The Highgate Vampire
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
- It's the early 1970s in Highgate, and in the overgrown and locked up cemetery something is stirring to the smell of patchouli and the sound of Deep Purple.
In the commentary at the end of the video I mention the ghost tour I led which visited Highgate Cemetery. In fact it was 2003! not 2004 as I misremembered. Here is a report of that tour, written not by me but by a journalist who accompanied us.
[GHOSTour: 2003 Tour Report]
www.toursandeve...
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Ive always been fascinated by the Highgate Vampire story. When we were kids we could gain access to the East cemetery via a hole in the fence in the basement car park of an adjacent council estate. It was creepy but fun. More recently I went on a tour of the West cemetery. It’s a fantastic thing to do and the guides are very knowledgeable and full of great information on the history of the cemetery and those buried there. On one tour I did actually ask the guide about the Vampire legend, surprisingly she actually showed us a tomb and said that it was the place rumoured to be the place the Vampire resided. If you haven’t been on the tour then you must go. Great story, very well told. Listening at 1am and feel the urge to drive past the cemetery and take a peak through the gate.
I’ve been a few times. it’s a lovely place
This has become one of my favorite new channels. I love your stories, and your voice is liquid silk. The commentary just tears it. Adore. Many thanks.
Thank thank you. Glad you posted this on one of mine too for vain reasons
Mate that was fantastic. You really captured the feel of spooky forested Highgate. I really love your descriptive writing.
Thank you. Very good of you to say that
How interesting! My mother refused to read Agatha Christie because that author had fooled her readers with exactly the "character knows more than the reader" trick! Tony, you're the first person to corroborate what Mom observed. Meanwhile, a Walker classic to make my day.
I used to know the proper term for these three situations. I have tried to look it up
@@ClassicGhost So far all I've found is the term dramatic irony.
That's kind of the reason that I gave up on Sherlock. In the Mind Palace episode the viewer is deliberately misled into thinking that the villain has special glasses. I think Gatiss thought he was being clever, but really it was dishonesty.
@@ClassicGhost I teach my students about omniscience, limited omniscience and dramatic objective, when they have to write short stories.
Your story was great! The last line just took my breath away. I am going to recommend that they listen to it. Thanks from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
I never understood how people liked murder mysteries until I figured out you're not supposed to solve them; just be entertained by the story. Now that I'm tired and lazy, I enjoy them. 😉
What a fun, creepy tale and what a treat to actually see our dear Mr. Walker discuss it at the end! Very cool and unexpected 🧛♂️
Gorgeous! I love the way you use all five senses to envelop us in a mood. Masterfully done, sir
Thanks Jenny. I like a wander round Highgate
My grandmother told me about who was buried in Highgate Cemetery. Your description of Elizabeth reminded me of a gorgeous lady I knew a long time ago. I still listen to Hawkwind. Your tale brought to mind a few Hammer horrors. Thank you Tony Walker.
You and me, we're just the same!
I enjoy your commentary nearly as much as the story. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it. My ramblings rather than commentary maybe
I KNEW it! Good story, very enjoyable! I'm going to go look for your other vampire tales! Thank you!
Great story, Tony: very well-executed. 🙂👍
N.B. The thing you remember from your Highgate tour about the Boston girl wanting graveyard dirt: She would almost certainly have been wanting it for a Hoodoo ritual. Graveyard dirt is one of the ingredients used extensively in Hoodoo magic.
I took a tour of Highgate, would rather have had your voice and anecdotes but...How imposing, Gothic Revival! Having always had a love of cemeteries ( my very normal British gran, she loved all the flowers, no creepy side to her persona! and she liked to make rubbings occasionally but the coolest part as I later in life discovered doing a fascinating anthropology essay on a region in my dreary city, she read the info...) once again, Across The Pond, we must go! All my life I've longed to visit Paris and Pere LA Chaise, Heloise and Abelard are united there, I am a sucker for a really unusual, torrid love story and their's was that. I watch Zeferelli's, Romeo and Juliet at least once a year. Highgate is the equal to Pere La Chaise if it's architecture you seek. Tony, you've most likely been to Pere La Chaise...? How do they compare? When I am doing my house work, getting a wee bit of arthritis from 2 nasty falls, no hippie jokes, I just remembered a bunch of possible oddballs called Yippies, must Google them- when I am cleaning I fantasize about travel and writing, always trying to think of a story, a good yarn, and my mind is drawn to Pere La Chaise, Oscar Wilde, and those dear ladies somewhere on You Tube who lovingly tend the graves. Now with Highgate, new very Victorian time trip- even on a screen it calls out. Your story set at night made me leave my house and do that Astral travel thing my long ago boyfriend was reading about. I could well imagine bumping into Elizabeth Siddall! She knows I had a huge crush on her "wayward" husband, Dante G. Rossetti! The bracken snaps and the scent of mimosa- "do you have my book?" she asks. Appreciate your gifts Tony next time you get stuck momentarily- artists are to be envied and if paid more attention too, the Humanities in general, the world would be a better place. Off to Uriah Heep- do you remember Blodwyn Pig? I am just now saving pennies up for Bert Jansch of Pentangle...I don't listen to some of the really commercial, one hit wonders from back then but like you mentioned we tend to listen to what we loved when young, music helped and educated me. Namaste. Z.
It is a great place, and I would always recommend people visited. However I wouldn’t stay there after dark
Excellent story, love the whole 1970s vibe!!
Me too :)
🙂👍
I've missed you, Tony. Its Friday night and I'm listening before bedtime. What a treat!
I'm back!
Great story.
Marvelous!!! Ah--The 70's. the commune. Led Z--Beans on soggy, burned toast, laid-back,work-shy hippies, colorful scarves, beads. Ah--memories. The 70's--may they rest in peace--You tell a great tale,Tony--making us laugh as you spook us, twisting us at the end. Thank you.! Also for the interesting commentary and the video. Great end for a hectic day.Please continue what you do.
Thank yiu
Marti. I will
love-beads!
@@ClassicGhost Thank you! (Love these thumbs up!!!)
@@juliestone1756 You remember?
@@martiwilliams4592 yes indeed
Nice story. I am an American that lived in Muswell Hill in the late 80s. I was obsessed with Highgate Cemetery. By chance went on a tour that included the circle. I remember volunteers showing us special markers under overgrown weeds. Purposely hidden to thwart vandals.
+Susanna Aivajeedas I’ve been to Highgate about four times now. Each time it is different
“She wore the shadows like a cloak” - absolutely beautiful.
Thank you
Tony, this one was superb. The way you described Elizabeth, I think I could have easily become her next victim. Easily. Lol
I know. I know.
Very nice story. I have been interested in the Highgate Vampire for years. I was able to visit the cemetery back in 1995. We were allowed in the catacombs on our tour, very atmospheric. Our tour guide was relaxed and pleasant. There was no mention of ghosts or the vampire incident other than to say that the cemetery was unkempt and vandalized often in the 60's and 70's.
They don't talk about ghosts or vampires on the official tour, but it's a wonderfully atmospheric place
LOVE IT!!!! I love a good vampire story.
I've listened twice to this excellent tale. The third time's a charm. I've been busy doing some brainstorming for a short story. Your story ("The Highgate Vampire") has provided me with a few kernels of inspiration. I also found the aforementioned story to be very eerie -- the desired effect. Many thanks Tony.
This is lovely to hear . Let me know what you produce in the end
Been saving this one for abad night. Loving it so far
Good 👍 ❤️
Great story and narration, Tony! Excellent. The plot is fantastic!
As soon as you described Elizabeth.......
I really like this one
Great job, and I look forward to the next one.
Always fun spending time with you, Tony..thank you.
Wonderful entertaining story, many thanks for your commentary.
I think your scenes are beautifully laid, and characters interesting and real. Your voice is so well suited for these stories, and, knowing more than Smiler made it a bit flat fo me. I love a good twist at the end-one that fits all the facts but is still a surprise. What if somehow Smiler turns out to be the vampire, and they need to lure him back to the crypt to exorcise him? Anyway thanks for your stories and the history behind them!
That's an idea for a story! 😂 A seemingly amiable harmless-looking vampire!
This tale is very well written , it has everything it should . You were so creative to write into the storyline an actual Albino you once knew .. Stellar work Sir . I have only heard documentaries on the Highgate Vampire . This is actually the first story , although fictional , I have heard about the Highgate Vampire proper . I liked and subscribed ,, I will now go to the homepage and play catchup on your work ... I have found this day an incredible channel , I am pleased .
+@jeffwarren6906 Thanks Jeff. the true story is really interesting. Sean Manchester’s book is a great read
Deep Purple
🎸🎶Smooooke on the waaaterrrrr and fire in the sky🎶
Da-da-daaa, da, da, duh-da
Loved the way this tale creeps.... gets under your skin. Brilliant!
I wish it was a cold, dark & stormy night instead of a hot, sunny mid morning 😁. Oh well, I filed it away in my Playlist to listen again 🙃
Good wishes 🙏🏼 ❤️ 🍀 🗺️
What an awesome ghost story! I really enjoyed it.
My grandparents are buried in Highgate Cemetery not far from Karl Marks grave. I went there when I was a child. My uncle was with the family and he was scared.
Very interesting presentation of a simple tale + great re-creation of the early 1970's, 'my' time too. Abit of a shock to see you on the video, you know you have a very youthful voice. Keep writing man.
You, Sir, are a great storyteller. Your sense of place and character puts me inside your stories. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for being so kind with your comments, Andrew. Much appreciated
The story after was just as good!
Great little vampire story!
Loved it Tony! Listening in the dark is the best....
These books should be made into a movie
i’m open for offers !
Just dealing with a biblical hangover from a Guinness session last night, this is making it a bit cosier at least. Cheers Tony!
+oh it be ;) a the good old Guinness
Highgate was my childhood place to play with my friends ...it was very spooky and beautiful.. hi guys.. if your listening out there some were
Wow. I envy you. Did you know a girl called Georgia? Her dad was Portuguese.
I like the little tapping or crackling sound at the beginning and end. Don't know if it's intentional, but it has a great ASMR effect.
The cemetery sepia video or while Im talking?
You read this one just brilliantly. Your voice is incredible. All the characters and nuances. Kudos
A different take on a vampire story, loved it. Great character, Smiler. He had impeccable taste in music 😉 I need to finish Carmilla as it's a personal fave.
Still on less junkie 😁😁😁
Great final line, great reading, love this story. Thank you.
Glad you like it
This is a good story. It's the best recording out there. Thanks Great Job!!
Thank you, my friend
To me, Smiler has always been that character in Last of the Summer Wine, who is afraid of everything. LOL. What I've seen and read about Highgate Cemetery adds up to it being the epitome of spooky to me. I love it. Enjoyed your comments at the end. Good story. Thanks.
Amazing narration xox
Glad you enjoyed it
Hello Tony, I just love the story and I love the talk afterwards,Highgate Cemetery is truly a beautiful place❤🖤❤🖤
all of Highgate is beautiful. One of the most prettiest places in London.
@@nox6948 yes it is beautiful💫❤💫
Beautiful reading tony. So seductive. Love the accent used for smiley. So relaxed . Feel sorry for him ,lamb being led to the slaughter. Lovely description of the Highgate cemetery. Words used already hinting of what is going to happen. Love the words used. Black like a Bible.
Great story, made more chilling because I think we all knew what was going to happen to poor old Smiler, even though he didn’t!
+@chrishalliday8371 Poor lad.
Great one , Tony ! Thanks ! Also a fan of classic rock , it doesn't get any better . 💀🎱💀
Rock on!
@Classic Ghost Stories Podcast - Tony Walker You know it ! Unlike the Tull song , the female in this story is definitely not "the Robin Hood of Highgate" and will not "help the poor man get along" ! Except to an early grave and , perhaps , many nights lurking around Highgate cemetery , thereafter . Heh-heh 💀🎱💀
@@jeffreese1828 But the flowers bloom like madness in the Spring there.
Classic Ghost Stories Podcast - Tony Walker
We're on the same page (and the same album !) , Tony . Love your stuff , man , and readings of other's stuff ! 💀🎱💀
Absolutely LOVED this!!!!!!👍💕
I think was seventeen at the same time as you!🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸
Rock on! It was the best time to be 17 of course.
Excellent! I really enjoyed it, thank you so much👍
That was pretty darn cool 🥰👏👍♥️❤️
Thank you 🤗
It's so true. never mention the vampire on the Highgate tour.. lol the guides get that vinegar look across their faces 🤣
I miss your intro!!!! I wasn't sure this was the same channel,
I try to differentiate between a "Classic Ghost Story Podcast Story" and a "Tony Walker Story". But maybe I should do a standard intro for the TW ones.
Brilliant, loved it, been to Highgate cemetery a good few times , strange place
Good job man.
Oooh this was brilliant! Loved everything about it..the 70's etc! Poor old Smiler..went like a lamb to slaughter! 🤣
I do wish I'd visited Highgate when I lived in London. Never go that far south anymore. I do enjoy a graveyard wander though.
I can recommend the Rock Cemetary in Nottingham, that's pretty cool..I actually got locked in there once! Me and some friends went to do a Dakini ceremony.... 🤭🤫😄
That sounds like a good story:)
@@ClassicGhost Aah yes indeed.. but my lips are sealed...Happy days! 🤣
it most be sad being a vampire in london with loads of people saying can you spare some change
Love it. also this time around--only 2 years? Feels like 200. Love seeing you as well. Would you reconsider using the camera?
Most people don’t see it adds much and it’s more work :)
@@ClassicGhost Dissageeeee!!!!!!! :0)
I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying your stories.
Thank you again for sharing your talents with us.
I'm home from work today,( we got a bit of snow here in Loveland Colorado)
So, I'll be going through the whole collection...lol
This is my own story stream. Im
Just trying this new stream thing out
@@ClassicGhost Your stories are wonderful.
Please keep sharing. You are a very talented writer...I'll do all I can to promote you. I've read all my life...books are like friends to me. I can tell quickly if I've found an author I like.
Brilliant
Loved the story. I collect graveyard dirt but only from the sides not from people's graves
;)
Lovely story. Used to know a stoner just like Smiley who was known by the same name. Always enjoy your explanation at the end too. Great writing tips. Thank you.
Maybe I channeled Smiler from him. They exist, though not many of them are left
@@ClassicGhost nor is the one I knew sadly. He was a hippy from Coromandel. Always remember him going nude swimming at my parent's place at Lake Taupo and my mother flipping out. He drowned surfing a month later. Kindest guy you could know. Sad.
Great story!
I remember the investigation in the 70s
Wonderful. Great descriptions. All the senses involved. I was right there.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Scary! Well done!
Wonderfully done!
New subscriber from Sweden. Been benching your channel. This was awesome! Would have loved a sequel…
To the highgate vampire? Hmm
Though not quite the same, maybe check out my Darkworlds playlist?
@@ClassicGhost def will! Amazing channel!
@@ClassicGhost yeah. I was intriqued by the couple. And could very well see them show up in a later moment in time. Maybe even with the poor lad they tricked into the tomb.. A ghastly trio of cursed souls still haunting the cemetary..
I really enjoyed this one.
That was chillingly good!! Subscribing right now
Oh you made my night!
I really enjoyed listening whilst tyding up.I knew Sean Manchester+he pursued me as a vampiress.Love Highgate+Pere La chaise-long live our undead. Lavina Morticia Kymille,former ballerina+1986 only legal self estranged wife of Sebastian Bach@Skid Row.x
Well I am glad that you got away from him.
SMILER ! TRUST WHAT YOUR GUT TELLING YOU 💯, wow what a brilliant story, 3 times I listened to it, 2nd time I commeted on here,
Glad you enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing it.
@@ClassicGhost Tony awesome 👌 work
I see your point about the reader knowing the outcome. I certainly did. But I empathized with the struggle of the protagonist and saw myself facing the vampire. So I kept pleading that I would awaken for a nightmare.
Very much enjoyed!
The name you were looking for is Ackroyd...Rodgers Ackroyd.
Fun story....
Thanks
Yes indeed
Excellent ❤
Thanks
🖤
Thank you for this!
Just to say this was back in the news this year as David Farrant passed away in April.
I must have been in my 40s before I knew what beans on toast was. Even then, I could hardly believe it. Americans and Canadians just don't eat it.
You don't eat beans on toast.....!!!
@@ClassicGhost Never, to the point where no one I knew had ever heard of it!
I don’t eat them often now because I’m not eating much bread. But they are best with crisp toast, butter and pepper preferably white pepper.
Ackroyd. 😊
I'm sure someone has mentioned it already, but it's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Love Agatha Christie.
Yes! I keep looking for it in second-hand bookshops
Thanks!
Thank you!
Roger Ackroyd....I think that was the Agatha Christie title.
You are right!!!! thank you.
I was obsessed with AC when I was younger 😃
I think I’d like a non-scary SET of short stories w/ Smiler- maybe set from age 8, then 12, then 18...you know really give a sort of substance to that great INNOCENT character, in a way that would juxtapose the innocence of those mid 20th century times & then have this be the last of the series...I think that would make it a TRAGIC-COMEDY. I mean Smiler deserves better, right? Anyway, just a listener’s pondering over your great narrative skills! I really enjoy your work.
It sometimes feels like the current HORROR genre has to be as descriptive of blood, guts, & falsely scaled FEAR-POWER power dynamic that the HUMANness of the characters gets LOST (maybe that’s the MOST current-cult-ur-al narrative that rings out & resonates within) the SHALLOW-SADO -SHADOW focus within the narrative; I find this makes for a genre filled with a bundle of GORE, but no substance which makes the plot structure almost irrelevant when the foundations are all regurgitated muck.
Or maybe it’s an AMERICAN cult-ur-al narrative weakness & ill character building education- who knows?
HOWEVER, that said, I LOVE YOUR writing AND your GIFT of STORYTELLING!
My country, t’is of ID we...and our storied plots have been hi jacked by “reality show”/HOLLYWOOD box office vulgarity & war mongering imbalance- our scales are tipped by gold and a LACK of knowledgeable, integrated sensitive/sensual beings. It’s more pop-u-la[i]r to be SEXY & “get-off” rather than lead the reader/audience down a beautifully justified narrative of plot & structure, thus creating a mood, tempo & “reality” that invites one to go through doors of perception one might not otherwise be exposed to, like in your work.
Which all is a wordy way of saying, I REALLY ENJOY ALL of your writing. Thank you.
I’d love to buy you your own coffee shop! 💷For now I can only give you words of gratitude & praise. Cheers!
Élan☸️✝️☯️🆔💟⚛️☮️🕉💜🖤🖋🔮🗝🚪🕳🐇🍄🐚🎁📯🎎🎏🎊🎉📖📘📚❣️
Smiler deserves better. I think if he'd lived he would have run a second hand book shop.
@@ClassicGhost Oh, I love that, as I get to believe in his other dimensional self.
Of course, he’d have OpenMic Nights for all the poets, writers, & musicians...Cheers!
Sorry about the ramble. This isn’t my first story world listening of your work & I really, really enjoy your crafting! Thanks for sharing & caring!
Excellent💀!
good one!
You have a great singing voice! Thanks for the spooky story! Why the name smiler?
Did I sing i this one as well? I keep it to a minimum
@@ClassicGhost lol But why is the guy's name Smiler? No, sing more!! I love it when you sing!
There's just something downright scary about a feminine killer. I'm sure there's a psychological explanation for it, a false sense of security or something of the sort. I genuinely thought it would be Leonard the whole time.
Wow awesome
I loved Agatha Christie; but, at the same time, I would be very irritated at her for not telling us things. If I had known that, I would have known who the murderer was.
Very true.
EXCELLENT. A1*.
Many thanks! A great mark!
TF!!! At first I thought it was Tom Hiddleston!!!
Many say so. Poor Tom.
Led Zep 3
Thank God. I don't deny it's a classic but if I hear Led Zeppelin ll one more time my skull might fracture. Led Zeppelin lll - well that's a whole different story. Anyway my mind wandered. Is Highgate near what was once called Bluebell Fields in London ?
I’m rooting for Smiler. He sounds like a missing character from The Young Ones.
Yes, an innocent lad.
I don't know where bluebell fields is. Are you thinking Primrose Hill? If so, then yes.
@@ClassicGhost Sorry I dug a bit deeper and the name of the area was Bluegate Fields. It crops up in a couple Dickens stories and was infamous for being the most poverty stricken and lawless areas of Victorian London. When poor Smiler met his sad demise (where is Vyvyan when you need him ? Trying to set off the nuclear bomb in the kitchen or eating the telly no doubt) I thought of Bluegate Fields because among the rookeries were catacombs and graves stacked upon graves. In your closing comments you talked about London running out of room for burials. In the East End and Bluegate Fields they were filled to bursting. I've read about bodies being buried less than three feet under the earth.
As for the Gorbals Vampire I think it's a fantastic set up for a fictional treatment and is indeed largely based on fact at least in respect to the genuine hysteria and the near-feral kids patrolling the Gorbals with any blunt instrument that came to hand. So in addition to the vampire itself there's that Lord of the Flies element and a climax of a three day rampage by the children through the necropolis seeking out the beast. All the elements for a fantastic story are in place. It's just a pity writing fiction is near the bottom of my list of talents. I couldn't have created Smiler if a gun was pressed to my head. As one music lover to another I'm sure you've heard of Alex Harvey and his Sensational Band. He grew up in the Gorbals and a single look at his face tells you better than any statistics just what a kind of place it is. I hope you're at least intrigued enough to consider it because it really is pleading for a story to be based on it and no one is more qualified and experienced than you to give it a go. Naturally the decision lies entirely in your hands and I certainly won't grovel to see the Gorbals Vampire raised unless you leave me no choice. In the meantime can't wait for your next M.R. James reading, perplexing footnotes or no !
I bet he's a pain in the neck.
What happened to smiler
Indeed. If you walk down Swains Lane on a moonlit night, you might meet him so you can ask him yourself
So predictable
Nonsensical comment to poke the algorithm.
We like that