Lecture Notes: Top 10 Scary British Urban Legends

Introduction

• Presenter: Danny Burke
• Focus: Scary tales from Britain
• Britain: Rich history, leading to numerous urban legends

Urban Legends

10. The Corpse Train

• Origin: London folklore, early 1900s
• Purpose: Transport dead bodies out of the city via underground train to avoid disturbing people
• Location: Ran under the city, parallel to normal train services

9. The Suicide Pool

• Location: Epping Forest, near Essex
• Story: Young couple confronted by girl's father, resulting in the boy's death
• Consequence: Pool turned black, wildlife died, and subsequent mysterious deaths occurred at the site

8. Annie

• Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, Mary King's Close
• Story: Psychic Aiko Gibo contacted the spirit of a child named Annie, who died during a plague
• Visitor tradition: Leaving dolls for Annie

7. The Faceless Woman

• Location: Becontree Station, Barkin, London
• Incident: 1992 sighting by a station supervisor of a faceless woman
• Legend linked to: 1958 train crash killing 10 people

6. The Beast

• Location: Hackney Marshes, England
• Discovery: Two decapitated bear carcasses in 1980
• Sightings: Boys witnessed a large, growling creature

5. The Crying Girl

• Location: King's Cross Station, London
• Origin: Result of a fire in 1987 killing 31 people
• Sightings: A crying girl with long brown hair is often reported

4. Sawney Bean

• Location: Scotland
• Legend: Alexander "Sawney" Bean led a clan of cannibals
• Activities: Ambushed travelers, cannibalized them, stored leftovers
• Outcome: Clan executed after a manhunt led by King James VI of Scotland

3. Cane Hill

• Location: England
• Function: Mental asylum from 1882 to 1991
• Reputation: Haunted by former patients
• Incident: Building gutted by fire in 2010

2. The House of The Screaming Skull

• Location: Bettiscombe Manor, Dorset, England
• Story: John Frederick Pinney's slave vowed unrest unless returned to Nevis
• Outcome: Skull remains at the manor, village plagued until it was moved

1. The Hellhounds

• Location: Dartmoor, England
• Description: Ghost dogs resembling cats with the frame of a bear
• Legend: Prey on sheep, sightings reported over generations

Conclusion

• Desire to explore urban legends from other countries
• Invitation for viewers to share stories
• Sign-off: Danny Burke expressing interest in more global tales