Britain
Some delicious chills after tea — a trip through ghostly London
The phrase “true ghost tales” may appear to be a contradiction in terms, but London has enough authentic accounts of horror and murder to keep eyes bugging, nerves jumping, and inquisitive minds spinning like a gerbil wheel.
After all, it’s the city where Jack the Ripper literally cut his way into history with nearly a half-dozen unsolved murders in London’s Whitechapel district. Centuries before, the Tower of London struck fear into the hearts of commoners and lofty royalty alike, as the prison held enemies of the state, and where inventive forms of torture were customary. Even children weren’t immune from its horrors as it was where the Tower Princes disappeared — 12-year-old Edward and 9-year-old Richard — and were presumed murdered by their uncle, who assumed the throne as Richard III.
Against this backdrop, AutoVenture’s tour of London arranges a privately guided tour with an erudite narrator and storyteller, who will regale you with eerie tales as twisted as the old city’s fog-shrouded streets. For example, guests will pass the very spot where Sir William Wallace – Braveheart – was drawn and quartered in 1305, before his head was put on a spike above London Bridge.
Then there’s the trip into the haunted Bethnel Green Tube station where the wails of the women and children who perished in 1943 during a German air raid have been heard by the underground’s staff. One better pay attention in Highgate Cemetery where cults were said to have congregated, and sightings of ghosts riding bicycles and disappearing into walls have been reported by Londoners scared out of their wits.
Whether or not these apparitions are to be believed, searching for them will make for some great stories over a pint or three the next day. No matter what the night may conjure up, your AutoVenture jaunt will provide some spirited stories to dig up again later.
For those unfamiliar with Britain, an AutoVenture guided tour is the surest way of getting closest to the culture, and of capturing an unforgettable land.
