The London prowl

THE cobblestone street is dark and slick from a drizzly rain; the clouds are heavy and low, swallowing the steeple of nearby Christ Church Spitalfields.

But light spills from the Ten Bells. Inside the corner pub, lagers and ales are being poured, and a dozen patrons are drinking, laughing and lounging on tattered couches and at the dark-wood bar.

More than 100 years ago, during what came to be called the Autumn of Terror, serial killer Jack the Ripper stalked this small pub in London’s East End. Two of his victims were thought to have walked out its door into a night of horror.

Today, the pub has become the centerpiece of one of London’s most popular sightseeing tours -- the Jack the Ripper walk.

“I’ve tried to figure out why the tour’s so popular,” said author and longtime guide Richard Jones, who leads nightly walks through the area where the 19th century Ripper murders occurred.

“It’s a very sordid story: five women brutally murdered,” Jones said. “You know what’s really strange? The majority of the people who take the tour are women.”

Jack the Ripper’s gruesome offenses would qualify him for membership in any hall of infamy, even in London -- a city with more than its share of grisly crimes and haunted locales. With its long history of murder, mayhem and macabre incidents, London has the daunting distinction of being the most haunted capital city in the world.

I explored the city’s sinister streets one night last spring on a Haunted London tour. I would have liked to have joined Jones’ Jack the Ripper tour or a London Walks tour, both of which were recommended by friends. But when it started raining, I thought they’d be canceled, so I switched to a minibus tour. Not a smart decision. I learned later that the walking tours are held regardless of rain. And the minibus driver (who was also the tour guide) wasn’t very knowledgeable.

Still, with London’s dark, narrow streets and ancient alleyways as a backdrop, it didn’t take much imagination to hear ghosts wailing in the wind; see headless soldiers in the shadows; and feel a chill down my spine when I heard tales of haunted palaces, theaters, prisons and cathedrals.

The minibus tour piqued my interest in the city’s colorful history, so I made a few calls. One of the first was to the Tower of London, grim scene of executions and torture and the source of countless legends and ghost stories.

Almost a millennium old, Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress -- that’s its full title -- is a symbol of the nation, looming over the London skyline for centuries. Its checkered history, combined with the British crown jewels displayed there, draws nearly 2.5 million visitors each year. Most want to hear stories about the Tower’s famous prisoners, such as Anne Boleyn, Guy Fawkes and Sir Walter Raleigh, and the beheadings that took place there.

“Head chopping is what it was called,” Tower beefeater Chris Morton said, correcting me when I used the word “beheading.” Morton is the Yeoman sergeant in charge of the warders, or beefeaters, who guard the Tower at night.

“Heads were chopped off with a block and an ax,” he said. “Head chopping continued until 1747, when it was thought to be barbaric. Then hanging became the favorite method of execution.”

Yeoman warders like Morton -- known for their colorful blue and red jackets -- have guarded the Tower since the 14th century. Thirty-five share the duty today, living in Tower apartments and houses with their families -- 120 full-time residents at one of London’s spookiest addresses.

“A bit like living in Disneyland,” Morton said. “You can never get away from your work.”

“But what about the ghosts?” I asked.

“Some people live here for years and never see anything; others are here only a short time and say they feel or see things. Not me, though,” he quickly added. “I’ve never seen anything.”

Among those who have felt an otherworldly presence is Janice Field, wife of the Tower’s resident governor, Geoffrey Field. It’s the couple’s home -- called the Queen’s House -- that is said to be haunted.

“It may be a female ghost,” Morton said, “because if a woman goes into certain rooms, the ghost appears and physically throws her out. It’s happened to Janice several times.”

Some storytellers say Boleyn, beheaded by order of her husband, Henry VIII, in 1536 -- it was not a ‘head chopping’ because she apparently was slain with a sword -- was imprisoned in the house until her death and often appears there. Others say she haunts the Tower’s Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, where she is buried.

Our discussion about Tower ghosts seemed to be a bit much for Morton.

“A lot of those stories were made up by the Victorians,” he said. “They just wanted people to visit the Tower.”

“Tourist stories?” I asked.

“Exactly.”

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Believers in the paranormal

LONDON has its share of skeptics who appear on TV and the lecture circuit debunking paranormal activity and disparaging those who believe in ghosts, goblins and things that go bump in the night. But for every skeptic, there’s a true believer, and such organizations as the Institute of Paranormal Research help further the stories. The institute, based in London, investigates UFOs, occult activity and hauntings throughout Britain.

Jones, who has written 11 guidebooks -- his latest on the Jack the Ripper tour will be published next year -- is popular on the TV and lecture circuit too. His esoteric knowledge about one of London’s most infamous residents has proven to be valuable. “Jack the Ripper bought my house,” he said, laughing.

But guiding tourists around the city wasn’t always such a lucrative endeavor. “Charles Dickens was my specialty when I started 24 years ago. Nobody ever wanted to do a Dickens tour.”

Now he guides tours five nights a week, introducing thousands to the sordid crimes of Jack the Ripper. He specializes in the Ripper and other ghostly tours; other companies have a broader range of topics.

London Walks, the granddaddy of walking tours in the capital, offers dozens, exploring various parts of the city. London Walks’ most popular Jack the Ripper guide is Donald Rumbelow, the former curator of the Police Crime Museum and author of “The Complete Jack the Ripper.”

The Ripper tour is by far the city’s most popular. “It’s hugely competitive,” Jones said. “More than a million people take the tours each year. On any one night, you can count 20 to 30 groups going out.”

London is one of the world’s best cities to explore on foot. The walking tours add the expertise of a guide and the security of visiting the area in a group -- the East End of London still can be a dicey place to walk at night, as it was in the Ripper’s era. The tours generally last about two hours and cost about $12.

My Haunted London tour, which is no longer available, was a hybrid. We started out in a minibus, stopped at a couple of historic areas, then moved on to the East End, where there was an abbreviated walking tour. But the guide couldn’t answer any questions, and his delivery was mumbled and boring.

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It goes clink in the night

OUR stops weren’t boring, though. We started in Southwark, across the Thames River from the City of London. The area now boasts the resurrected Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, which opened in 1997. But for the most part, the streets and buildings are old, historic and creepy, especially at night.

We arrived at dusk and took a quick stroll through the area and down Clink Street, where we walked beneath a model of a gibbet and a decomposing body. Unfamiliar with gibbets? I was, but a passerby explained that it’s a gallows with a crossbeam at the top: Criminals were hung from it in chains, and their bodies were left there to decompose.

This particular gibbet marked the location of Clink Prison. The Clink -- hence the origin of the phrase “in the clink” -- was a notorious prison that burned down in the late 18th century. A prison museum now operates on the site.

We scrambled back into the minibus and returned to the city, stopping at the Church of St. Bartholomew the Great. Founded in 1123, it is London’s oldest parish church and is said to be haunted by a monk who is sometimes seen in his cowled robe in the pulpit, at other times lurking the shadows. I didn’t spot the good friar, but I was afraid to look too closely.

Even without the legend, the dimly lighted church is atmospheric and eerie. It’s a setting filmmakers appreciate: St. Bart’s was the location of the fourth wedding in the film “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and of some scenes in “Shakespeare in Love.”

Our final stop was in the East End, site of the Ripper’s five murders. Groups were being guided through the streets when our driver stopped the van and talked briefly about the women killed. Some of them haunt the area, he said. Then he gave us directions for about a three-block walk and said he would meet us with the van at the other side.

We walked toward Christ Church Spitalfields, its steeple overlooking the area where the murders took place.

I wondered why Jack the Ripper’s crimes had become so well-known. Perhaps because the killer was never caught.

Jones’ theory: that Jack the Ripper was the first mass-media killer. His murders were reported by newspapers around the world. For 10 weeks in 1888, terror reigned.

We had arrived at the Ten Bells. Outside, the night was chilly and rain had started to fall. Inside, a warming brew awaited.

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rosemary.mcclure@latimes.com

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Follow the ghosts

Covent Garden Underground: Late-night Tube riders say they sometimes see a theatrical performer -- murdered by a rival in 1897 -- standing on the Covent Garden platform. He wears a hat, gray suit and gloves and waits patiently for the train he always took home to Putney.

Tube stop: Covent Garden

Theatre Royal Drury Lane: The ghost of an actor slain in 1780 is said to be a frequent performer at the theater. His skeleton -- with a knife sticking out of the ribs -- was supposedly found during a renovation in the 1970s. Folklore has it that those who see the ghost are destined for theatrical greatness.

Tube stop: Covent Garden

Newgate Prison site: Progress came to Newgate, one of England’s most notorious prisons, in the 18th century in the form of a scaffold invented to hang 12 men at the same time. Among the legends emanating from this sinister place: the snarling Black Dog of Newgate, which appeared whenever executions were to take place. Old Bailey Courthouse now stands on the site.

Tube stop: St. Paul’s

Ten Bells pub: Two of Jack the Ripper’s victims were last seen at this East End pub. Mystery still surrounds the true identity of this Victorian-era psychopath, sometimes called the world’s first mass-media serial killer.

Tube stop: Aldgate East

Route No. 7 Cambridge Gardens: Among the odd ghosties and goblins that haunt London is a wayward double-decker bus. In the mid-1930s, the bright red bus was often seen at the intersection of St. Marks Road and Cambridge Gardens in North Kensington, where the road curves sharply. The bus, which had no passengers or driver, hurtled toward oncoming traffic, forcing cars off the road.

Tube stop: Ladbroke Grove

St. Bartholomew the Great: The hospital has a haunted “coffin lift,” which began transporting passengers to the basement -- regardless of the floor they requested -- after a nurse was murdered within. The church has a ghostly monk who prowls it, sometimes appearing at the pulpit, sometimes in the shadows. The area also has a memorial to the Protestant martyrs burned to death nearby during the 16th century reign of Roman Catholic Mary I, also known as Bloody Mary.

Tube stop: Barbican

Kensington Palace: Kensington -- home of Princess Diana from 1981 to 1997 -- housed a string of famous royals, including 18th century monarch George II. The song “God Save the King” was written during his reign, but nothing could stop the Grim Reaper when he came for the king in 1760. But before the monarch’s death, he could often be seen gazing wistfully out his chamber window. Now, the story goes, his face is often glimpsed there.

Tube stop: High Street Kensington

Tower of London: Unspeakable acts of murder and mayhem took place here during the 14th and 15th centuries when beheadings were commonplace. Among the jail’s inmates were Anne Boleyn, queen of England and second wife of Henry VIII. She was beheaded and is said to haunt a Tower residence and the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, where she is buried.

Tube stop: Tower Hill

Greyfriars Passage: This alley off Newgate Street leads to the site of an old churchyard burial ground, said to be haunted by two beautiful, murderous women. Queen Isabella was instrumental in having her husband, King Edward II, deposed, imprisoned and brutally murdered in 1327. She was buried with his heart on her breast. Also here is Lady Alice Hungerford, who poisoned her husband. Some say she was hanged; others say she was boiled alive.

Tube stop: St. Paul’s

Sources: Richard Jones; Institute of Paranormal Research, London

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GETTING THERE:

From LAX to London’s Heathrow airport, British, American, United, Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand have nonstop flights. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $531.

TELEPHONES

To call the numbers below from the U.S., dial 011 (the international dialing code), 44 (country code for Britain), 20 (the local code) and the local number.

WHERE TO STAY:

Kensington International, 4 Templeton Place, London; 7370-4333, www.kensingtoninternationalinn.com. This 58-room hotel has small but efficient rooms in a nice Earls Court neighborhood. The hotel was once a Victorian nobleman’s house. Close to shops, restaurants and the Earls Court Tube stop. Doubles from $236. Breakfast is included.

Mayflower Hotel, 26-28 Trebovir Road, Earls Court, London; 7370-0991, www.mayflowerhotel.co.uk. The Mayflower, a town house in the Earls Court area, has 48 small but stylishly decorated rooms. Doubles from $160, including breakfast.

WHERE TO EAT

AND DRINK:

Masala Zone, 145 Earls Court Road; 7373-0220, www.realindianfood.com. This prize-winning, inexpensive Indian restaurant is one of three in the Masala Zone chain. It’s fun and stylish, with eye-catching artwork and good food. Dinners less than $25 per person.

Ten Bells, 84 Commercial St.; 7366-1721. This small pub in the city’s East End is the focus of many Jack the Ripper tours. Some of his victims were last seen there. It’s still open, more than 100 years later, serving only brews and other drinks.

TOURS:

London Walks, P.O. Box 1708, London, NW6 ; 7624-3978, www.walks.com. More than 300 different walks are available from this 46-year-old company, which claims to be the “original walking tour company in London.” Jack the Ripper tour guide Donald Rumbelow is the author of “The Complete Jack the Ripper.” Two-hour walking tours $11.30.

Jack the Ripper Tour, 28 Alexandra Road, London E18 1PZ; 8530-8443, www.jack-the-ripper-tour.com. Author and longtime tour guide Richard Jones specializes in Ripper tours and other ghostly walks. Two-hour walking tours about $12.25.

TO LEARN MORE:

Visit Britain, (800) 462-2748, www.visitbritain.com.

Totally London, www.visitlondon.com.

-- Rosemary McClure