nature always finds a way. 

Myths and Legends of Schwarzwald

Deep and dark forest landscapes create mysteries and legends and Schwarzwald is no exception. Legend has it that the forest area is haunted by werewolves and witches and in some cases, the devil himself. 

Read more about the haunted forests around the world: Here

There are also stories about a headless horseman riding on a great white steed, a mythical motif we see in many instances in countless ghost stories and written horror like the famous Sleepy Hollow for example. 

We can also find dark fairy tales of an evil king who kidnaps women to take them to his magical underwater lair where he lives among the nymphs. 

The Black Forest is not short of stories that tell about the dangers of the wild and what will happen to those that step outside from the path. And none more of them than what we can find in the Grimm brothers collected stories. But did the brothers really find some of the stories among the dark pine cone trees?  

The Stories of The Brothers Grimm

This is a place where magic is everyday, the birthplace of Cuckoo Clocks ticking away on walls, fairy tale is real life and the people use tarot cards as playing cards. The Black Forest is also were most people connect the often bizarre and dark fairy tales of the Grimm brothers, and many of them can be traced back to the area.

Stories from the Black Forest: The Brother Grimm’s Fairy Tales definitely helped making the Black Forest a place of magic and wonder.

Brothers Grimm set many of their most scariest folk tales to the Black Forest as this was one of the places where they collected them throughout Germany. The brothers didn’t actually write the fairy tales themselves though. The stories themselves had been told orally for ages locally, they simply put them down to paper. 

Like Hansel and Gretel’s encounter with the witch were well suited as the place had a reputation for witches and witchcraft long before any of these tales were written down. Fairy Tales like Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty are also said to have been set inside of the Black Forest. But is this true?

How accurate it is though is hard to say, as many of the stories are also said to be from northern part of Germany, especially around Hesse. Although the fairy tales doesn’t really have a super specific location attached to them, and many are reworks of tales that have been told all over the place, locating these fairy tales to this specific mountain range is difficult.

Although the marketing of the tourism in the Black Forest will tell you another story, because many parts of the area really fits perfectly for the more darker tales.

If you are looking for a fairy tale which explicitly plays in the Black Forest is the more under the radar fairy tale called “Heart of Stone” by Wilhelm Hauff.

The Modern Myth of Der Grossmann

There is a particular creature that shows up today on many listicles online about the Black Forest being one of Germany’s most haunted places. This is the story of Der Grossmann and it looks like it originated online together with the urban legend of Slenderman, not in the forest as a fairy tale to keep children out from the dark forest. 

Der Grossmann tells of a tall and ugly man, badly disfigured with bulging eyes and too many arms. He is associated with woodcuts carved in the 1700s by an unknown artist in Germany and has as of today a pretty extensive backstory. According to ‘local legend’ bad children were sent into the forest, and they had to confess their sins to der Grossman. It is said that the worst children never came out from the forest again. 

This particular story looks like it didn’t originate in the depth of the Black Forest because all information about it comes from articles discussing the historical aspects of the urban legend, the slender man. And in no place does the old legends from Germany mention a creature like this.  

Even though it isn’t necessarily an old folk tale, the story is a pretty good one.

Hauntingly Beautiful

Whether a modern ghost story from one of the small towns, or an ancient legend that over time turned into one of the darker fairy tales, the Black Forest holds the macabre and haunted together with the whimsical and magical. 

It has and probably will continue to draw people that wish to disappear in between the trees and off the beaten path that leads into the wild. 

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Abnoba – Wikipedia

Black Forest – Wikipedia

Werewolf Legends from Germany 

Werewolf Legends from Germany

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The Haunted Babenhausen Kaserne

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Ghosts of nazi soldiers and witches haunt this old barracks in Hesse Germany. In the Babenhausen Kaserne there are stories about everything from soldier clad uniforms floating around as well as phone calls from a woman talking backwards. 

In Hesse Germany there is a medieval town called Babenhausen at the mountain range of the Odenwald where a lot of the old buildings and parts of the old city wall still remain. The old city has seen most of human tragedies, everything from world wars and tragedies like the witch hunts.  

Today Babenhausen Kaserne serves as a museum, but earlier, the Babenhausen Kaserne otherwise called DP-Lager Babenhausen was home to both German and American soldiers over the years. It was first used to house soldiers all the way back in the early 1900s throughout the both world wars. After the Americans took over as they did  with many of the former German military bases after World War 2, it was the American soldiers that got to experience the hauntings said to happen at Babenhausen Kaserne.

The Ghost Phone: According to the legends, there is a phone that keeps ringing in the dead of night. It is a woman that sounds like she is talking backwards.

Read more: Check out all of the ghost stories from Germany

It is said that ghosts from the second world war are still haunting the barracks of Babenhausen Kaserne and according to reports they have been seen still wearing their uniforms. Wars were raging across Europe at the time, and soldiers from both World War 1 and World War 2 were stationed at these barracks.

There are many things that happens after dark at the barracks that makes ghost stories circulate about it. Lights at the old barracks turn on and off when no one is suppose to be inside of it, and if you listen, you can hear the sound of footsteps and voices shouting commands in the middle of the night coming from the basement. 

There is also a strange rumor about strange phone calls the soldiers got during their stay from the time of landlines. What is extra strange is that the voice on the other side of the line is not the ghosts of male soldiers of the past. According to them, they only heard the voice of a woman, sounding as if she was talking backwards. 

Who is this female voice in a place mainly haunted by men? What could she possible be saying? It turns out that the grounds the barracks is built upon has a much older history, and goes back all the way to the witch hunts in Germany many centuries ago.

The Witch Tower by the Barracks

In the old town of Babenhausen, there is a Witch Tower which is the landmark of the town. A witch tower, or Hexenturrn as it is in German, is a term used for a tower that was part of a town fort or castle that served as a prison in the past. The name was given from the time of the witch hunts, were they put up the suspected witches and kept them prisoners as they went through torture before being burned at the stake. 

The Witch Tower: In the town by the barracks there is an old witch tower they used a prison back in the day. It is here they supposedly imprisoned over 50 women before burning them at the stake. Who knows, maybe it was more?//Source: wikimedia/Lumpeseggl

This witch tower in Babenhausen can have a connection to the other strange paranormal rumor that goes around in the old barracks. According to legend, there was in the 17th century over 50 women imprisoned in this witch tower suspected of being witches, all being burned alive on the marketplace in the city.

Read More: Check out more stories about Witches

One of these witches burned at the stake were according to the stories, a certain Mrs. Mueller who was thought to be behind the death of 3 men that she supposedly killed with sorcery.

Fast forward to 1843, there was another woman related to Mrs. Mueller who were stoned to death on the account of them believing she was a witch. 

This particular Mrs. Mueller allegedly seduced and killed at least 5 German soldiers when the barracks first were built. According to this legend their bodies were found in the Babenhausen Kaserne attic and their death remained a mystery. 

The Ghost of Mrs. Mueller in Babenhausen Kaserne

Or could it be the other version of the legend, where there is also a Mrs. Mueller, who is said to be haunting the HQ building in Babenhausen Kaserne? She was a young woman engaged to one of the soldiers at Babenhausen Kaserne. This was in the early days of world war 1 when people thought it would be over in a matter of months.

Mrs. Mueller’s fiance and 3 of his friends didn’t want to be sent to war in France and hid in the attic with her help. They stayed there for a couple of days, but were found when Mrs. Mueller tried to sneak some food and drink up to them. They were arrested and shot by a firing squad all 4 deserters and it was too much for Mrs. Mueller. 

The very same day they were shot, Mrs Mueller jumped from the HQ building and the fall killed her instantly. And according to the legend, just at that moment, the clocks to the officers clock tower stopped the very moment she died. It is said that she is one of those that is haunting the barracks. 

The Haunted Barracks of Babenhausen Kaserne

In conclusion, the Babenhausen Kaserne in Hesse, Germany holds a fascinating mix of history and paranormal legends. From the ghosts of Nazi soldiers to the haunting calls of a woman speaking backwards, this old barracks is steeped in eerie tales.

Read More: For more ghost stories from military bases, check out The Haunted Observation Post Rock in War Torn Afghanistan, Conn Barracks Ghosts of Nazi Soldiers and Bloody Nurses orThe Lingering Presence of a Nazi Ghost at Skaugum

Whether it’s the sightings of soldiers adorned in their uniform, lights flickering on and off, or the echoes of distant footsteps and commanding voices, the presence of the past lingers within the walls of Babenhausen Kaserne. These ghostly apparitions serve as a reminder of the turbulent times and the sacrifices made during World War II.

The Ghosts of War: Some of the hauntings going on in the Barracks of Babenhausen Kaserne is thought to be the ghosts of the soldiers that were stationed there during the wars.

Additionally, the connection between the Witch Tower in the town and the strange phenomena reported in the barracks adds another layer of intrigue. The imprisonment and tragic fate of over 50 women accused of witchcraft in the Witch Tower fuels speculation about their involvement in the paranormal occurrences. Could their restless spirits be seeking justice or revenge?

As the years pass, these ghostly tales continue to captivate the imaginations of visitors and locals alike, ensuring that the legacy of the barracks and the spirits that call it home will be remembered for generations. Whether one believes in the supernatural or not, the stories of the Babenhausen Kaserne serve as a chilling reminder of the tumultuous history that unfolded within its walls.

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Edinburgh Castle Ghosts and Legends

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Witches, dragons and ghosts, Edinburgh Castle are said to have it all. The sound of bagpipe and drummers can be heard without anyone playing, and those accused for witchcraft as well as prisoners of wars are said to haunt the old castle.

Although the castle as we know it today wasn’t built until the 12th century, the Castle Rock has been lived on for more than 2000 years. It is built on top of an extinct volcano formed 350 million years ago. The castle itself has been built and rebuilt over the years but you can still find traces of the castle that are over 900 years old. 

It is also the place in Britain that has been attacked most times with a record of 23 attempts to take over the castle. It has a story filled with wars, bloody battles and tortured, and is said by many to be a haunted landmark that watches over the old town. 

Edinburgh Castle: There are so many alleged ghost stories coming from Edinburgh Castle perched on Castle Rock. Among them is the Grey Lady, the missing Piper and little drummer boy. There are also ton of older legends about dragons, black hounds and ties to ancient romans and Arthurian legends. How much of it is really true?

History of Edinburgh Castle

Nine Maidens: Morgan le Fey is said to be one of the Nine Maidens in Arthurian legend. By Anthony Frederick Sandys from 1864.

The castle holds many legends to its name. According to the origin story, the first castle that was built on the hill was named The Castle of the Maidens, built as a shrine to the Nine Maidens, a mysterious and old cult of religion that can be found throughout many countries in Europe. One of these supposed Nine Maidens in Scotland are often attributed to being Morgan le Fay, a mythical figure in Arthurian legend that are said to hold magical abilities.

Even if there are no real substance to her being a real figure, the legends of fantastical magical things keeps being told around the castle grounds. Another legend from older times is the dragon. As far back as 1558 there were several reports about a dragon that was supposedly seen on one of the biggest towers at the time.

Even if there are no more reports about dragon sightings, there are still many urban legends about the castle that lives on to this day. There is also an urban legend that if students pass through the castle gates, they will never pass their exams. Many students are following this rule, and never visit the castle during their stay here, just in case.

Ghosts of the Castle and Haunted Legends

As well as fantastical rumors about dragons and mythical sorceresses, there are legends of ghosts and hauntings. Among the many haunted rumors of the castle, there are reports of the strange sound of drums and music. You can also hear the vague knocking sound you can never be sure to be the wind or something more ominous. 

People report of A sensation of being touched, pushed as well as a feeling of dread and despair can follow you when walking along the stony walls. There are also reported sightings of curious lights and flaky figures in the shadows. It is said a black dog is haunting in connection to the pet cemetery on the castle grounds as well as a man in an apron. But there are some ghostly legends more told than others:

Ghosts from the Witches Burned at the Stake on Castle Ground

One thing the castle was in the lead for was for burning more witches during the 16th century than the rest of the country. Over 300 women were tortured before being burned at the stake at Castle Hill, everything from simple peasants to noble women.

Among them, Dame Euphane MacCalzean, accused of witchcraft in the North Berwick witch trials. She was found guilty and burnt alive on 25 June 1591 on the southern slope of the Castle Hill below Edinburgh Castle.

The North Berwick Witch Trials: Dame Euphane MacCalzean was a notable figure in the North Berwick witch trials of 1590-1591, one of Scotland’s most infamous witch hunts. A well-educated woman of noble birth, she was accused of conspiring with witches to raise storms against King James VI’s ship during his return from Denmark.

Some believe the spirits of these women linger still, their pain echoing across time. if we are to believe the haunted legends, there are perhaps one or two of the accused witches that are haunting the castle.

Red More: Check out Agnes Sampson — The Wise Wife of Keith to read about another haunt from one of the victims who were convicted and killed in the North Berwick Witch Trials.

The Lone Piper Boy Playing Under the Royal Mile

Walking in the historical city of Edinburgh, the sound of bagpipes is heard on every occasion. On a random street corner, from the tourist shops, during a parade or as a part of the historical landmarks. Bagpipes are the thing, perhaps even from the ghosts of the city.

The Piper: The Bagpiper by Johann Christoph Erhard.

The most famous ghost that is said to haunt the castle is the piper that was sent down to explore some tunnels they found ran under the castle towards Holyrood Palace a couple of hundred years ago. A young and small boy that would get through the network of tunnels. 

According to the legend, the regimental piper played his pipe as he ascended down the Royal Mile, stretching through the old town from the castle. Halfway down the mile to Tron Kirk the music suddenly stopped.

A search party was sent down to investigate after the music stopped, but the piper was never found again, and they sealed the tunnel’s shut so no would could get in… or out… According to legends though, he was certainly heard. He is said to walk the royal mile to this day and the unmistakable sound of bagpipes can be heard from underground. 

So perhaps walking down the Royal Mile, the sound of the bagpipes echoing throughout the whole city might as well be from the ghost piper?

The Headless Drummer Boy

Another ghost that has been sighted on several occasions is that of a little drummer boy without a head. He was first seen in the central courtyard of the castle in 1659, a year after Charles I was beheaded. He was walking in circles, drumming his drum playing an Old Scottish war tune. When the castle servants looked closer, they saw that he didn’t have a head. It is said that he drummed all through that night and continued until the morning. 

Although he has not been seen again, he is considered a bad omen if he ever appears again. The same year he showed himself, Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland and laid siege to the castle. Is this enough to give credit to the legend?

Even though no one has seen him since that fateful night, the servants working at the castle have throughout the years claimed to have heard his drumming in the quiet hallways of the castle from time to time. Who knows… Perhaps the next time someone sees the drummer boy, the castle will once again come under attack?

The Grey Lady Haunting the Halls of Edinburgh Castle

A mysterious lady has been reported staying in the older parts of the castle. Sometimes she is just seen wandering around in her 16th century dress and sometimes she is reported to weep. 

Janet Douglas: Lady Glamis was a noblewoman accused of witchcraft, who was executed by burning during the reign of James V of Scotland.

There are several real nobles she is thought to be: The first one is Janet Douglas or Lady Glamis. She was accused of witchcraft and burned to the stake outside the castle on July 17th in 1537 with her son watching it all. It is said that even back then, they knew that the accusations were wrong, but King James V held a grudge towards her brother and took it out on her. 

Janet also haunts Glamis Castle as The Grey Lady of Glamis, wandering through the family chapel and clock tower.

Read Also: Check out Lady Janet Douglas, Ghost of Glamis Castle to read more about Lady Janet Douglas and how she is said to haunt the Glamis Castle as well.

Others think that the Grey Lady haunting Edinburgh Castle could be the French Marie de Guise, mother of Mary Queen of Scots. She died a catholic and the Protestant nobles held her body inside the castle for nine months before returning her to France, wrapped in a cloth inside a lead coffin. She was then secretly taken to France for a proper burial in the Convent of Saint-Pierre in Reim.

The Prisoners in the Dungeon and Towers

There are also the castle dungeons where they housed criminals for centuries that are supposedly haunted. There were many wars that the castle dungeon saw: the Seven Years War, The American War of Independence and the Napoleonic Wars just to mention a few.  

According to legend, from one of these wars, the ghost of a prisoner is said to haunt the castle to this day. In 2003, construction crew members restoring the Queen Anne Tower claimed ghosts of prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars harassed them and refused to work there. Who knows what they really saw, but there are certainly rumors. The hazy blue orbs mentioned earlier are said to appear more frequent in this tower than in the rest of the castle.

But who was this prisoner? The legend tells of a prisoner who tried to escape in a wheelbarrow filled with dung that were taken out of the castle. The cart was dumped over the high castle walls and the prisoner broke his neck when he hit the rocky ground below. He now haunts the place and tries to push visitors down Castle Rock. What gives him away is the lingering smell of dung in the air. 

The Legends Living on in Edinburgh Castle

That was some of the ghosts that are said to be haunting the castle. Old places like these will have its history, and through all the bloodshed and Even today, myths surround Edinburgh Castle. Students avoid crossing its gates, fearing it may curse their exams still to this day.

But it’s the ghostly activity that chills the hearts of visitors. Phantom touches, flickering lights, and shadowy figures have been reported. The sounds of drums, faint knocking, and whispers stir something restless in the castle—perhaps spirits that will never truly leave. legends surrounding the place since the first people arrived on the rock, the place will hold its stories.

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References

The Most Haunted Places in Edinburgh’s Old Town – Dickins

Edinburgh’s most haunted locations | The Scotsman

The Headless Drummer Boy – Folklore Scotland

Edinburgh Castle Ghosts

Facts, Fiction And Urban Legends About Edinburgh Castle

Ghosts of Edinburgh Castle

The Most Haunted Place in Scotland | Ghosts of Edinburgh Castle | My Macabre Roadtrip 

Spooky sightings at Edinburgh Castle and the ghosts that are claimed to haunt the halls 

Edinburgh Castle Ghosts – Is Edinburgh Castle Haunted? – Wandering Crystal 

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Haunted Spirits at The Banshee Labyrinth Pub

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The metal bar called the Banshee Labyrinth is located in parts of the haunted underground vaults of Edinburgh. And today the place has some haunted stories to tell as well. Everything from ghost children, accused witches, irish folklore creatures and an annoying ghost in the ladies toilet, this pub houses them all.

What can be a more haunted place than a rock and metal bar located in the haunted old town of Edinburgh? Today it is a family run pub that promises a good drink and music all week.

The Banshee Labyrinth bar is located on Niddry Street it is close to the Royal Mile as well as the haunted underground of Edinburgh.

They are also catering to the more macabre with movie nights mostly showing horror movies. But are we to believe legends about this pub you can also expect a couple of ghostly guests as well. 

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The Haunted Underground Vaults

It is located near The South Bridge Vaults where several businesses, workplace and taverns were located. However, it was built on a low budget and never waterproofed. The place eventually flooded and only the poorest people stayed there, making cheap brothels and pubs flourish instead and crime and murders were not uncommon. 

It was allegedly also here the infamous serial killers Burke and Hare haunted victims to sell to the medical schools. The underground vaults have become notorious as a haunted place. 

The Wailing Banshee

Part of The Banshee Labyrinth is in one of these vaults and the name the pub has comes from the legend of a banshee haunting the place. Banshee are female spirits and creatures that are an omen of death with their terrifying screams. 

The Banshee: It is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member

Once when the pub was having some restoration work done, the workmen experienced something strange. The story is that a group of workmen heard this wailing scream of death and right after. According to some sources he also saw a woman in a gray dress who cried into her hands before lifting her head to show off her pale face with rotted teeth and no eyes. 

After this they were terrified, but it didn’t stop there. Right after the incident, one of the workers got a call about the death of one of their family members just moments later. 

There is also Molly, a six year old girl that are said to haunt the place. She is named Molly after they found a child shoe with the name written on it in one of the old bricked-up chimneys. She apparently disappeared in 1814 according to some sources. 

People also report on the ghost they have named Ole Jock, who is said to haunt the ladies toilet. He keeps slamming the doors and is even said to be the one turning the hand driers on and off. 

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The Witch Hunter

Since its heyday as a part of the criminal hotspot of the city, the people who once walked the vaults are said to have been of the more unsavory characters, and perhaps the ghosts can be seen as the same. 

Witches: More than 3000 Scottish people who were accused of witchcraft between the 16th and 17th century. Many of them were burned at the stake in Edinburgh.

One of the neighbors of the building of The Banshee Labyrinth for instance once upon the time belonged to a man named Lord Nicol Edwards. He was a lord Provost and known to be a cruel man, especially to his wife. He is also said to have had a personal dungeon under his house he used to torture accused witches before their trial. 

Many pub goers to The Banshee Labyrinth have claimed to have spotted one of these tortured women, and the story of the banshee is often linked together with these women. 

There are also stories about inside the pub with some strange things happening. Classical haunted pub things like drinks flying off the tables and crashing in the walls. So bottoms up, The Banshee Labyrinth have spirits for all, both the drinkable and haunted type. 

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References

The Most Haunted Places in Edinburgh’s Old Town – Dickins

The Banshee Labyrinth

Scotland’s ‘most haunted pub’ that’s home to a terrifying wailing banshee – Edinburgh Live

The ‘most haunted pub in Scotland’ where 16th-century tyrant tortured ‘witches’ – Daily Record

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The Ghosts Within the South Bridge Vaults

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A paranormal investigator’s dream, the South Bridge Vaults in Edinburgh have been investigated for its hauntings on many occasions and many have left with a feeling of having experienced something paranormal and ghostly in the dark. 

In the late 18th century Edinburgh was a growing community with a limited space in the Old Town nicknamed Old Reeky because of the bad smell and old buildings. The city is built around seven different hills and there are five main bridges connecting the slopes and hills of the town. That is also the reason for the high rise buildings of Edinburgh were they chose to build on top of the old to utilize the uneven location of the city. 

The people of Edinburgh started to utilize the spaces under the South Bridge in the Old Town to make more room for business. The spaces within the archers under the bridge are also known as the Edinburgh Vaults or Niddry Street Vaults as well as just the South Bridge Vaults. 

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They look like a series of chambers next to each other and are actually of the 19 archers underneath the South Bridge. It was supposed to be a place with respectable businesses, but ended up becoming some of the more haunted corners of the very haunted city. 

The Cursed South Bridge

According to legend, the place was cursed already from the start. The South Bridge that was built to connect the old town with the new town was completed in 1788, and already at the opening of it the locals deemed it as cursed. 

The South Bridge: The largest arch of the bridge, seen from the Cowgate.

It was seen as a grand opening and one of the respected Judge’s wives had been selected to be the first resident to cross the bridge as she was the city’s oldest resident. However, she died before the opening. To keep their promise to the elderly woman though, they decided she after all would be the first person to cross the bridge, although it was in her coffin. 

The locals in Edinburgh were scared, now thinking that the bridge was cursed because of the unusual opening of the bridge. And looking back at all that happened on the bridge and in the vaults beneath it, perhaps it indeed was. 

In the start, the South Bridge Vaults underneath the bridge were mostly used as taverns, workshops and as storage space for merchants. However it wasn’t long before the well respected businesses started leaving the area because of the poor facilities. The building of the bridge and the vaults underneath had been constructed on a low budget and even the construction itself had been rushed. Therefore they had taken no precaution to seal the surface against water and built it with porous limestone and the place became a damp and dark place which constantly flooded. 

The Damp and Dark Underworld of the Vaults

No later than 10 years after the bridge and the vaults opened, respectable businesses like shoemakers, goldsmiths started leaving the area and those that could afford it relocated elsewhere as the murky vaults flooded and the sunlight never shone inside the South Bridge Vaults. It was a place no one wanted to be, and only those that had no other choice remained. 

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There was also a slum where the poorer people in town started to take over as the surrounding Cowgate area had developed into a slum during the industrial revolution. Crime, filth, poverty and murders were key words to explain the place as no sunlight came through.

More illicit businesses started to pop up in the area like brothels, shady pubs, gambling dents and illegal whiskey distilleries, turning the place into the red light district of the town.

The Legends of the Serial Killers Burke and Hare

A lot of horrible things happened inside these vaults during this time. Most of it, we will never know for sure. Legends however will be told. The South Bridge Vaults were where the body snatchers Burke and Hare were supposedly finding their bodies as well as killing them to sell them off to medical schools. 

The Burke and Hare murders: The serial killings were sixteen murders committed over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were undertaken by William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses to Robert Knox for dissection at his anatomy lectures. Here depicted in an etching of Burke murdering Margaret Docherty (also known as Margery Campbell) by Robert Seymour.

Although this legend is often passed down as fact, there is no actual evidence that the South Bridge Vaults was the exact place they got their bodies from, although very likely. The place to find poverty struck people and those that no one would miss if they suddenly ‘disappeared’ was inside the dark and damp vaults.

The Rediscovery of the South Bridge Vaults

At one point during the 1800s, exactly when is unsure, they emptied the vaults for people and started to dump tons of rubble in the vaults, sealing them completely off and making them inaccessible for the public and were kind of forgotten for a long time. 

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It wasn’t until the 1980s the tunnels to the vaults were rediscovered by a former Scottish rugby player named Norrie Rowan when he found one of the tunnels while he was renovating his flat. He spent the rest of his days excavating the vaults and rediscovering its history to make it accessible for the public once again. 

The Ghosts of the South Bridge Vaults

There are many stories about who haunts the place today as the vaults have reopened and daily groups of tourists and paranormal investigators are taken down to the vaults to uncover the dark history. 

Many people met their tragic fate on a daily basis down there in the vaults as well as suffered from horrible tragedies that affected the entire town. Like the Great Fire of Edinburgh  that lasted for five days after it started in 1824 and took the lives of at least 13 people. There are many stories about victims that were trapped inside the chambers and suffered horrible consequences from then. Although there is no paper trail on this tale though. 

There are many tourists that claim to have captured evidence of something paranormal going on, and they even make the newspapers from time to time. The same reports comes from the paranormal investigators that go down into the vaults and come back with what they see as proof of hauntings going on. 

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Here are some of the ghosts that are said to haunt the vaults until this date and have gathered enough reports to be a part of the haunted ghost tour in Edinburgh: 

The Aristocrat

One of the first ghosts that people have reportedly seen over the years is that of the Aristocrat. He is said to be a rich gentleman with a tall black hat and a beard. He is not seen as the most angry spirit as he is known for grinning at visitors while leaning against the wall. People do have a tendency to feel uneasy in his presence though, according to those who claimed to have seen him. 

The Happy Shoemaker

There is also a room that is believed to belong to a shoemaker from that time that is said to still practice his profession as a shoemaker.

He is described as a man in his 50s and is one of the ghosts that are said to be friendly and are often seen smiling and laughing by visitors while he happily carries on with his shoemaking while wearing an apron.  

The Veiled Woman

In the room with the shoemaker known as The Room of the Cobbler, there is a meaner spirit though and is known as the veiled woman. She is believed to throw small stones at visitors as well. She is seen as a young woman dressed in black while wearing a veil in the north west corner of the Cobbler’s Room. 

Women have also reported about feeling an intense rush of grief, anger and a sudden and unexplained abdominal pain, which has left many to believe it is a woman that lost her child in a horrible way and she is still grieving. 

The Caretakers Room

In one of the chambers there are reports of a man sitting by the fireplace. He apparently looks like one of the more chill spirits in the place as well with a drink in his hand and legs stretched out. By his side he has a dog that is reported to brush up against people’s legs or sniff them. 

Little Jack

Then there is the small boy named Jack or James that are often spotted in the Wine Vault. He is mostly seen as a blonde curly boy around 6 or 8 years old, wearing a blue suit with the classic knickerbocker trousers. Some sources want to connect him to a missing child case from 1810. 

He is often playing with a red ball at times and is known to try to hold the hands of female visitors and likes to play around if there are children around. Allegedly, if he spots a person he doesn’t want to enter the South Bridge Vaults he will tuck their sleeves or coat when entering the Blair Street Corridor. 

According to the guides down in the vaults, he is afraid of one of the more well known ghosts wandering the narrow alleys and small chambers. And that is that of Mr. Boots or also known as The Watcher. 

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The Watcher

Perhaps the most well known ghost in the South Bridge Vaults is that of The Watcher. There is a theory that he was a watchman and that is the reason he is known as The Watcher. Or maybe it’s because he always looks as if watching over something.  

There are also alternative legends over the years that have tried to explain his presence, and many are also claiming him to be one of the slum landlords or even one of the body snatchers that hid his stolen bodies in the chamber known as The White Room. Today we can only speculate. 

He is also called Mr Boots because of how many people in the vaults have experienced him. They can hear loud footsteps in The White Room or in the Niddry Street Corridor which is known as the most active place in all of the vaults.

His face has never been seen as it is hidden, blacked out or he is showing himself to the public with his back. He is supposedly this tall, slim and dark figure with a long flowing coat with his long hair in a ponytail. Sometimes he wears a hat and long boots. Sometimes he carries rattling keys and his breath smells disgusting of rotten teeth and whiskey. 

People experiencing stuff within the vaults often get the feeling that he is trying to get them out from the narrow and claustrophobic spaces. Batteries on cameras die or malfunction when he’s present and he is known to push or pull people towards the exit as well as the phrase ‘Get Out’ has been heard on several occasions. 

The Stone Circle

There are also rumors about an evil demon trapped inside one of the stone circles in one of the chambers. This is were the late Wiccan High Priest, George Cameron known as The Hermit set up his temple in the 90’s. It was in one of the vaults that have historic connection to the torturing of witches somehow. 

According to him, he was trying to rid it from evil and built the stone circle which still stands today. He failed, however, to remove the evil that were supposed to be in the vaults and Cameron abandoned the room after he recommended to seal up the room to protect people from the evil within it. It is not sealed though as it is one of the stops on the tour through the vaults. 

The Experience of the Hauntings

No matter the real story of the ghosts in the South Bridge Vaults and the true horror the people living there went through, the vaults itself are an interesting walk through time and history. And perhaps if you choose to go down into the dark chambers you too will hear the same that many claim to have on recordings and etched into their memories. The eerie sound of what can sound like children yelling and crying along with hushed voices and shuffling footsteps. 

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References

Edinburgh’s most haunted locations | The Scotsman

Niddry Street Vaults Ghost Hunts,

Edinburgh’s South Bridge and Vaults

Underground Edinburgh Tour of South Bridge Vaults Review

The Watcher, The South Bridge Vaults Edinburgh’s Most Haunted

https://thelittlehouseofhorrors.com/edinburgh-vaults-south-bridge/

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The Witches of the Black Diamond Mines

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Guarding the old mining community, these ghosts of these two women have been dubbed witches by the locals, feared as well as revered in their lives. Who were The White Witches of the Black Diamond Mines?

Before the place in the San Francisco Bay area used to be a bustling mining community at the turn of the century. The coal mines was operating until 1945. Now the mines are closed and the place forgotten, but the remains can still be reached an hour away from San Francisco. 

Although named the Diamond mines, there was no sparkling diamonds to be found in the mines. Instead it was coal, the black type of diamonds. It is here the legend of the white witches started to take hold of the mining community.

Overview

Type of Haunting:Female Ghost, Witches
Place:USA, North America
Other:Haunted Cemetery
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The Contra Costa County is ranked as the scariest place in California because of legends like the Black Diamond Mines and the White Witches that are said to be haunting the place.

The White Witch in Rose Hill Cemetery

Sara Norton worked as a midwife to the people living in the small towns across the bay area and she delivered over 600 babies in her time. She was a widow to Noah Norton that even got the town Nortonville named after himself. 

She died however in 1879 at the age of 68. She was on call at her midwife duties when she was thrown from a carriage to make a delivery in Clayton and was killed in the accident. 

According to the legend, Sarah was not a religious person and told her own kids that she didn’t want a church funeral. However, when she died that was exactly what they gave her and her spirit became enraged. On the day of the funeral a storm crashed their plan and they decided to go through with the funeral the next day. The next day however, another storm came crashing and ruined their plans. The townspeople took the hint and skipped the formalities and buried her in the Rosehill Cemetery. 

From then on the spirit of Sarah has been spotted in the old mining towns as well as floating around the tombstones in the graveyard. 

Mary the Wailing Witch in the Black Diamond Mines

Another lady that is haunting the place is Mary, who history forgot her last name. She was working as a nanny in the 1870s, but in contrast to Sarah that brought life into this world, her legacy tells that she put life out. 

All of her children that she cared for died of illness and it was not soon before she was accused of witchcraft after some local townspeople allegedly found evidence of her dark rituals that resulted in the death of their children. 

In some variations of the legend, she worked as a school teacher, not a nanny. And with the diseases of the times, it is not unlikely diseases went through the community, striking the kids at the same time. So was it a tragedy or witchcraft? The townspeople certainly was of the belief that it was and set out to punish her.

The legend differs from how Mary met her death. Although the evidence is lost to us, it supposedly was enough to hang her for her crimes in some versions of the story. In other version her dead body was found in the mines under strange circumstances. But it was not enough to bring her out of this world. 

To this day she is spotted guarding the mines wearing all white and seeking revenge for her murder. But there is also another side to her hauntings. It is said that it is mostly children that see her, and she pushes them out from the dangerous mines that are filled with harmful gasses and unstable tunnels. 

So the question remains, is she remaining in the world as a resentful witch, or as a protector of children that she wasn’t able to be alive?

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Haunted? Why East Bay’s Black Diamond Mines Are So Spooky To Some | Concord, CA Patch

Black Diamond Mines is Most Haunted Cave Near San Franciscoi

Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve | East Bay Parks

Spooky Trails and Tall Tales California: Hiking the Golden State’s Legends, Hauntings, and History by Tom Ogden

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Huggin Molly – The Woman in Black of Alabama

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In the small town in Alabama, a big thing is haunting the streets and are after the town’s children. The scary apparition of the black clad Huggin Molly is still on the prowl.

Children should be home before dark, there is no telling what hides in the shadows, emerging after the sun sets. But the people of Abbeville in south Alabama, they have a pretty good idea of what darkness that lurk in the shadows, in the streets and behind the bushes and in the dark corners.

The children of Abbeville, Alabama has been warned plenty of times to stay indoors after dark. If not, they might encounter the creature known as Huggin Molly on the streets.

The Colonial Town of Abbeville

The small place of Abbeville looks like any other small colonial towns in the south with the cute brick houses with the flag waving towards the paved street and with a population around 2000.

Abbeville Alabama: Downtown Abbeville, Alabama where Huggin Molly supposedly roams in the night. // source

The climate is hot during the summer and mild during the winters. The people can shop in the small boutiques and eat at the family restaurant, a place where people know one another. It is also why when a stranger starts to roam the street, the townspeople takes notice as they watch from hammock on their porches.

Read Also: Check out the rest of our ghost stories from all across the USA.

The town of Abbeville has seen many tragedies throughout the years. Not only the hardship of the European settlers, the surrendering of the creek nation and a town in southern Alabama also made it hard for the black people all the way up to the segregation times.

There were reported lynching and sexual violence that went unpunished, making the streets more difficult for black people than the children that was warned to stay indoors after sundown.

The southern town has also experienced tragedies that left a collective trauma so hard that legend took form. One of these being after the fire. At the start of the 1900s, an arsonist burned down all of Abbeville, and this is also at the time when it looks like the legend of Huggin Molly took form. The town was also ravage by an F2 tornado that destroyed many of the old buildings, forcing the town to build on top of the old.

Huggin Molly as The Lady in Black

But these tragedies are not the things Huggin Molly is about. Rather than one of the towns collective tragedies, this is one of the towns big mysteries.

“…..On a cold, dark, rainy night…..so bitterly cold, damp, and dark…..when even street lights won’t burn, and the striking of a match refuses to yield the tiniest flame….on nights like this, Huggin’ Molly comes out of her lair and roams the streets of Abbeville to see whom she can find.”

So begins one account of the story the people of Abbeville have told each other since the early 1900s. The local legend is known as Huggin Molly, or the lady in black. Who is this woman all clad in black, and why is she after the children of Abbeville? What does she want with them?

Read More: There are many urban legends targeting children. How about checking out Kuchisake-onna – The Urban Legend of the Slit-Mouthed Woman or Madam Koi Koi and The School Hauntings in Nigeria.

The local legend of Huggin Molly has it that a tall figure, around seven feet tall, started walking the streets of Abbeville, looking for victims, mostly children. She has no name other than what the townsfolk started calling her, no face to speak of and no one knows why she is after the children. She almost has this witch like status around her, although her behaviour is anything but.

Huggin Molly is said to be dressed in all black with a wide brim hat, also black, wandering through the night in the disguise of the shadows were even the streets light won’t illuminate her identity. Once she found a victim, an innocent child wandering after darkness, she attacks, hugging the person tightly as she is screaming loudly into their ears. 

Read More: There are many stories about women in black around the world: Like some of the ghosts in Unveiling the Dark History of the Tower of London and its Ghosts .

This is it, as there are no stories of her actually hurting anyone. She simply hugs them, although terrifying enough on its own. But are there any origin story to this local legend of a hugging ghost?

The Many Legends of Huggin Molly

Who she is supposed to have been is up for debate and changes as the story itself changes throughout times. Was she a witch or the ghost of a woman that used to live in Abbeville? Is she something completely different from a human?

The Woman in Black: Grieving women wearing long black dresses is a well known motif, especially in European ghost lore. They can also be very dangerous according to many of the legends.

Read More: One of the theories was that Huggin Molly was some sort of witch. If you are interested in stories about witches, head over to our section filled of them: Here

In some accounts when the local townspeople tells the legend, Huggin Molly was a woman living in Abbeville a long time ago. She experienced a mother’s worst nightmare when lost her own child. Her grief was too much to bare and it made her mad. She started to roam the nights and went after the local children to make up for the death of child. Like it was a way of dealing with the tragedy of loosing her own.

In other accounts of the legend, she was a woman who got murdered in cold blood on the very streets she is now haunting and are trying to fulfill something. Perhaps she was killed after dark with no one to look out for her and are now in turn looking out for others?

Perhaps the real story behind the legend is the version about her being a professor at what used to be Alabama Agriculture School as some of the variations of the legend suggests. In these versions she is only trying to keep the students safe by getting them off the streets at night.

Or perhaps it wasn’t a ghost at all that haunted the street in her afterlife, but someone or something, getting dressed up specifically for this? To walk out in the dark to scare and hug children? Somehow, this comes off as almost more frightening than a ghost who only wants a hug.

A Legend with a Milkshake on the Side

In any case, who Huggin Molly was, what her motives are and if she is still roaming the streets doesn’t seem to upset most people in Abbeville. The people of Abbeville haven’t been too concerned by the legend and there are even a 50s themed restaurant named after her, making her a part of the community and town history.

Huggin Molly Legacy: The legend of Huggin Molly is more welcome than many other ghost stories in Abbeville Alabama. Head over to the local restaurant Huggin Molly’s frozen in time in the 50s ,just like the legend to hear more about the town ghost with a meal.

Even to this day the legend is part of the town and kids today are told about the lady in black on the streets. This is like what Jimmy, an Abbeville lifelong resident had to say when the Huggin Molly’s restaurant asked him to say a few words of her:

“Anybody who grew up in Abbeville grew up knowing the legend of Huggin’ Molly,” Jimmy says. “If your mother or dad didn’t want you to be out after dark, they’d tell you Huggin’ Molly would get you. And you believed it, too.”

Because this is the thing, the legend of Huggin Molly has not once been known to have harmed anyone. So many children grew up to tell tales of what they believed must have been Huggin Molly chasing them. And who knows, maybe she really did?

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References

11 Best Scary Ghost Stories – True Scary Stories for Halloween

The Legend of Molly | hugginmollys

The witch legend behind Alabama eatery Huggin’ Molly’s

Abbeville Ghosts « Chattahoochee Heritage

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Occult Podcasts to Recommend

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Occult Confession

A chatty and inspired podcast of all occult. Everything from the Illuminati, secret societies and black magic. It is superbly researched and manages to rely the dry historic research in a witty way together with the alchemic actors, breaking into songs, taking unexpected side roads in the conversations.

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Twitter

Witch Wave

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Butter smooth voice taking you on a journey with the witches and a peep behind the curtain as how to live the witch life in the modern era. The host is a great interviewer and a great and optimistic view on the occult, even the most skeptics can respect and appreciate.

Find them:
Podcast
Twitter

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Into the Dark

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A sort of roadhouse bar playing stomping rock and metal, talking with practitioners of several types of magic, occult traditions. And even though the host, Cooper Wilhelm is a practitioner himself he really lets his guest take the place and comes off as an interested and a guy willing to ask questions about anything! Too bad this is a finished podcast, but enjoy the episodes that were made.

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Twitter

Night Tide

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For the more researched based distanced podcast, check out Night Tide. A bi-monthly production, these guys really take their time doing the research, and presenting it in a great way. The host Stacy is super pleasant listening to and is one of the podcast host that manage the balance between music/narrating and the stories are the perfect blend of creative and informative storytelling.

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The Satanic Panic

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Love a niche podcast, and this is it! Satanic panic was raving through the 80’s America, where a numerous cases accusing others for satanical acts. The hosts takes you through what really happened, covering the court cases, rumors, dungeons and dragons and the Church of Satan. Yeah, its great, check them out.

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Witching Hour – 5 Books About Witches

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Witches have been around as long as women have been around. At times, they have been cursed, at times, praised. Depending on the time, it is always about power though, and how to use it among the rest of the human population.

Even if they are after you we are still fascinated by witches, the power within seemingly normal people. And perhaps that is one of the things we are drawn to. Because if people posses this great power within, why not you as well?.

This is a reading list of some of the books containing witches that we love.

Witch Child

By Celia Rees (2009)

This book was one of the books that got this writer into books about witches. More than an adventure of the witch myth and legend it is an exploration about the consequences of it. It is also dealing with a lot of issues just from one story, with women, religion and Native Americans. I also loved the next book, Sorceress

Synopsis: Welcome to the world of young Mary Newbury, a world where simply being different can cost a person her life. Hidden until now in the pages of her diary, Mary’s startling story begins in 1659, the year her beloved grandmother is hanged in the public square as a witch. Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to face intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World. How long can she hide her true identity? Will she ever find a place where her healing powers will not be feared?

Read it here

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The Bear and the Nightingale

By Katherine Arden

This first book of the Winternight Trilogy, was recommended to me by my creative writing lecturer. And, yes, thank you for that. This is sort of fantasy that is rare and witches that claimed their way to the throne so fast.

Synopsis: Beware the evil in the woods. . . In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, an elderly servant tells stories of sorcery, folklore and the Winter King to the children of the family, tales of old magic frowned upon by the church. But for the young, wild Vasya these are far more than just stories. She alone can see the house spirits that guard her home, and sense the growing forces of dark magic in the woods. . .

Read it here

The Witching Hour

By Ann Rice

She changed the world’s view on vampires, and she didn’t shy away from writing about the witches either. In the series Lives of the Mayfair witches. It centers on a family of witches whose fortunes have been guided for generations by a spirit named Lasher. The series began in 1990 with The Witching Hour, which was followed by the sequels Lasher (1993) and Taltos (1994). All three novels debuted at No. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list. Cool fun fact: Even some of her character cross over to the Vampire universe of hers.

Synopsis: It begins in our time with a rescue at sea.  Rowan Mayfair, a beautiful woman, a brilliant practitioner of neurosurgery—aware that she has special powers but unaware that she comes from an ancient line of witches—finds the drowned body of a man off the coast of California and brings him to life. 

As these two, fiercely drawn to each other, fall in love and—in passionate alliance—set out to solve the mystery of her past and his unwelcome gift, the novel moves backward and forward in time from today’s New Orleans and San Francisco to long-ago Amsterdam and a château in the France of Louis XIV.  An intricate tale of evil unfolds—an evil unleashed in seventeenth-century Scotland, where the first “witch,” Suzanne of the Mayfair, conjures up the spirit she names Lasher… a creation that spells her own destruction and torments each of her descendants in turn.

Read it here

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The House of the Seven Gables

By Nathaniel Hawthorne

A classic one. it more suggest and hint at the supernatural to highlight the drama that enfolds, but nonetheless creates the same atmosphere many horror and supernatural writers strive all their life for.

Synopsis: This enduring novel of crime and retribution vividly reflects the social and moral values of New England in the 1840s. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s gripping psychological drama concerns the Pyncheon family, a dynasty founded on pious theft, who live for generations under a dead man’s curse until their house is finally exorcised by love. Hawthorne, by birth and education, was instilled with the Puritan belief in America’s limitless promise. Yet – in part because of blemishes on his own family history – he also saw the darker side of the young nation. Like his twentieth-century heirs William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hawthorne peered behind propriety’s facade and exposed the true human condition.

Read it here

Witch of Portobello

By Paulo Coelho

A Paulo Coelho book is always filled with heart, thoughts and love. But do be careful of reading his work. There is always a danger of becoming “deep”.

Synopsis: How do we find the courage to always be true to ourselves-even if we are unsure of who we are?That is the central question of international bestselling author Paulo Coelho’s profound new work, The Witch of Portobello. It is the story of a mysterious woman named Athena, told by the many who knew her well-or hardly at all. Like The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello is the kind of story that will transform the way readers think about love, passion, joy, and sacrifice.

Read it here

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How the TV-series Penny Dreadful is Influenced by Old Literature

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In honor of the new spin-off series, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (2020), we took a nostalgic look back to the awesome Showtime series that started it all. RIP Original series, you were cancelled all too soon.


Penny Dreadful is a British-American horror drama television series created for Showtime and Sky by John Logan. It ran for three seasons from 2014-2016.

Iconic Vanessa Ives (Eva Green).
An original character and
also some of the most well crafted ones.

Penny Dreadful is an old term used during the nineteenth century to refer to cheap popular serial literature. Sort of like pulp fiction. It was also called penny blood, penny awful, or penny horrible. It means a story published in weekly parts, with the cost of one (old) penny. The main plot of these stories were typically sensational, focusing on the adventures of detectives, criminals, or supernatural entities.

This is exactly what Penny Dreadful was, and what it payed homage to. So we found some old stuff the series borrowed or was inspired by. And there is A LOT. So get your cigarette on a stick and let’s go on some vampiric monster hunt with out pals.

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Frankenstein

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel written by English author Mary Shelley (1797–1851) that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a hideous sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. 

Harry Treadaway played Victor Frankenstein, an arrogant, reclusive young doctor whose ambition and research involve transcending the barrier between life and death. In this show, Dr. Victor Frankenstein likes to quote the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley’s second wife was Mary Shelley.

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Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a Gothic and philosophical novel by Oscar Wilde, first published complete in the July 1890 issue of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. Fearing the story was indecent, the magazine’s editor deleted roughly five hundred words before publication without Wilde’s knowledge. It is Wilde’s only novel.

In the series he was played by Reeve Carney. A charismatic man who is ageless and immortal. And this Dorian Gray had a great, but utterly confusing story line. Where his purpose in the show was to throw great balls and parties and have sex with absolutely every character.

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Frankenstein’s bride

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, Victor Frankenstein is tempted by his monster’s proposal to create a female creature so that the monster can have a wife: “Shall each man,” cried he, “find a wife for his bosom, and each beast have his mate, and I be alone?”

In Penny Dreadful, the bride of Frankenstein is Brona Croft (portrayed by Billie Piper), an Irish immigrant with a dark past who dies of tuberculosis at the end of Season 1. In season 2, she is brought back to life with no memory after Frankenstein’s monster demands a bride and given the new name “Lily Frankenstein” by Victor. That last scene of her speech will haunt television forever.

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The creature

Often called John Clare. He was a labour poet in the mid 1800’s England. But if it is a reference to the creature is unclear. What is clear though is that the creature often is called Caliban as well, a character from Shakespear’s The tempes. Half human, half monster. In some traditions he is depicted as a wild man, or a deformed man, or a beast man, or sometimes a mix of fish and man, a dwarf or even a tortoise. Another connection from the creature to penny dreadful is Dorian Gray. In the preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde muses: “The nineteenth century dislike of Realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass. The nineteenth century dislike of Romanticism is the rage of Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass.”

In the series he was played with Rory Kinnear, and had long storylines without many of the characters, alone.

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Dracula

Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. Dracula was a big influence from the start. From Mina being taken by him, the chase after Dracula and several character that appears in the series. Van Helsing included. But the series managed to make a twist of it all, and the influence of Dracula is almost as if just a eerily familiar setting and feeling of the series. He did however show up in series three in the flesh. Christian Camargo as Dracula, the brother of Lucifer who fell to Earth to feed on the blood of the living as the first vampire. In London, he takes the guise of kindly zoologist Alexander Sweet to captivate Vanessa.

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John Seward

In season 3 of TV series Penny Dreadful, Patti LuPone portrays Dr. Florence Seward, a female version of the character. It is originally a character from Dracula, a doctor in the insane asylum, He calls in his mentor, Abraham Van Helsing, to help him with her illness, and he helps Seward to realize that Lucy has been bitten by a vampire and is doomed to become one herself. He was in love with her and proposed to her, but was rejected. After she is officially destroyed and her soul can go to heaven, Seward is determined to destroy Dracula.

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886. It is about a London legal practitioner named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde.

Dr. Jekyll (Shazad Latif) as a former classmate of Dr. Frankenstein’s.

Varney the vampire

Abraham Van Helsing gives a copy of Varney the Vampire to Victor Frankenstein, explaining that the story is more truth than fiction and that the mysterious creature the series’ characters are pursuing is a vampire.

Justine

Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue is a 1791 novel by Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, better known as the Marquis de Sade. Justine is set just before the French Revolution in France and tells the story of a young girl who goes under the name of Thérèse. Her story is recounted to Madame de Lorsagne while defending herself for her crimes, en route to punishment and death.

In Penny Dreadful she is the a homeless, brutalized young prostitute who becomes an acolyte to Lily played by Jessica Barden. In an interview with John Logan from the show, he also said the relationship between Justine and Lily was inspired by th Novella Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu

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Wolfman

Larry Talbot was the main character in the movie series the Wolfman from 1941 and onward. There are sequels, reboots and several other medias tied into this franchise. He has his own interaction with all the Penny Dreadful characters from Dracula, Frankenstein and so on in his own franchise as well.

In the TV series Penny Dreadful, Ethan Chandler’s real name is revealed to be Ethan Lawrence Talbot, and he suffers from the curse of lycanthropy. This version of the character is played by Josh Hartnett.

Hecate

Hecate Poole is the witch played by Sarah Greene and is Evelyn Pool’s eldest daughter. She is the witch who pursues Ethan Chandler in seasons two and three. She shares her name with the ancient Greek goddess of witchcraft and the moon. Like Ethan’s relationship with the moon and her witchcraft ability as a Nightcomer witch.

The unquiet grave

“The Unquiet Grave” is an English folk song in which a young man mourns his dead love too hard and prevents her from obtaining peace. It is thought to date from 1400. It is heard in the mansion of the Nightcomer witches.

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