Places: Bodmin Jail

Bodmin Jail

Situated in the town of Bodmin in Cornwall, Bodmin Jail was a working Civil and Naval prison from its opening in 1779 until its closure in 1927. The buildings fell into disrepair and dereliction for many years, until it was bought by its current owners in 2004. Since then, the Jail has been undergoing extensive renovations and currently houses a 6 level museum of sorts, which allows visitors to learn about the crimes, their perpetrators - from delinquent children to serial murderers - and the punishments given to them during the prison's history. 

Victim and murderer

Whilst that might sound a little bit boring, it's actually pretty interesting - entertaining even - and many of the cells now contain models / mannequins and scenery depicting both the crimes committed and the punishments exacted, complete with explanation signs on the walls next to them. It's not a fairground haunted house, by any means, but the dark, strangely lit models and passageways coupled with the echoing sounds, low / strangely-angled ceilings and shiver-inducing temperatures give the museum portion of the building a somewhat eerie atmosphere. 

 A priest and nun with a corpse in a coffin

In addition to the museum, Bodmin Jail is said to have quite a lot of paranormal activity and also hosts ghost walks a few times a month. There were certaintly lots of deaths and executions on the grounds including a prisoner that committed suicide outside the prison gates in 1839 and the double hanging of brothers for murder, which approximately 25,000 people attended in 1840 (as a source of entertainment). The execution pit used for hanging still exists and the Jail website invites visitors to:

"Come and see the only working execution pit in the UK. Discovered during renovation works in 2005, the pit has now been restored to its’ full working order, with the able assistance of Gary Ewart, one of the UK’s leading authorities on hanging."

A hanging exhibit

In addition to the museum area and execution pit, there are also grounds (temporarily closed for renovations at the time of writing), stables artifacts, a film room and a bar / restaurant. The bar had a rather unusual, fake jackalope head adorning one of its shelves (pictured below), which along with other such amusing eccentricities like the mannequin hands in the corner of the jail ceiling (pictured after cut) and the outside door with the address "001 Cemetery Lane" (pictured after cut), make the site more fun to explore.

'Jackalope' in the bar

For more information about opening times, entry fees (for the museum) and other details you can visit the Bodmin Jail websites:

Bodmin Jail Website
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YouTube

More photos after the cut below↓:

Places: Highgate Cemetery, London

Highgate Cemetery is a Victorian graveyard situated in London, England. It is divided into two parts - East and West – that, although very near to one another are, in fact, separate spaces. All but one of the photos feature Highgate (East) because Madame Luciel and I had the pleasure of visiting it not too long ago.

Highgate Cemetery (East)

Built in 1839, Highgate (West) is the older portion of the cemetery and, although we only visited the east on this occasion, it is an extremely beautiful and elegant place as well. When it was initially designed by Stephen Geary, only this part of the cemetery existed and, as it increased in popularity, it became an extremely sought after place in which to have a plot. 

Highgate Cemetery (West) entrance

As the Victorians' macabre obsession with death and the afterlife even diffused into having 'fashionable' places to be buried, Lavish Gothic revival-style tombs and gateways were built, situated alongside leafy trees and wildflowers. The site continues to be a highly desirable location and some notable names laid to rest in there include poet Christina Rossetti, scientist Michael Faraday, and author Beryl Bainbridge. 

Highgate Cemetery (East)

Highgate Cemetery (East)

Although the western side still remains open to the public, it is now only accessible by way of supervised guided tours, in attempt to protect the Victorian mausoleums and tombs from further vandalism. Those with a deceased loved one buried in this half are given special passes, which enable them to visit unaccompanied. Had it not been for our time constraints, we would have ventured there as well, albeit with a tour guide.

Moving on...in 1854, the "newer" Highgate (East) section was constructed and, although it doesn't contain grand structures like the 'Circle of Lebanon' and 'Egyptian Avenue' as the west does, it is still a stunning location! However, unlike Highgate (West), after you pay the entrance fee (cash only!), you're then free to roam and explore, unsupervised, as much as you like.

Highgate Cemetery (East)

Tall trees, ivy and many other varieties of flowers and plants sprawl and weave between the gravestones, with numerous paths winding their way around the grounds. There are a huge amount of decorative, visually striking and easy to find  tombstones, and it's worth visiting Highgate (East) for those alone. As with Highgate (West), there are also some well-known occupants, such as philosopher Karl Marx, Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, author Douglas Adams, television presenter Jeremy Beadle and the screenwriter for 'The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari', Carl Mayer. There is also a memorial grave to those who died whilst working for the London Fire Brigade.

Highgate Cemetery (East)

However, there are also some less visible graves that have unusual/interesting features, or intriguing epitaphs. For example, there are carvings of pet dogs sitting on some, Masonic symbols, Chinese characters, and photographs of those who have passed away on others and even the word "DEAD" carved out of another. Therefore we would recommend spending a few hours in the eastern part at least in order to fully appreciate all the treasures it contains.

Highgate Cemetery (East)

Tours of Highgate (West) cost £7 for adults, £5 for students, whilst unaccompanied entrance to Highgate (East) costs £3 for adults and £2 for students. Children are also admitted, but I'm unsure of the price. For more information about opening times, directions, cemetery occupants and anything else you want to know about Highgate, please visit the official website:

http://www.highgate-cemetery.org

More photos of our visit after the cut below↓

Science & Places: Blood Falls, Antarctica

Blood Falls, November 2006, by Peter Rejcek for the National Science Foundation 

Located between Taylor Glacier and Lake Bonney in the Antarctic, Blood Falls contains a naturally occurring phenomenon, which makes it look as though the glacier is bleeding. Scientists believe that this sanguine effect is caused by a sub-glacial brine reservoir, as it contains iron that, when exposed to oxygen, becomes the dark red colour seen at the Falls. 

 Blood Falls, by the American Society for Microbiology, 2007

Whilst the crimson colour is quite striking, even more intriguing is that the organisms beneath the glacier can survive entirely without oxygen. This not only makes them extremely unusual, but it could also help to build a case for the existence of extraterrestrial lifeforms in other sub-glacial environments such as the Moon and Mars.

Story via:
Atlas Obscura and Microbe Wiki

Creepy Places: Aokigahara Forest

Hello there my spooky kids!

I've got this thing for creeply places and I read a lot about the subject so I've decided to write a few posts about some of these places!

And today I will start with one you might have heard about before: Aokigahara forest.

Maybe the name is not enough, but if I tell you there's this forest lots of Japanese people go to commit suicide in... Does it sound familiar now?

Aokigahara forest is the second most popular place, amongst those taking their own life, in the world, just after San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge.

Though some people believe that this place becoming famous for suicidal people is because of a novel called "Nami no Too", in which the two lovers commit suicide in the forest on the final pages, the suicides actually started before the book's release.

It's been reported that more than 500 people have killed themselves there since the 1950s.

Scary, isn't it? Plus, death is always associated with this forest.

Back in the days it was also used to abandon old people when they were useless to the family. That way, the poor old grandmas & grandpas died there alone. An ancient japanese custom named "Ubasute".

Of course, because of so many deaths, it's known as a haunted place, inhabited by the ghosts of all those who have died there.

The place is full of signs like "Life is a precious thing, reconsider it!" or "Think of your family!" trying to stop people, but as you might have noticed in this post, they're not quite effective.

By the way, if it wasn't clear enough, due to this massive wave of deaths, the place is full of skulls and bones all over the floor, they're not even buried.

OK, now...

Who wants to go for a walk there? ;)