Changing Fortunes: A History of Highgate Cemetery

The Morbid Curiosity Podcast

Hallie Lloyd

Cryptid, Serialkiller, Science, Disease, Medicine, Scary, Skeleton, Historyofmedicine, Social Sciences, Ghost, History, Medical, Anthropology, Monsters, Archeology, Murder, Creepy, Skeptic, Paranormal, Prison

4.8 • 634 Ratings

🗓️ 14 June 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Originally released for Patrons on Feb 13, 2023.

"Highgate cemetery was one of the first large garden cemeteries built during the industrialization of London. Over the years it's had its ups and downs, from being a sought-after luxury cemetery to an abandoned, overgrown haunt of tramps and adolescents. It was even the scene of a possible vampire sighting. In this episode we discuss the history of Highgate."

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello listeners. The MCP has returned to our original two episodes per month schedule. However,
0:07.1	one episode is now exclusively for patrons of the MCP. Please make sure to switch into the new
0:13.7	Patreon tiers so you receive your extra episodes. The price has not changed per episode. You'll just
0:19.9	receive two episodes. The rewards currently remain the same, but it's likely some changes will be made in the future. A huge thank you to all of you for your support. I wouldn't be able to keep this podcast going without you, the creepy community. Thank you so much. Humans are fascinated by gore and violence, but even more so the mysterious and unsolved.
0:55.5	Interest in these disturbing and unpleasant subjects is called morbid curiosity,
1:00.6	and it has gripped millions of people throughout the ages.
1:04.3	I am one of those people.
1:06.7	My name is Halley, and this is the Morbid Curiosity Podcast.
1:10.9	...and this is the Morbid Curiosity Podcast. Last year, I spent two months abroad in England, visiting family, sightseeing, and working on several episodes for the MCP.
1:48.7	Sometimes a new environment aids in inspiration and motivation, and that was definitely the case with this trip.
1:55.6	During those two months, I visited several locations in England that I felt would make excellent topics for the first few patron-only episodes.
2:04.2	One of those locations was Highgate Cemetery, one of the largest cemeteries in England, complete with tales of ghosts and vampires wandering the gravestones.
2:15.0	The Cemetery of St. James at Highgate, known by most as Highgate Cemetery,
2:20.2	is an expansive cemetery that was consecrated and open for interments in 1839, just after the crowning
2:27.4	of Queen Victoria. Highgate Cemetery holds around 53,000 graves, with 170,000 individual burials contained in them.
2:37.2	The catacombs of Highgate contain 825 individuals, and there are 16 vaults in the cemetery as well.
2:44.6	In its heyday, it was a magnificent place that Victorians flocked to, both to display their wealth
2:50.5	through monuments and funerals,
2:52.6	and to celebrate their deceased loved ones. It's still a working cemetery today, but from the
2:58.3	1930s to the 1970s, it fell into decline and then disrepair. It became overgrown with ivy,
3:06.2	bushes, and trees, and a haunt of tramps and mischievous adolescents.
3:10.9	Today, the cemetery is recovering from this period of abandonment, thanks to the Friends of Highgate Cemetery,
	...

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