First off, a massive welcome back to the famous dead blog! I am so sorry I haven’t been keeping up with these blogs as much as I should have, but life has been crazy!
Recently, I moved to the wonderful city of Glasgow in bonny Scotland and I thought I would honor that move with a blog dedicated to one of the weirdest, creepiest and damned right freakiest places I’ve been too so far; The Victorian Glasgow Necropolis.
Necropolis comes from the Ancient Greek νεκρόπολις or Nekropolis, which basically means “city of the dead.” Even though most uses of the word are associated with those of ancient places such as ancient Egypt, Greece and Persia, the word was resurrected during the 19th century, especially throughout Europe.
You can find Glasgow Necropolis opposite Glasgow Cathedral and more amusingly, just behind the General Hospital (I hope you all have a cynical outlook on life). It was modelled on the Père-Lachaise in Paris.
The Glasgow Necropolis was established in 1831 by the Merchants’ House of Glasgow and was first opened two years later, in May 1833. It’s home to the first statue of John Knox, the leader of the Scottish Reformation and also a shaper of the democratic form of government and it has many sculptures, graves and statues designed by famous Scottish artists like Charles Renee Mackintosh. It’s also said to have had around 50,000 burials and its home to about 3,500 tombs in its 37 acres!
At the entrance to the Necropolis lies a bridge called the “Bridge of Sighs”, which is due to it being where the old funeral processions would run. In 1838, the big, lavish gates were built, and between these gates and the bridge of sighs are three modern memorials – One to still-born children, one to the Korean War and lastly one in respect of the Glaswegian recipients of the Victoria cross. Another fact about the Necropolis is that it’s completely multi-faith with all residents being Catholic, Jews, Protestants, Quakers, Lutherans and everyone in between. How awesome is that?
Some conspiracy theorists think that the cemetery was built in a giant masonic symbol, or the freemason’s symbol to me and you. This was researched in 2007 by a historian named Ronnie Scott and he seems to believe the Necropolis is a symbolic landscape metaphor that points to the cemetery being freemasonic in design and layout. Scott also believe that a lot of the dead buried in there are Freemasons due to the designs and iconography that decorates some of the crypts and graves.
One of the strangest conspiracy theories to take hold of the Victorian Glasgow Necropolis, was that of the Gorbals Vampire. The rumoured vampire is said to be 7ft tall, with a mouthful of razor sharp teeth, who murdered several people.
One night in 1954, hundreds of school kids turned up to Glasgow Necropolis after two of their friends had been murdered. They descended upon the graveyard with weapons, prepared to fight and kill whatever came their way; but, when the police heard about what was happening, they ended up sending the children back home and the Gorbals vampire lived to wander the Necropolis for another day. This event eventually led to US horror comic books being banned in Scotland in hoped that it might stop another vampire incident happening.
Ghosts are another popular myth of the Necropolis and some still roam today. The woman in white is often said to be seen wandering through the tombstones in the morning and other people claim that statues facial features move throughout the day (think haunted mansion), but unfortunately I’m yet to see either. The ghosts have become so legendary throughout Glasgow, I guess you could say some people are dying to see them – [I’m very proud of that one]
There you have it guys, gals and everyone in between. I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog and I hope you’re all staying safe in these crazy, crazy times.
Laters!
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Knox
https://ebooks.visitscotland.com/ghosts-myths-legends/vampire-glasgow-necropolis/
https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/necropolis-city-dead-history-batman-14280455
https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/glasgow-necropolis-p246371
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/glasgow-necropolis
Return Of The Famous Dead 