The Highgate Vampire

By Crusader1307

 Perhaps sensationalism turned into ‘’Mob Hysteria’’ – the Story of The ‘’Highgate Vampire’’ is interesting enough. It began between 1968 and 1973, and The Highgate Cemetery (North of London, England). As many as 50,000 burials are said to exist – owing to the fact that The Cemetery goes back to 1830. Long closed to burials, it’s forest like surroundings gives it a quite ‘’eerie atmosphere’’. Naturally, in the 1960s and 1970s – Highgate attracted it’s fair share of New Age Thinkers, Hippies and of course – Satanists. Evidence of ‘’rituals’’ were becoming a common thing, despite a Law Enforcement presence. It was during one such ‘’venture’’ into The Cemetery (for fun), that a Group of young people ‘’claimed’’ to see a ‘’Dark and imposing, caped Figure’’. Menacing, ‘’It’’ chased them away. Soon, the tale circulated that a ‘’Demon’’ or ‘’Vampire’’ was loose. Evidence of animals, drained of blood were also found, but most of these were attributed to ‘’animal sacrifice’’ by the aforementioned ‘’Occultists’’.

Soon other would report similarly strange sightings. From ‘’Gray Shadowy Beings’’ seen ‘’floating thru’’ The Cemetery, to other related paranormal events, soon Highgate became so well known, that a Group of ‘’well wishers’’ decided to consume alcohol and lead a Mob into The Graveyard, to ‘’hunt down’’ the ‘’Vampire Demon’’. Such a disturbance started, that several Police Agencies had to be dispatched to The Cemetery to maintain the peace. Hundreds of ‘’suspected’’ tombstones and crypts were wantonly damaged (with even several remains violated, ‘’suspected’’ of being The Beast. Arrests were made. Soon, the ‘’hype’’ died down. Slowly, ‘’sightings’’ of ‘’The Creature’’ lessened to a point that by 1979, it was largely dismissed and forgotten. But of odd note, in the 1980s, a black and white photograph was found and circulated in Newspapers, of a ‘’strange figure’’, seen lurking in the darks of Highgate. Perhaps nothing more than a ‘’cheap hoax’’ to hype The Legend……Perhaps…….