Spooky Book Wishlist

You know me, I love a creepy book or two. My Amazon wishlist is about 98% books on death and true crime, so what better time to share some of my coveted texts than Halloween? Just don't judge me, OK?

University Book Wishlist

You remember how I quit work with plans to study for a masters? I only went and got offered a place on the course! As of September, I will be studying for a masters degree in Death, Religion and Culture at the University of Winchester. The whole application process was so stressful so I am over the moon that it's all paid off and I am on track to becoming Becky Bedbug BA (Hons) MA (and, eventually, PhD but let's not get ahead of ourselves!) During my last day at work, my colleagues very kindly presented me with an Amazon gift card so I could buy books for my course and, although I haven't received a reading list yet, I'm starting to think of the kind of texts that will be useful to me over the next academic year.

Vienna Kaisergruft

Don't worry- this is the last Austria post. You can all breathe a sigh of relief! When we checked into our hotel in Vienna, we were given a map with all the local attractions. Quickly scanning through the list, I saw something called the Funeral Museum which was located at Zentralfriedhof- Central Cemetery, which happens to be the 9th largest in the world. Of course, I got really excited, until I discovered it was a 20 minute drive out of the city centre. Since we were only in Vienna for one night, I didn't really have time so, instead, Rich suggested the Kaisergruft. To be honest, I wasn't really listening to him when he discovered it so I didn't know what it was. Something to do with emperors was my best bet. Still, I didn't have any better ideas and it was a 5 minute walk from our hotel so I agreed to go.

Petersfriedhof and Catacombs

When researching things to do in Salzburg, it crossed my mind to look up cemeteries (because that's the kind of thing I do on holiday) and discovered Petersfriedhof- St Peter's Cemetery. This small graveyard, the oldest in Salzburg, is in the grounds of St Peter's Abbey and dates back to 1139. It was also the inspiration for the cemetery scene in The Sound of Music so it was at the top of my list!

Death: The Human Experience at Bristol Museum

It was only after I visited Bristol in December that I heard about the newest exhibition at Bristol Museum- Death: The Human Experience. I'd intended to visit but, me being me, forgot all about it until I was reminded just a week before it ended. A hasty day trip to Bristol ensued so I was lucky enough to catch it. 

Photos were allowed inside the exhibition but as it was of such a sensitive subject, and because it was very quiet, I chose to take photos more discreetly on my phone rather than use my noisy, bulky DSLR. It goes without saying that some of this material may be triggering. It deals with death and dying in a range of different contexts.

Southern Cemetery, Manchester

Last week I visited the University of Winchester to talk to a lecturer about my masters degree. I was worried that my teaching degree might not be accepted as an adequate "related subject" for an MA in death. Luckily, the lecturer was really positive, recommending some summer reading and even said "I'll see you in September" so that sounds promising! The next day, I was travelling to my brother's in Manchester and happened to drive past Southern Cemetery. Well, you know me. I couldn't resist! It's research for my degree, I swear!

Arnos Vale Cemetery

When I was looking up Bristol attractions for our festive day out, I found Arnos Vale Cemetery listed. Well, you know me! My interest was certainly piqued and a quick Google showed that it is one of the Victorian necropoles* that I love so much.

*Apparently necropolises is a perfectly acceptable plural of necropolis, but why would I turn down the opportunity to use necropoles?

Spooky books on my bookshelf

Ooh, creepy books are my jam! Anything that's a little eerie or macabre is right up my street, so it took me a while to choose just a few highlights. Some of these I already featured in my top 5 books about death but I could hardly miss them out! If you're looking for some Halloween reads, start here!

FICTION

Morbid London

In the summer, I wrote a list of the best free things to do in London, and with Halloween coming up, I thought I'd write a similar guide, this time on the creepiest, spookiest, most morbid things to do in London. My specialist subject and not a cheesy tourist hotspot in sight! 

Book Review // The Fireside Book of Death

This is it, guys. This is the book that got me interested in death. When I was about 8, I'd read The Fireside Book of Death from cover to cover and this summer, my dad gave me his copy. It was an emotional moment, I can tell you!

Top 5 books about death

At the beginning of the month, I tentatively questioned the possibility of starting a monthly series on death. To my surprise, it was really well received so I'm excited to begin! To start my series, I've decided to look at my books around the topics of crime and death, and choose my favourite 5 for anyone who's interested in reading more around the subject.

Pere Lachaise Cemetery

A long, long time ago (well, two years ago exactly), I wrote a post about my visit to Highgate Cemetery. A couple of people recommended Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and, after a bit of research, it went straight to the top of my second 101 in 1001 list. Needless to say, when I found out we were going to Paris for our anniversary, this was at the very top of my itinerary.

On morbidity

It's bizarre because, although I'm all pink and pastel and girly, I'm absolutely fascinated by death. I can't remember when this fascination began, although I have strong memories of reading my dad's copy of The Fireside Book of Death when I was 8. These interests are things I've mentioned in past posts, such as my visits to cemeteries, taxidermy and reviews of serial killer books. 

I follow a blog called The Chick and the Dead, written by Carla Valentine, who pretty much has my dream job- she is in the process of restoring the anatomy specimens at Bart's Pathology Museum, which you must visit if you get a chance. It's not open to the public, but they host regular events such as taxidermy workshops and I attended a talk on serial killing by Channel 5's most prolific criminologist David Wilson. 

Anyway, waffling aside, Carla's blog is obviously incredibly interesting to me, especially as, try as I might, I just cannot find any similar. What do you do if you can't find what you're looking for? You create it yourself. So with that in mind, I'm hoping to add some death-related posts on here. Maybe a monthly series? I haven't decided yet. I figure I'll use this post to garner interest before getting all morbid on you.

My Taxidermy

Today I'm talking about something I've put off for over 2 years: My taxidermy. I know this is a controversial subject and there are a lot of people who don't agree with it so I'm sorry if this post isn't for you. However, I also know there are a lot of people who are interested and have encouraged me to post this so here we go!

Back in 2013, I found out about Stuff and Nonsense taxidermy classes hosted in St Bart's Hospital, London and it seemed right up my street! I have always had quite unusual opinions on what qualifies as beautiful and I'm fascinated by death, so taxidermy is really interesting to me. For me, there is something stunning about retaining the beauty of an animal forever and honouring its life. I don't personally agree with dressing them up or "playing" with them as that is where it crosses into distasteful for me, but preserving an animal as it was in life is beautiful.

My first class was based around rats and the host, Amanda, talked us through the whole process and explained how to look after our animals to keep them in good condition. For the most part it was really easy, but the eyes are very tricky! I imaginatively named him Ratty and he sits nicely in my living room. I have to hold him up because the little fella won't stand up on his own.
A few months later, I went along to a second class, which used gerbils. They're much smaller than rats, and their fur sheds very easily, so this was a little more tricky but most of the process was exactly the same. Again, the eyes were problematic but Gerby (I clearly have an issue with names) still looks lovely to me, even if he is a bit bedraggled! I now feel confident enough to create my own without attending a class which is something I'm thinking of doing over summer.
For my last birthday, Rich bought me my first piece of taxidermy that was made by somebody else: A lovely, fluffy duckling named... can you guess?... Ducky. I specifically asked for the smallest, fattest one and that is exactly what I got! Ducky lives in a bell jar on my desk which is perfect for displaying him while keeping him away from anything that might damage him. I'm also on the lookout for jars that fit Ratty and Gerby, but they're a bit more difficult to find in this size.

Although I know taxidermy might not be to everyone's tastes, I absolutely love it and I'm looking forward to expanding my collection!

Book Review // Serial Killers

Serial Killers^ - Rodney Castleden

Well, the title of this book is pretty self-explanatory. It's a book about serial killers. A pretty big book about a huge amount of them. I picked it up in a charity shop a long time ago now (you all know I'm partial to a bit of true crime) and it was about time I tackled it.



Rodney Castleden, the author of this collection, is the son of a police detective who helped bring two serial killers to justice (John George Haigh- the Acid Bath Murderer- and Neville Heath) and compiled this chunky, 600-page reference book in memory of his father. Serial Killers details the crimes of over 60 serial killers, presenting the cases in categories such as cannibals, sadists and doctors. 

Of all the books I've read on serial killing, Serial Killers is unrivalled in terms of the sheer detail it covers. Unfortunately, a significant amount of this detail is incorrect or poorly-researched. There is also the issue of weak editing, meaning there are many spelling and typographical errors. Having said that, however, I did appreciate the categorising of the crimes, although some placements were a little confusing. For example, Fred and Rose West were placed with the sadists rather than the other team killers. I appreciate it's more difficult when there are overlaps but I definitely think they'd belong with the likes of the Moors Murders. Another issue I had with the categories was that Castleden included monarchs, executioners and dictators who do not actually fall under the definition of serial killers. It was still interesting to read about their reigns and careers but a bit misleading to pad out a book on serial killing with these cases.Finally, I found the book to be quite poorly structured. There was no conclusive chapter. Instead Castleden had tacked some closing paragraphs onto the end of the final chapter, which was dedicated to the case of The Monster of Florence.

In spite of these negative comments, I did find the book to be a really good starting place to get an overview of the most infamous serial killers throughout the centuries and as a springboard to research certain cases in more detail. Just don't rely on it for accuracy!Unfortunately, the poor structure and accuracy brings down what would otherwise be a very useful book. The sheer number of cases is worthwhile though, so I would rate it five out of ten. 

If you're interested in finding out about serial killers, I recommend David Wilson's History of Serial Killing. Although it doesn't cover international crimes, it's a very well-researched text. 

Buy Serial Killers here

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Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper

The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper- Maxim Jakubowski and Nathan Braund

I cannot even tell you how long I've had this book sitting on my bookshelves. I think my brother may have bought it for me as a Christmas present when I was with in my first year of uni- 7 years ago. All this time it's shuffled around, from house to house, and sat on the bookshelves unread until finally, this month, its time came! Rich and I had been watching a truly fascinating documentary about a new Jack the Ripper suspect, which inspired me to read up more on the case.

Jack the Ripper was the first serial killer I was ever interested in (There's a conversation starter for your next dinner party. You're welcome!) but I can't even remember when that was. As an 8 year old, I was obsessed with Terry Deary's Vile Victorians in the Horrible Histories series, which mentioned my murderous mate Jack, but I already knew about the Ripper by that point. I was clearly just a very morbid child! As I grew up, I acquired a general understanding of the murders and, in fact, one of the first dates Rich took me on was to the Jack the Ripper exhibition at the Docklands Museum. However, I didn't really have the depth of knowledge that I wanted, so this heffa of a book was just what I needed!

The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper is edited by Maxim Jakubowski and Nathan Braund, who open with a very detailed chronology of the murders. They discuss other victims outside the canonical five- Martha Tabram is generally accepted as an early Ripper victim these days- and create a very clear picture of Whitechapel at the time of the crimes. After this in depth study, which draws on several sources of original information, the majority of the book is taken up with various essays from Ripperologists, novelists and journalists who feel they have uncovered the identitiy of the killer. By including so many contradictory and varied arguments, I felt as though I was left with a very broad, balanced understanding of the case and possible suspects.

One area where I felt the book lacked, however, was the complete omission of any images or reproduction of sources. It would have been a huge benefit to have compared, say, the infamous Dear Boss letters with the will of James Maybrick, who is one, now widely discredited, suspect since so much is made of the inconsistencies in handwriting. This would have provided an extra understanding of the case that is difficult to convey through words alone.

Despite this, I found this book to be a fantastic starting point as I move towards developing my understanding further. If nothing else, the extensive bibliography has given me a great reading list to tackle! 

Buy The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper here

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Book review: Ian Brady and Myra Hindley- Murder on the Moors

By now, I think I've reviewed enough serial killer books to stop with the "trust me, I'm not a psycho" introductions. Of all England's 26 modern serial killers (yes, I know this stuff), these are the two that I know the most about and I have read quite a lot about the case of the Moors Murders. After being horrendously disappointed by the Harold Shipman book of the same publishers, I didn't have particularly high hopes for this. The introduction certainly confirmed my fears and was one of the most terrible pieces of writing I have ever read. (Funnily enough, the worst book I've read in my life was about Myra Hindley. What is it with serial killers and terrible writing?).

There is no author attributed to this book although, judging by the horrendously inaccurate use of commas, I assume it's Mel Plehov, the writer behind the Harold Shipman book. Somehow they manage to spell Hindley in three completely different ways within the space of 3 pages and repeatedly give Ian Brady the middle name Thomas instead of his actual name Duncan. As well as the erratic use of commas, misspellings and inaccuracies, there is also the problem with completely incoherent sentence structure. Here is a genuine quote for you, copied out word for word:

The way that so much pain, which doesn't diminish over time, could in a vile way provide a continuation of the sadistic pleasure, and reminder of his actions to the one living person who knows where the remains of the victims are.

That's not even a sentence! How did that get published? Did anybody proofread the book?

Luckily, the rest of the book is of slightly better quality. There are still basic errors but the majority of the facts are accurate and it's not appallingly written for the most part. The chronology is bizarrely inconsistent, jumping from the pair's imprisonment, to their trial and then to Myra's death back to her time in prison.

However, my main problem with the writing is that, although we can all agree the crimes were horrific and abhorrent, the author loses sight of professional distance and ends up becoming far too emotionally involved. Phrases such as "both these people personify the word EVIL" (capitals included) and "women around the world still hate her, hate what she represents, and hate what she allowed to occur" reveal a sensationalist bias which makes it difficult to find any credibility. 

For anyone who is interested in finding out more about the Moors Murders, especially Myra Hindley, I'd recommend steering well clear of this sensationalist account, seemingly published only with the motive of easy money-spinning, and instead try the far superior One of Your Own by Carol Ann Lee. 

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Book review: Harold Shipman- The Doctor of Death

Harold Shipman: The Doctor of Death- Mel Plehov

I've mentioned before that I have a morbid interest in true crime, specifically serial killers. I know it's creepy but I've since found out I'm not alone so I feel a bit less weird about it! I saw this book on sale in Asda for a couple of pounds, along with one about the Moors Murders, and I couldn't resist adding them to my serial killer book collection. (Did I really just type those words?)

At first glance, this book doesn't seem to have an author although, buried deep inside the publishing information inside the book are the words "Written by Mel Plehov". If I were Plehov, I wouldn't want my name associated with this book either. Not because of the content (I've already made it quite clear that this subject matter doesn't bother me), but because of the terrible writing. 

I don't know enough about the Shipman case to attest to the factual accuracies, but the use of English is terrible. Admittedly, it's not badly written in itself. The problem is just that it reads very much like a first draft, with irritating repetition, grammatical errors and rather eclectic use of commas, full stops and ellipses. As an example, "her parents took an instant dislike to him almost instantly" is a genuine sentence found in the book. I'm left with the impression that there was no proofreading at all.

Despite the pretty poor writing, it was interesting to gain more understanding of the life and crimes of Harold Shipman. It's certainly sparked my interesting, but I'll find a higher quality book to find out more.

Buy Harold Shipman: The Doctor of Death here (If you really want to, that is!)

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Old Calton Burial Ground and Calton Hill

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll probably know that I have a thing for cemeteries. Of course, Edinburgh is a hotspot for old burial grounds, so I made it my business to plan a couple of visits. First up was Old Calton, which lured me in with the "old" in the name. Unfortunately, I didn't find out about New Calton Burial Ground until afterwards, so that will have to go on the list for next time. 

Although smaller than I expected, it was absolutely stunning with beautifully ornate, Gothic architecture. This obelisk, the Political Martyrs' Monument, can be seen for miles.



I noticed a lot of Euphemias on the headstones. Is this a particularly Scottish name? I've never heard of it before. Can we take a moment to appreciate the fact that Euphemia Brown here lived to 100 in the Victorian era? That's a real achievement! 




The Scottish-American Soldiers Monument, with its bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln, is another focal point of the cemetery. It creates the most striking silhouette at sunset. 



The thing I love about cemeteries is the history of real people. At school, it wasn't the royals or the knights who interested me. It was the every day people and how they lived. These two headstones document four generations of the same family. After carefully studying both sides of the stone in the foreground, as well as the more recent one behind, we could trace the family tree of the Purdies and hypothesise as to their lives. It was fascinating and I love how these details keep the family legacy alive. 

While in the cemetery, we spotted this monument across the road and decided to explore. It turned out to be Calton Hill, which is well worth a trip.

The interesting monument we'd spotted from below turned out to be the Dugald Stewart Monument, erected as a memorial to the philosopher of the same name.

From the top of the hill, the views over Edinburgh are stunning.




Maybe next time I'll visit Holyrood Park and Arthur's Seat. Maybe.