Epping Forest’s suicide pool is infamous for its eerie legends and tragic history. PAUL LONARDO explores the chilling mysteries of this Essex haunt
Only an hour outside London, Epping Forest might seem the perfect place to take the family or a sweetheart for a quiet afternoon.
Within the 6,000 acres of woodland, there are more than a hundred lakes and ponds. However, you wouldn’t want to make the mistake of going for a swim in one particular body of water known as the ‘suicide pool’—not even a life jacket will save you.
The location has been described as having an atmosphere unpleasant beyond description, with sunshine unable to penetrate the overgrown canopy above.
Since pollarding is prohibited in these ancient woods, the oak and beech trees have grown into large and rather grotesque forms. For this reason alone, Epping Forest can be quite eerie, especially at night.
Over the years, an untold number of people are alleged to have committed suicide by walking into the 10 -foot-deep water and drowning, despite showing no previous signs of suicidal tendencies. Most terrifying of all, no one knows exactly where this pond is located within Epping Forest.
Suicide Pool of Epping Forest
This cursed pool was the purported site of a tragic Romeo and Juliet-style murder-suicide that took place some 300 years ago and began the legacy of misery and death that has followed since.
Author Elliott O’Donnell, in his book Haunted Britain, relates a story about a young couple that embarked on a dangerous and forbidden courtship, meeting secretly at a beautiful pool in Epping Forest.
When the girl’s disapproving father found out about the relationship, in a fit of anger he killed his daughter at the very pool. Heartbroken by losing his love, the young man committed suicide in the exact spot where his beloved died.
In the days following this tragedy, it is alleged that the water became dank, turning thick and inky black, permanently killing all the vegetation around the pool.
Additionally, animals have reportedly been found dead on its banks, and no birds can be heard singing in the vicinity. Locals began whispering that an evil spirit haunts the pool, drawing people to their demise in its eternal watery embrace.
Dark history of Epping Forest
Epping Forest itself has a dark history, with long-standing criminal associations that date back to the 18th century when highwaymen preyed on the coaches of the wealthy travelling from London to Newmarket.
Among these outlaws were Dick Turpin, the legendary English robber, and Tom King, Turpin’s lesser-known sidekick, who used the forest as their personal hideaway.
The dense tree cover and the forest’s close proximity to London have made Epping Forest a perfect burial place for murder victims, and in more recent times, it seems to have become something of a dumping ground used by serial killers.
Since the 1960s, more than a dozen murder victims have been discovered, each case more grisly than the last. One woman was found dead in her car with a crossbow arrow in her head.
Triple-policeman murderer Harry Roberts hid in the forest for a short time before being captured and arrested in 1966. That same year, 15-year-old Marian Hartley was killed by Joseph Kiely, who dragged Hartley into the forest, where he sexually assaulted her before strangling her.
In 1970, a double homicide that became known as the ‘Babes in the Wood’ murders occurred in Epping Forest after the bodies of 11-year-old Susan Blatchford and 12-year-old Gary Hanlon, both of Enfield in north London, were discovered in a copse of trees on Lippitts Hill.
It would be 30 years before this tragic cold case was solved. Ronald Jebson, a convicted child sex offender who was serving a life sentence for the 1974 killing of eight-year-old Rosemary Papper, finally confessed to the murders of Blatchford and Hanlon.
There is no sign or plaque to mark the ‘suicide pool,’ but if you don’t want to be the next soul to take up permanent residence in its haunted waters, you would be wise to stay clear of Epping Forest.
Have you had a spooky experience in Epping Forest? Tell us about it in the comments section below!
PAUL LONARDO is a freelance writer and author from New England with more than 20 years of experience, specializing in cryptids, local legends, and paranormal history. His work has been featured in various genre magazines, and he’s a contributing writer for Tales from the Moonlit Path and a member of the Horror Writers Association. You can follow him on Instagram @PaulLonardo13 and X @PaulLonardo