The Glasgow Southern Necropolis (picture below) holds a special place in the history of Glasgow, the gravestones are testament to the prolific number of rich merchants, traders , inventors , soldiers and military leaders that once strode the city. However, what may not be known to many is that in 1954 the Necropolis was the scene of a real life vampire hunt made up entirely of children.
In late September 1954, talk had begun to permeate the playgrounds across the city that a seven-foot-tall bloodsucking monster with iron teeth was stalking the grounds of the Necropolis, a monster that would soon be written into Scottish history as the ‘Gorbals Vampire’ (The Gorbals being an area of Glasgow). Rumours had even spread that the vampire had brutally killed and eaten two young boys, so the children decided to take it upon themselves to put an end to the monsters reign of terror and on the evening of 23 September 1954 a group of children clutching wooden stakes, knifes and crosses headed for the Necropolis with a sense of vigilante justice that would put Batman to shame.
Of course there was no Vampire to slay and no childrens had been killed, but the story spread throughout the city and was picked up by the local press and was even covered in worldwide news. Worried parents, teachers and religious leaders desperately sought answers as to why their innocent children had come up with such a bizarre story and politicians quickly found an obvious culprit in those “evil and depraved” American horror comics, and specifically a story that appeared in “Dark Mysteries” issue 15 called “The Vampire with the Iron Teeth”. Appalled at the content of these comics it was easy to blame them for warping their children’s young minds and local politicians took their case to the UK Parliament which led in no small way to the 1955 Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act being passed which is still (technically) in force today.
Above the offending issue of "Dark Fantasy" issue 15 and below the lead story page from "The Vampire with the Iron Teeth" - Images taken from internet.
Although this looks a pretty cut and dried case of US horror comics warping
Glasgow kids minds and justification for banning 1950’s US horror comics there were other factors involved that could have influenced the children. There was already a local Glasgow legend called ‘Jenny wi’ the Airn (Iron) Teeth’ who was alleged to haunt Glasgow Green in the 1800’s. The Necropolis was also a frequent playground for the local kids and the gothic nature and atmoshpere of the Necropolis could have affected their childhood imaginations, and there were of course social issues of poverty, stress and depravation in this area of Glasgow at this time. These issues would have been more worthy of being taken to Parliament than a complaint about American horror comics. But whatever the reason the story has been woven into the rich tapestry of the city and has spawned books, music, Radio programmes, art, and even a play (the header picture by Frank Quietly is the cover of programme for the play).
Front page of the "Evening New" one of 3 Glasgow evening papers that ran the story of the Gorbals Vampire.