Comics History

Stranger Than Fiction: The Gorbals Vampire

It was a still September night when nearly 400 schoolchildren descended on the Southern Necropolis in Glasgow’s Gorbals district in 1954. The neighbouring steelworks provided a suitably spooky backdrop, casting a red glow across the graveyard, a thin smoke seeping between the stones. Armed with crosses, knives, stakes, and dogs, these children were hunting. A seven-foot-tall creature with iron fangs was said to be lurking in the Necropolis, waiting for its next victim. These brave souls were ready to drive the Gorbals Vampire out of Glasgow.

But what caused these kids to form their own Monster Squad?