Execution City: the rituals of death and ghosts

Free Lunchtime lecture by Alan Brooke. Part of the Original London Ghost Festival week 2010.

London has a long history of criminal activity and an equally long history of brutal public punishments. Before 1868 many of these were part of the public spectacle. There were also many sites of public execution in London notably Tyburn, Newgate and Smithfield. These gruesome displays attracted huge crowds to the various places of execution and torture where people would witness, or perhaps be entertained by, the grisly spectacle of the condemned going through the agonies of their proscribed ordeal. This extreme emotion is thought, by some to be the cause of many ghost sightings therefore creating trapped souls and residual apparitions.

This fascinating talk will look at various sites of execution, the rituals of death and scare you with the ghosts of condemned felons and their murdered victims.
Alan Brooke has lectured for many years as well as giving public talks, radio interviews and guided walks around London. He has also written a number of books on London history which include Tyburn London’s Fatal Tree; London, the Executioners City; London City of the Dead; Murders and Misdemeanours in the West End 1800-1850; Haunted London Underground; Haunted London Pubs; Fleet Street; and the forthcoming A History of Bankside)

Free event, no pre-booking or ticket required. Seating capacity 50 plus standing room, please arrive a little early to secure a seat.

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