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Nestled in the heart of the East End of London – just a quick 24-minute walk north of the famous Tower – lies The Ten Bells. This pub is not only a great example of Victorian-era drinking decor but is also the place where two of Jack the Ripper’s victims took their last drinks prior to meeting their gruesome ends. The Ten Bells is also believed by those who live in the paranormal world to be the #1 most haunted pub in London. It’s worth a stop the next time you’re trying to kill time in Jolly Old England’s capital.  The street entrance to The Ten Bells.  You can see some of the lovely tiles in this fancy establishment. The location of the bar in the 1880s would have been on the right hand side of the shot. The Ripper and The Ten Bells You’ve all heard of Whitechapel, the section of London made famous from Jack the Ripper movies like From Hell starring Johnny Depp. You can probably even visualize what it was like to walk around there at night in the 1880s: cramped, congested, seedy, and dirty. Rain- and blood-soaked streets were dimly illuminated by yellow street lamps that made everyone and everything look jaundiced. The sound your own footsteps echoing down narrow cobblestoned streets was only occasionally interrupted by a lascivious drunken boast or the death rattle of “an unfortunate” meeting her brutal demise. This was the dark world inhabited by that old laughing boy, Jack the Ripper. Jack the Ripper, AKA Leather Apron (a name far less fitting for Hollywood movies) went on a crazed, necromutilomaniacal killing spree in Whitechapel between 1888 and 1891. There are different accounts of how many local sex workers met their end via the blades of his knives, but most Ripperologists stick to the “Canonical Five” consisting of Annie Chapman, Catherine Eddowes, Mary Jane Kelly, Mary Ann Nichols, and Elizabeth Stride. Three of these women have been linked to the Ten Bells. First, Elizabeth Stride was kicked out of the Ten Bells for drunk and disorderly behavior. The mind boggles at the level of fun (or cockneyed belligerence) that could lead to a person getting kicked out of a Whitechapel pub in 1888, but we sadly lack those critical details. Second, and more tragic, Annie Chapman is said to have been in The Ten Bells right before her murder took place at 29 Hanbury Street. This is a mere three-minute walk from the pub. Last, but certainly not least, that Irish lass Mary Kelly was believed to pick up her clients at both the pub and on the pavement right outside its doors. It’s even possible that she was propositioned by Jack inside the walls of The Ten Bells. Unfortunately for her, Mary’s death (and post-mortem abuse) was the most gruesome of the canonical five. She was not only a later victim – after Jack had refined and intensified his macabre fantasies – but was also the only one to be killed indoors. As a result, the Ripper didn’t have to rush as much as he did when murdering ladies of the evening on cobblestoned streets. He took his time. Poor Mary was killed and mutilated in a simple, one bedroom apartment just a two-minute walk south of The Ten Bells.  What public houses probably looked like in the 1880s. The image is from a very good set of Ripper trading cards titled The Autumn of Fear (Deborah Hyde & Floyd Jones Hughes, 1993). The ”Hauntings” The dark reputation of the pub isn’t limited to the Ripper, though. A baby was supposedly murdered there in the 19th century. “Psychics” supposedly refused to enter a room in the pub where this grisly event took place. Later – and this is surely disturbing if true but the PD team cannot confirm this detail – moldy baby clothes with cut marks on them were being found in a forgotten sack secreted behind a water tank. Then there’s George, a ghost that inhabits the pub. It is supposedly the spirit of George Roberts, a former landlord of the Ten Bells who was murdered with an axe. His untimely demise apparently led him to not only stay in the place where he was murdered, but also to become a poltergeist, and an irritable one at that. Old George (or another ghost – it’s hard to keep track of this supernatural literature) is reputed to wake up visitors staying in the upper floor apartments, lure them into the hallway, and then push them down the stairs. In other versions of the story, people would awake to George lying next to them in bed. Now that’s a bit creepy, George… Visiting The Ten Bells If you’re in London, visiting the pub is barely an inconvenience. It opens at noon every day and closes late in the night (i.e., be careful if you stay until closing). Most of the décor is not the Ripper-era original, as it would not have looked nearly this posh, but it will give you a feel for what it was like to drink in the Victorian age. The blue and white tiles are particularly striking. This is also where the bar would have been when the Ripper was active, not the current location in the center of the room. You will not meet patrons dressed in traditional Victorian garb. However, due to the fact that a number of hipsters frequent the bar, you may very well spot a handlebar moustache. After you have a pint or three, make sure to visit the toilets before you leave. They are downstairs and accessed by a very narrow staircase that will probably give you the most authentically creepy Victorian vibes.  The charming modern bar at The Ten Bells. Ask if they have Old Speckled Hen or Old Thumper on tap if you drop in for a visit. Getting There
The Ten Bells 84 Commercial Street London E1 6LY United Kingdom Side Trips As noted above, the Tower of London is a short walk away, as is the Tower Bridge. You’re also just a short tube ride from The British Museum, Harrod’s, Fortnum & Mason, and thousands of other fun sites.
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 Nietzsche’s boyhood home in quaint Röcken, Germany. You can almost picture the young antichrist frolicking around… The tiny, idyllic village of Röcken, Germany isn’t known for nightclubs or theme parks. Unless you’re one of the 170 or so people who live there, Röcken may just be seem like another one of those “blink and you’ll miss it” towns scattered throughout rural Deutschland. You may only seek it out as a destination if you needed to relax for a few days or perhaps fancied a quiet place for writing. Many visitors may be unaware of the fact that a GIANT is buried in Röcken’s teeny tiny little church courtyard. No less a person than Friedrich Nietzsche lies there in final repose. Yes, author of Zarathustra, The Antichrist, and On the Genealogy of Morals. He also spent a good bit of time there when he was alive, as he lived in the house that rests on the grounds nearby when he was just a little antichrist. For our money, Nietzsche is the most important philosopher of the 19th century. His works influenced not only philosophy, but also psychology, aesthetics, philology, and literature. Always an iconoclast, he had no problem criticizing what he viewed as the more problematic and excessive parts of European culture. Sadly, his books were also prescient, and he successfully predicted some of the more terrible aspects of the 20th century. If you’ve never read his book Twilight of the Idols, you should do yourself a favor and pick it up on Amazon.  Art installation over Nietzsche’s faux grave. Rumor has it that two people mistakenly thought this was his actual gravesite and decided to make some whoopie on it. However, as philosophy is not necessarily a proper degenerate topic, we should get back to the travel bits… There is a little museum in Friedrich’s old house. Very informative place. Later, while on a tour of the grounds, we learned an interesting tidbit from the guide. One night a couple – I pictured two goths with black clothing and even blacker lipstick – broke into the churchyard and, shall we say, got a bit frisky on the Nietzsche’s final resting place. We’re not sure why he was viewed as such an aphrodisiac. Maybe it’s that irresistible walrus moustache? Regardless, these turned-on trespassers should have done a bit more reading and a bit less heavy petting: they had sex on the wrong grave. There are actually two “graves”, and the more visible of the two is actually part of an art installation. They chose poorly… And - in case anyone is wondering - we are aware of the irony of visiting Nietzsche’s grave. Were he alive, he would have found this very amusing and probably wither us to the core with an acid-tongued comment. However, we would humbly say that it’s ok to pay a little tribute to people who have been important to you. And, just to be clear, paying tribute does NOT mean having sex on top of their moldering corpses.  The true grave of Frederick Nietzsche. Assessment
This is a good place to visit, especially if you are a Nietzsche nerd. It’s not too far from the city of Leipzig and you could easily turn it into a nice history-themed day trip. Information on location and hours can be found below. The entry fee is low and it would be nice of you to give them some additional euros to help with maintaining the grounds. http://www.nietzsche-gedenkstaette.de/engl/memorial.html |
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