The Gorbals Vampire
Glasgow, Scotland 23rd September 1954
“Hundreds of children were swarming over the graveyard. Some clutched crosses and crucifixes; others brandished axes, staves and knives.” - David Castleton, November 26th, 2018
If I see the word vampire, I’m investigating. This story is a fascinating look at how something can snowball from an idea into something rather spectacular. It also shows an immense amount of enthusiasm from the children of Glasgow…
Let’s set the scene with a bit of historical context on the Gorbals. This area was a relatively poor part of Glasgow, deep in a growing steel industry, with its name possibly originating from the Medieval Leper’s House at St Ninian’s Croft. Locals would ring the ‘Glory Bells’ to warn the uninfected of the approach of the lepers that would cross the bridge and over time the name merged into ‘Gorbals’.
Gorbals became one of the most poverty-stricken districts, overcrowded and with poor sanitation. The status of Gorbals did not change a lot over the years, and by the 1930s, the area had one of the highest population densities, which led to a high infant mortality rate and increase in crime. So… not a very fun place for children to grow up in, right? So where could they go?!
The youths of Gorbals tended to migrate towards the Southern Necropolis. Due to the iron foundry in the area, the place was usually shrouded in smoke and misty conditions, this mixed with the low level street lighting often provided the perfect backdrop for ghost stories and haunting rumours to spread. Enter: The Gorbals Vampire.
On the evening of 23rd September 1954, Glasgow police received a call asking them to make haste over to the Southern Necropolis. PC Alex Deeprose arrived on scene and couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. Apparently, a rumour had spread that amongst the school children of Glasgow of an evil, seven foot tall vampire with iron teeth. Children were telling their friends that this creature had kidnapped and murdered two young boys before filling itself up on their blood. Their parents had failed to calm these children down, reassure them that no such vampire exists, and so the children decided to take the law into their own hands…
Imagine Lord of the Flies, but with hundreds of Glasgow school children. Armed with blades and crosses, stakes, dogs, axes, staves and knives, from barley-walking age all the way up to 14 years old, these children marched towards the Southern Necropolis to hunt the Gorbals Vampire themselves. He would never take another child again!
They hunted high and low in the Southern Necropolis graveyard to find the creature, exclamations of ‘he’s there!’, ‘no, he’s over there!’ as the shadows played tricks on their eyes. More police arrived at the scene, but this did not dissuade the children… until the rain started and they swiftly retreated back to the safety of their homes. But the children returned, night after night, until the third night of hunting when enthusiasm for this task faded.
The legend of the Gorbals Vampire remained strong in Glasgow’s folkloric history. The story got into the national press, raising questions in Parliament and amongst parents about the issue with hysteria amongst children, what influenced this story and how media has an effect on us.
When interviewed, Ronnie Sanderson, eight years old when he took part in the vampire hunt, said, ‘It all started in the playground.’
“The word was there was a vampire and everyone was going to head out there after school. At three o’clock, the school emptied and everyone made a beeline for it. We sat there for ages on the wall, waiting and waiting. I wouldn’t go in because it was a bit scary for me.”
Whether or not there was a vampire, and the children were actually right about this one, it is impressive how quickly humans come together to resolve community issues. May the spirit of the Glasgow children inspire you to keep a look out for your neighbours!
