Max Brockbank

All aboard the London Ghostbus

Care to travel the seedier streets of old London town and see the view from the top deck? Then step aboard the Ghostbus, leaving from right outside your hotel tonight! Here's some of the things you can expect along the grizly route.

The next time you're staying overnight in London, consider taking the famous London Ghostbus. This foreboding looking black double-decker whisks enthralled passengers around the seamy side of London's past, pointing out haunted hotels, murder sites, unmarked burial grounds, and other grisly details of the city's dark underbelly.

Harry Potter's purple Knightbus has nothing on this!

Ghostbus tours are hosted by a cast of macabre characters who know all the ins and outs of the most gruesome sites on the 75-minute tour. From the moment the bus stops outside your London hotel and costumed conductor "Sid Strangeways" dismounts and calls for passengers, you'll know you're in for a unique tour of the city's lesser-known spots, enhanced by technical wizardry that keeps the action spooky and spectacular.

During the journey, London's murderous and deadly history is revealed, along with a touch of black humor that keeps the tour fun and interesting. Sid and his mates keep the banter lively, despite the deadly nature of the tour, giving nicknames to such famous sites as Trafalgar Scare, Earls Corpse, and Notting Hell.

The same black humour and dry wit applies when describing the nefarious deeds and worrisome hauntings that are the focus of this far-reaching tour. Consider the case of Scratching Fanny of Cock Lane, an unfortunate woman who became embroiled in an 18th-century love triangle with her brother-in-law, and married him after her sister's death during childbirth. Soon after Fanny died, and rumors of her haunting began to spread. She gained her nickname from the scratching sounds her spirit was said to have made in the home's attic.

Even the bus has a ghoulish past. Once part of a much larger fleet of "necrobuses" operated by the real-life Necropolis Bus Company, this Routemaster was used to ferry laden coffins, as well as up to 50 mourners, from funeral service to final resting place.

However, a fire in 1967 destroyed the Necropolis garage and offices, claiming nearly all of the company's vehicles. Today, the official Ghostbus is the last of this fleet of "carcass coaches", as they were once affectionately known.

Painted in the original black made famous by the Necropolis company, the bus now accommodates up to 56 passengers. Interior lights and curtains maintain an eerie feel, and the conductor will tell you the curtains were kept in place in the original fleet due to the superstition that if the coffin or body were reflected in the window, the spirit of the deceased would be trapped forever in the glass, unable to pass on to the afterlife.

Regular tours depart at 7:30 pm and 9 pm. The Ghostbus collects passengers along Northumberland Street, but pickup can be arranged at a number of London hotels. The bus also can be hired for private tours and outings, including birthdays, stag and hen parties, weddings -- and, of course, funerals.

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