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The Lure of the Garden of Death · The Grim: Haunted Cemeteries & Graveyard Tales

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Good morning and welcome to the grand.
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I'm your host, Kristin, on today's episode, we'll be opening the gate and entering high gate cemetery located in London, England.
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So grab your favorite mug cozy up and let's take a Daikin to history.
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It's one of the magnificent seven and the tutorials for hauntings ghosts, rock and roll parties, vampires, And the burial ground of London's elite Victorian members of society.
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Hi, gait is one of the top 10 cemeteries in the world and a must-see in my opinion.
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It's also currently my favorite cemetery at the moment that a fast, I wouldn't hesitate to apply with naming.
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Hi, Gaye comes with a long history, filled with Gothic, Victorian architecture.
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And surprisingly nature reserve the cemeteries open, tend to find daily except for Christmas day and boxing day.
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And has an entry fee of 10 pounds per adult.
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And children under 18, six pounds, but under seven are free.
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The west side or the older side, can we only entered with a tour?
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And if you're looking to only enter the east side, a discounted ticket option is available.
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I highly recommend taking the tour though.
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As you have access to both sides of the cemetery for the day and the tour guides are some of the most knowledgeable I've ever had on any tour or experience.
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It's also good to know that most of the Gothic architecture visitors seek is only available on the tour.
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Plus having a tour guide with a dry wit of the British makes for an unforgettable experience in a graveyard, the cemetery originally was run by the private London cemetery company, which is no longer in business, but now oversaw by the charity friends of Highgate.
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As with most cemeteries these days, it runs off donations and the profit of its ticket sales, Which isn't much, but a worthy cause of preserving.
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It's a vital part of British history.
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Established in 1839 at the cemetery was part of a larger plan to help bury London's ever-growing population.
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And the 19th century London's population doubled in size from around 1 million to 2 million causing more than just overcrowding housing.
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The normally small parish graveyards that provided burials saw an impossible strain on space.
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But even larger problems occurred.
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The king bodies were contaminating water supplies causing epidemics, reds to filing loved ones, grave robbers, and burials over already filled plots.
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The situation of how London was handling its death needed an overhaul from its bygone ways.
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Parliament started passing acts, encouraging the development of private cemeteries to unburden parishes quickly to resolve the issues.
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After an inspirational visit to Paris has peer lush has.
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As cemetery London's architects developed a plan to form seven large cemeteries near London's outer city.
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Thus the magnificent seven were constructed and built high gate was the third of the seven plan for the city and Northwestern region of London near the Northern borough of Camden.
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All, but one of the magnificent seven are still active cemeteries to this day and can be visited or toured.
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Each are a bucket list, item of mine to visit.
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And eventually, hopefully.
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One day we'll but currently have two of the seven crossed off.
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And if you already do, I admit I'm definitely jealous.
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The men behind Highgate cemetery were Stephan.
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Gary James Blundstone Bunning, both who are buried within the grounds and David Ramsey, a self-proclaimed garden architect.
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Gary became famously known for high gates Egyptian avenue and the terrace catacombs, rightfully so and Bunning for the the space between the courtyard and the chapels and entry gate into the west side.
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The cemetery houses around 170,000 souls on 15 acres of consecrated and two acres of unconsecrated land.
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Split on either side of Swan lane in London, borough of Camden.
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The original plot of land designed for the grounds was expanded after just 15 years due to its popularity in London society.
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During the established of the magnificent seven Victorians obsession and favorable attitude toward death made cemeteries of fashionable and popular destination.
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Gary created the circle of Lebanon, the Egyptian avenue and the terrace catacombs of surrounded by lush gardens envisioned by Ramsey.
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The visitors could take high tea on the roof of the catacombs while visiting family plots and high fashion.
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Showing off, not only meant a family plot was reserved in one of the seven, but Crips, tombs and monuments To loved ones.
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Loss were handcrafted in Victorian Gothic splendor, which to this day is breathtaking to visitors the private company during its heyday printed pamphlets, encouraging visitors to tour the grounds and advertise heavily to encourage London's elite to claim Highgate as their final resting place.
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And it's important to note that not all the cemeteries were owned by the same companies.
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So competition was fierce for where society made its top cemetery.
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Of those families and London's elite society.
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Most notably was the beers.
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And within Highgate, the muzzle Liam of Julia Spears originally built for his daughter, ADA, who tragically passed away at the age of eight from Scarlet fever in 1875.
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Julius was stricken by grief and built the finest monument in the cemetery.
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Sparing no expense.
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And it still is to this day, unsurpassed in splendor and cost.
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Mausoleum is grand in size with larger than life bronze doors, a mosaic ceiling Bessel VD from Venice and a lifelike statue of ADA being lifted to heaven.
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The statue of ADA, he commissioned was completed the same year as his passing.
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At just 43 years old and 1885 years after Aida's death.
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The rest of the beers family is also within the beers, Maza Liam, as an example of the opulent expression Victorians took of grief and death within Highgate cemetery.
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These cemeteries gave the upper-class the ability also to protect their loved ones in the 19th century grave robbery became a huge problem in the city of London.
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Selling anything of value, including bodies, which was a common and heartbreaking experience for families.
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Reports of the poor using bones as firewood occurred, even grinding up the bones for medicinal purposes.
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Actually happened.
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Hi, brick walls and only a few gates saw robberies decrease significantly becoming harder and harder.
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The catacombs where the safest part of Highgate cemetery as they were locked and only unlocked by family members or being escorted by a guide within.
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The grounds of Highgate cemetery are full of wild flowers, shrubs, and wildlife, making the Victorian Gothic splendor, the graves.
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Feel even more ostentatious at times.
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The irony of this is that in the 1970s, the cemetery was falling into disarray.
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Save from a charity formed called the friends of Highgate memberships are available, but the only other source of revenue apart from the entry tickets into the grounds is donations.
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Volunteers help run the cemetery from caring to the grounds, to the tourist.
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Passionate and fully aware of the historical significance of preservation.
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Their efforts are astonishing and can be seen when visiting.
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The main gates on swans road into high gate, feel more like going into a Royal palace and a cemetery.
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High walls with iron gates and two chapels.
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Meet you and find splendor.
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Um, one chapel is for members of the church of England and the other for dissenters, a large courtyard sends you across the colonoscopy.
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Every part of the design from entry to exit was meticulously designed for the eye to visually grasp guests into believing this was the entry into the afterlife.
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The entry into the west side, sees visitors through a gate, up the stairway, into the cemetery.
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Uh, not have a way of entering heaven or the afterlife.
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Graves are set along uneven natural paths that almost make visitors feel like they're on a beginner's hike.
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So be aware of your planning to visit.
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Natural vines covering the Egyptian avenue, give it a grand jury Ethel field to visitors while momentarily causing them to forget their grief.
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The obsession or interest in Edith challengey during Victorian times can be seen here.
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The Egyptian avenue was once enclosed with a roof, but it was sadly lost over the years.
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You then had through the avenue with a set of eight family volts on either side room for 12 coffins, each elaborately decorated with stoneware to loved ones with symbolism.
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Mostly half full, but how something even more rare, black orb, spiders or cave spiders, not native to England.
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It remains a mystery of how these spiders are in the vaults.
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Even today.
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It's believed there were brought back in a coffin by one of the buried residents promote for CS.
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They however, are not seen by many visitors, thankfully as they don't like daily.
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Leaning guests backs into the circle.
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Lebanon's double ring, a Mazda.
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Liam's and tombs.
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Sadly in 2019, the Cedar of Lebanon tree for which the double ring was named after was cut down due to disease and decay.
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But as sense, been replaced.
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The site still gives visitors, pause and reflection with the architecture and size of the tombs.
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Some might be familiar with a circle Lebanon from Harry Potter's fantastic beasts and where to find them.
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The scene in the film was featuring the circle.
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Meandering a little further.
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You find the cemeteries, terrorist, catacombs, and the mausoleum of Julius spear.
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Situated at the highest peak of high Kate Gary's vision of the terrace in the 19th century was one of beauty.
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Today, the views are obstructed by the growth of trees.
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Get in its heyday.
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The views of central London were breathtaking.
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For its visitors.
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By the design, the catacombs have no electricity.
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So they are illuminated by skylights making the catacombs feel eerie and gives visitors chills, even on the hottest of days.
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Three locked gates guard, the catacombs, which housed 29 coffins on the north side and 26 coffins on the south.
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Each coffin is sealed with a block of white marble granite, a glass paint, or an IRR.
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Great.
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Depending on the family's preference.
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The 320 foot terrace was high gates, crown jewel selling point.
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Advertising using the terrace was part of its allure and popularity.
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Families would prominent and take T admiring the views of central London.
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And the 1960s though high gay was dilapidated and lost a time.
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It was a vastly different place.
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The garden from its heyday was overgrown taking over the grounds, but it wasn't abandoned by the public at all.
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In fact, breaking into the cemetery was a common occurrence nightly with parties, vandalism, vampire hunts, and recreational drug use.
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Once a place of London's high society during the day, it became the scene of the party at night.
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Teens intrigued by tales, looking for answers and thrills with climb the walls to explore and rock and roll.
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Legends are rumored to have party within the catacombs.
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The damage of broken seals within and the coffins open are signs from these nights.
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The nightlife and the cemetery led to stories and accounts of goats from spectral visions to disembodied voices.
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Uh, gray figure walking through the graves and more.
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How many of these stories were true or how the effects from partying conjured them into reality are a speculatory.
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Story sent the local newspapers morphed into more than tall tales.
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The public devoured one tale of a vampire buried on the grounds before high gates conception became more popular than others.
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The man responsible for the newspaper stories was David ferret, a local paranormal enthusiast who became enthralled with high gate after two similar tales.
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He came across from two separate people with experiences within the grounds.
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Both claims reported to see a tall dark figure with glaring eyes floating toward them within the grounds.
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Fair wondered if there could be more incidents.
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That's why he reported these events to the newspaper, hoping to encourage others to come forward.
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Fair.
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It got more than he bargained for, with many other incidents reported within Highgate.
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He then started attempting to debunk these rumors from himself, staying overnight in the cemetery, looking to disprove the claims, but only came to experience his own encounter.
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Fair was quoted saying, but around midnight I caught sight of a faker about seven feet tall that appeared to be floating just above the ground.
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I saw its face and two points of intense red light.
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The area turd, icy cold as if I'd stepped into a refrigerator.
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The figures seem to be draining me of energy.
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And I felt I was losing control on my own normal faculties.
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It felt like a vivid dream.
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Like I wanted to wake up, but couldn't.
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At this point, even after having his own personal encounter and confirming to himself, the tales were true.
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Farrah, didn't put a name on what he encountered.
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The newspaper's reporting, fared story.
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However, reached another local and paranormal enthusiast named Sean Manchester, who believed he could name this entity or creature saying Fahrenheit experienced a vampire.
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Contacting.
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the same local newspaper Manchester decided to take his theories public.
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When he took his theory to a journalist and had an article published, does a vampire walk and hiking this elaborate theory, conjecture to vampire who originally was an aristocrat practitioner, a black magic from Romania had moved to England in the 18th century, in a coffin by way of his followers.
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His coffin interred on the grounds of Highgate prior to his establishment, thus, why it was unknown, but a king vampire of the undead was buried in the cemetery, blaming his rise on rituals by Satanist partying on the grounds, awakening his presence.
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Which understandably this article had locals and thrawled and wondered what was within the grounds.
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So it did find within the grounds discarded remains of satanic rituals.
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Stubs up by candles and satanic markings on the floor of tombs in one small chapel lake, Tim with a marble floor in stained glass, windows, and inverted pentagram habit drawn on the floor.
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Leaving him also to believe in evil presence had been awakened in Highgate.
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The problem was that in the 1960s and seventies, Uh, Colt or religious beliefs, other than Christianity had a revival in religion.
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The grounds being a secluded outdoor area became a popular meeting place for a call groups leading to misunderstanding and more speculation than anything.
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The media wasn't thrawled and eventually reached nationwide news and were ravenous for more.
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Um, the evening of Friday the 13th in March of 1970, a program aired on national television, featuring both Manchester and Farron with others who also claim to have encounters during the live stream right outside the grounds of high gate.
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More joined in leading to a public mob of vampire hunters, climbing the gates, searching frantically among the Victorian tombs for the creature.
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The police eventually caught all the trespassers, but the damage to hike, it was done.
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Both Manchester and fair being arrested after breaking into catacombs and performing an exorcism with holy water, garlic and sprinkling salt within.
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For the next few years, both men continue their hunts of the high gate vampire and also had a very public feud.
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This led to Manchester, eventually stabbing a corpse four years later to what he believed was the creature.
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And with his followers burning the body purging Highgate in his eyes of the vampire.
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Third and Manchester infamously challenged each other to meet in a magician stool on parliament hill on Friday, the 13th of April in 1973, but it never happened.
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Eventually ferret was jailed in 1974.
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After being convicted of interfering with remains.
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And vandalizing memorials in Highgate cemetery.
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Filled with high society, ostentatious, Victorian Gothic, tombs, and vaults Highgate also saw its fair share of the poor in turd on its grounds as well.
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Buried in mass graves on unconsecrated land is one terrible tale of London's past.
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Mark does a burial ground also for English dissenters or separatists of different faith that were located in this area is an unmarked graves filled with girls and women.
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Once inmates at the Highgate penitentiary for fallen women, their stories remained a mystery in an unmarked mass grave until researchers in 2014 uncovered their past.
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Back in Victorian times, fallen women were prostitutes or any woman found having sexual relations outside their marriage.
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Many of the women were under the age of 20 with the age of consent back in the 19th century being just 12 years old.
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Almost all of the girls had been cast out from their families seeking safe havens.
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It was originally established by the Bishop of London in 1856.
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The aim of the penitentiary was the salvation of these women's souls through spiritual guidance and vocational training, to punishment or approach.
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Girls would stay for two years.
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And in that time learned to cook.
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So read and write along with mandatory religious participation.
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The mass grave contained most notably Emma Jones, who had died at the age of 12 and was buried with 10 other unnamed girls told 2014.
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When historians are finally able to uncover their identities.
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The grave reminds visitors of London's harsh pass for the poor to make ends meet, but also the rigorous standards in society held against women.
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Other fates outside the church of England looking to be buried within.
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We're also allowed to be buried on the unconsecrated acreage.
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Family split in their views with faith would be across from each other on either consecrated or unconsecrated land.
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The unconsecrated lands mark's Britain's past persecution of non-conformity and the hardships.
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Some endured even in death from poverty.
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It's definitely a less Gran and darker side of history, but a reminder to visitors yet.
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Not all graves in the decentered section are full of tragic stories, scientists, Michael Fairday and his wife.
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Sarah's graves' Kimmy found nearby.
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Fair day amended an early form of what we now call the Bunsen burner.
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He worked extensively in the field of chemistry, discovering chemical substances, such as benzene, which he called by carburetor of hydrogen and liquefying gases, such as chlorine.
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But his greatest work was his work, electricity and magnetism fair day, establish the foundation of modern electromagnetic technology.
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Yeah.
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Due to other scientists, having similar findings at the exact same time, his efforts in science went unnoticed for some time and created strains with others in the science community.
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Eventually fair day, who continuously published his findings was recognized and celebrated for his work.
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He worked extensively for the Royal institution was granted by the university of Oxford and honorary doctor of civil law degree.
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And was offered knighthood in recognition for his services to science.
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But he turned it down on religious grounds.
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There they had the option to be buried within Westminister Abbey upon his death.
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But prior had turned down the offer letter, selecting Highgate as his final resting place.
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Tourist when visiting the Abbey will find a Memorial plaque dedicated to the brilliant scientist near sir.
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Isaac Newton's tomb.
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I of course didn't fully cite all of fair day's accomplishments, budding encourage visitors with any interest in science to definitely do more reading on him.
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As I fully can't do him justice in the short amount of time within this episode.
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The east side of the cemetery is equally beautiful, but filled with more modern graves.
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But with less than larger life.
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Filled with less than larger than life.
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Gothic, Victorian fair.
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Its beauty is still renown and the gardens breathtaking.
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The most famous grave on the east side is Karl Marx.
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The father of communism.
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Uh, originally buried in 1883 in a small grave next to his wife.
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He received a larger, more prominent grave.
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In 1956 from the Mark's Memorial fund.
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In 1972 bombings occurred at the grave, but no severe damage occurred.
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His followers find the tomb, a place of veneration where others find it.
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Uh, place to commit vandalism.
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A love story that turned sour and grim also Hans, these grounds.
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Same as pre-Raphaelite brotherhood model.
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Elizabeth saddle is buried within the beautiful model married.
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One of the founders, dante Gabrielle Rossa Lettie, but their happiness was short-lived her continuing health problems from modeling and Rosa Letty's infidelity, costume and strain on their marriage.
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Her husband of two years came home to find her dying from an accidental overdose of laudanum.
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Rose any that wrote a series of love poems to her wall, mourning over her casket, which were buried with her, but the story doesn't stop there.
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Seven years later, when his reputation was failing, his agent suggested retrieving the poems to sell.
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And Rosa Leti agreed.
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He then signed an exhumation order and for privacy header, zoomed in the middle of the night from the family tomb.
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Expecting to see a decaying cadaver, the diggers were speechless when they found Elizabeth perfectly preserved appearing to be asleep.
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Rosanna didn't have the bravery to assist and was absent.
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The poems were removed, but never gave Rosetta the fortune.
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He is whom they would, the exhumation haunted him for the rest of his life.
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The list of London's elite buried within the walls of Highgate is a long one.
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George Michael Malcolm, McLaren scifi author Douglas Adams and Russian intelligence agent Alexander.
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The vent go.
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We are just the start of his buried.
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George Michael is somewhere on the west side, but the tour guides will not divulge any information on where his grave is.
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Exactly from a famous boxer, firefighters, women of the night, Naval officers or men who amassed, fortunes and finance the list within the 170,000 buried is impressive.
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However different their levels of society.
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They all found familiarity in death.
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Being remembered by visitors on a tour or families looking to mourn pass members.
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Some might not have the same ostentatious graves yet lie six feet below in the same box.
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Whatever the reason you might find yourself at high gates gates.
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It's worth the price of admission for a stroll into history, the beautiful wildlife gardens and one of a kind Victorian Gothic architecture.
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The grave grind for Highgate cemetery was a flat white from Monmouth coffee company and covenant garden London.
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For now we're closing the gate on Highgate cemetery.
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We hope you enjoyed our dig into history.
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If you did subscribe today and join us next time when we opened the gate on the grim.