Perhaps vampires and zombies aren't your preferred reading matter for Halloween? Here are some grisly historical true crime titles that might suit the mood:
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The Ripper & the Royals by Melvyn Fairclough. 1992. Read by Peter Baker, 15 hours 6 minutes. TB 11987.
More theories have been put forward about the Whitechapel murders of 1888 than about any other unsolved crimes in the files of Scotland Yard. Who was Jack the Ripper? Was he some lone maniac 'down on whores'? Or were the Ripper murders, as this book shows, the joint enterprise of a group of high-ranking desperadoes acting to protect the Prince of Wales's heir, the Duke of Clarence, from blackmail? Many new facts are presented in this book which unravels the nexus of intrigue that has threatened the Royal family for three generations. TB 11987.
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Burke and Hare by Owen Dudley Edwards. 1993. Braille 9v.
Edwards gives the first unvarnished account of two of history's most notorious criminals. The reader is not spared the inevitably sordid details of the killings, but they are accompanied by careful historical analysis. As poor Irish immigrants, Burke and Hare resorted to murder as a money-making enterprise, paid for by anatomist Dr Knox. Braille 9v.
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The good old days: crime, murder and mayhem in Victorian London by Gilda O'Neill. 2006. Read by Michael Tudor Barnes, 7 hours 35 minutes. TB 14844.
Were things really better in the good old days? Only if you were healthy, wealthy and male. For most, life in London was one of grinding poverty, binge drinking, prostitution and gun-crime. Gilda O'Neill explores the teeming underbelly dwelling in the fog-bound streets, rat-infested slums, common lodging houses, boozers, penny gaffs and brothels in the heart of the greatest empire that the world has ever seen, revealing that Victoria's was actually a most unruly reign. Contains strong language. TB 14844.
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The magnificent Spilsbury and the case of the brides in the bath by Jane Robins. 2010. Read by Sherry Baines, 10 hours 11 minutes. TB 17811.
In the dark opening months of the First World War, Britain became engrossed by 'The Brides in the Bath' trial. The nation turned to a young forensic pathologist, Bernard Spilsbury, to explain how it was that young women were suddenly expiring in their baths. TB 17811.
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Death at The Priory by James Ruddick. 2008. Read by Alistair Petrie, 6 hours 20 minutes. TB 16717.
It took three tortured days in 1876 for Charles Bravo to die from the poison that burned its way through his body. The subsequent investigation revealed many people with a grudge against the young barrister. The dramatic inquest was covered in sensational detail by the press, but no one was convicted of his murder. Over a century later James Ruddick draws on new evidence to solve one of the most famous murders in criminal history. TB 16717.
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The last victim: the extraordinary life of Florence Maybrick, the wife of Jack the Ripper by Anne E. Graham and Carol Emmas. Braille 7v.
Did Florence Maybrick really poison her husband, or was she set up? Who knew about Maybrick's connection to the Ripper murders, and what lengths would they go to keep it quiet? Why was evidence suppressed from the trial? This text explores the life of Florence and her marriage to James Maybrick. Braille 7v.