David Turnbull tells Spooky Isles how he turned his passion for horror, sci-fi and all things spooky into becoming a tour guide, including his A History of Horror Guided Walk in London
SPOOKY ISLES: What sparked the idea for you to start the “A History of Horror” walking tour?
DAVID TURNBULL: A couple of years ago, after over 30 years of working as a union official, I took early retirement. As part of my retirement plan, I trained to become an accredited guide with the Lambeth Tour Guides’ Association. I decided that the unique selling point of my walks would be my lifelong passion for horror, Sci-fi and spooky stuff in general. I developed a series of walks on the south side of the Thames under the heading ‘Lambeth Fantastical’.
The Waterloo Doctor Who walk that was part of ‘Lambeth Fantastical’ was then picked up by ‘London Guided Walks’, an award-winning platform, run by fellow tour guide Hazel Baker. I also became involved in a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ walk that Hazel had developed. It was some of the stops on that walk that got me thinking about a ‘History of Horror’ themed walk and started my research.
Central to the idea was Edgar Wright’s 2021 film ‘Last Night in Soho’, which is set in the West End and riffs of some of the 60s horror films set in the West End. I came across an article Kim Newman had written about horror film locations in central London and that gave me some extremely useful pointers. The early West End theatrical interpretations of some of the horror classic provided another mine of information. I then discovered a fabulous book by Lauren Jane Barnett ‘Death Lines – Walking London’s Horror History’ which filled in a few more gaps.
Can you share what makes Charing Cross and Piccadilly such pivotal locations in the history of horror literature, cinema, and stage plays?
Charing Cross has a particularly gruesome history. The site where the station now stands is where, in October 1660, following the restoration of the monarchy, eight so called ‘regicides’ were brought from Newgate prison to be hung drawn and quartered for signing the death warrant of Charles I. Their severed heads and mutilated bodies parts were then placed on spikes at various locations across the city.
The platforms and tunnels of Charing Cross Underground Station were the location of Christopher Smith’s 2004 claustrophobic horror movie ‘Creep’.
Across the road from the station there is a monument to Oscar Wilde, author of The Canterville Ghost and The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Leicester Square and Great Windmill Street were the sites of the anatomy theatres of the surgeons John and William Hunter, both with links to the Victorian practice of grave robbing and body snatching, in turn providing the raw material upon which Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde and The Island of Doctor Moreau and others were based.
In terms of theatre, The Lyceum, in the Strand, has a pivotal role in horror history. It was here that the original stage versions of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and John Polidori’s The Vampyre were first performed. In the 1880s the stage play of Jekyll and Hyde was suspended as the performances coincided with the Jack the Ripper murders. Its star, Richard Mansfield, was so convincing as the monstrous Hyde, that he was even suspected, in some quarters, of being the Ripper himself.
Of course, the Lyceum is where Dracula author, Bram Stoker worked, as theatrical manager to Henry Irving. A plaque commemorating this on the wall of the theatre was dedicated by the Edgar Allan Poe Society.
What are some of the standout sites on your tour, and why do they hold significance in British horror history?
Staying with Dracula there are a couple of stops linked to the 1920s stage play by Hamilton Deane. Deane was a near neighbour of Stoker’s family in Ireland and became his assistant at the Lyceum. He first wrote the play while Stoker was alive. But when he arranged a dress rehearsal at the Lyceum for Henry Irving, Irving wasn’t that impressed.
However, after Stoker’s death his widow gave Deane the green light to produce the play in which he himself took on the role of Van Helsing. Deane also produced the Frankenstein stage play written in the 20’s by Peggy Webling and starred himself as the monster in some of the productions. It was these plays, rather than the original novels, which formed the basis for the scripts of the classic Universal Pictures 1930s Dracula and Frankenstein movies. Another theatrical stop looks at the attempt in the 1950s by Bella Lugosi to revive the Dracula play with an ill-fated British tour.
How do you weave the stories of places like Flicker Alley and Hammer House into your tour narrative?
Today, Cecil Court, just off Charing Cross Road, is famous for second hand bookshops and coin collectors, as well as Watkins Books which specialises in works of an occult and esoteric nature. Back in the early days of silent movies, however, it was known as Flicker Alley, because most of the early cinema companies had offices based there, including the company founded by film pioneer, Cecil Hepworth, who produced and directed one of the first British horror movies Dr Trimball’s Verdict (1913).
Move on a couple of decades and Wardour Street in Soho has assumed the mantle, with dozens of film companies based there, earning it the title Cinema Row. It was said to have the highest insurance premiums in the land due to the large amount of film reel stored in the basements of the buildings. Hammer Productions moved there in the 1940s when they were still mainly involved in B movies and film noir. At the height of their own horror output they rented office space to Tigon Productions who were responsible for such films as Witchfinder General and Curse of the Crimson Altar.
What are your thoughts on the development of British horror films over the years? Do you have any personal favourites?
Back when I was a teenager, I used to rush home from the Friday night youth club disco to see the late-night horror films that were being shown on TV in those days. That’s where I discovered both the Universal and Hammer stable of pictures. In terms of British horror films, I’d have to say that The Wicker Man is probably my all time favourite. In recent years the previously mentioned ‘Last Night in Soho’ was a film I really appreciated due to its nostalgia element which harks back to the golden era of British horror in the 60s. In a similar vein I think the ‘Inside No 9’ anthology TV series by Steve Pemberton and Reese Shearsmith has been fantastic at carrying on the tradition set by Amicus Productions in films such as Vault of Horror and Tales from the Crypt. It’s good to see Hammer have returned to making new horror films in the past few years, and I am excited to see what will come out of the privately funded revival of Amicus.
What kind of feedback have you received from participants? Any memorable reactions or stories you’d like to share?
There are couple of surprise stops with unexpected twists that get a good reaction.
The Charlie Chaplin statue in Leicester Square, for example. In his film The Kid (1921) he introduced the world to child actor, Jackie Coogan, who would go on to play Uncle Fester in the 1960s Addams Family TV series. Chaplin’s Monsieur Verdoux (1941) was one of the first darkly sympathetic serial killer movies to be made.
Also, on Old Compton Street, there’s a plaque marking the former site of the 2i’s Café, birthplace of British rock ‘n’ roll. Many of the early stars such as Cliff Richards, Marty Wilde and Adam Faith, who were discovered there, went on to appear on Jack Good’s pioneering TV show ‘Oh Boy!’ The show’s musical director and leader of its house band, Lord Rockingham’s XI, was Harry Robinson who subsequently composed the musical scores for many Hammer horror films such as The Vampire Lovers, Countess Dracula, and Twins of Evil.
The end point of the walk is at Piccadilly where I get to talk about American Werewolf in London and other London based werewolf films. Another little nugget is the link between the director, John Landis, and Michael Jackson’s iconic ‘Thriller’ video.
How long have you been running these tours, and how has the public’s interest in horror evolved since you started?
It’s quite early days as the walk only just launched this summer. The feedback so far has been encouraging, and I love getting little stories and anecdotes from those who come along that I can drop into the next walk. The walk will run monthly, and there are more stops than those already mentioned, including Chinatown where I talk about Sax Rohmer and the controversial cinematic interpretations of Fu Manchu.
I am going to do a variation at Halloween, taking a slightly different route, which will include the Robert Burns statue in Embankment Gardens, where I can give a little recital from Burn’s famous Halloween poem Tam O’ Shanter, as well as look at the era of the Penny Dreadful which gave us Varney the Vampire, Werner the Werewolf and Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
For those eager to join the tour, how can they sign up, and how frequently do you offer these tours?
The upcoming History of Horror dates are Sunday 18 August and Sunday 22 September both starting from 1pm at Charing Cross. The Halloween date will be finalised soon.
There’s a Doctor Who walk at 3pm on Saturday 10th August starting at Waterloo and there will be a special 61st anniversary Doctor Who walk on Saturday 23rd November, also starting at Waterloo, but slightly earlier at 1pm
Bookings can be made via the London Guided Walks website, where you can find details of other walks, including Jekyll and Hyde.
Don’t worry if can’t make the scheduled dates. All these walks can be arranged as private walks for groups of friends, family, work colleagues, celebrations etc. Again just go through the London Guided Walks website for details of how to book for a private group.
Have you been on A History of Horror Guided Walk in central London? Tell us about it in the comments section below!
