The Penny Murders

Nothing screams luck better than finding an expensive penny on the street, it is a diamond in the rough, a nice surprise that you can spend at the candy shop. Although it isn't much to adults, for a child it's like finding an Easter egg. However, not all tales of lost pennies are of good fortune. Sometimes they can be an omen of bad luck or misfortune, especially if that coin is found upon the eyes of a decomposing corpse! Yes, that right; back in 1912, there was a particularly strange case of murders within the city of London, where the mystery killer lay copper coins over the eyes of his victims. This was a common practice at the time, where to honour the dead, we used to place coins over their eyes at open casket funerals. Well, some sick individual decided to use that as their very own calling card. This killer soon became known as "The Undertaker" among the streets of London, this legend would become infamous alongside the names of Jack The Ripper, The Zodiac Killer and so many others. The most unfortunate thing about The Undertaker, was that whoever he or she was, they were never ever caught! However, there are a number of tales that depict this mysterious murderer, told from those who survived close encounters with this notorious creep.

Oliver Dickens was a poor young boy, one who came from a family where the mother lived in fear, while his father screamed demands. Oliver had a few friends who were also street kids, they often threw stones at innocent people, then ran gleefully away from the poor police officers, who weren't getting paid enough to deal with such childishness. Oliver and his gang would stay out to the late hours of the night, despite only being between the ages of 10-12, he was already becoming a rebel before he even entered his teen years. The boy was quickly becoming a trouble maker, but he would soon see something so horribly traumatising that it would change his entire outlook on life. One dark and cloudy night, where candle lights barely lit the city streets, Oliver followed a stranger who dressed in a black top hat and trench coat. He didn't get a good look at this stranger, but Oliver suspected them to be a man. The individual in question would eventually hide behind a large brick wall, as if waiting for someone to pass. Oliver hid in the shadows and looked on in morbid curiosity, he knew this stranger was up to no good! Then, as a young lady strolled past, the mysterious stranger wrestled the poor woman to the floor. She screamed and screamed, but Oliver watched in horror, frozen to the spot! Then the killer choked the woman, shaking her like some naughty child, until the screaming stopped. Suddenly there was silence, the killer took two items out of his pocket, placing them over the dead woman's eyes, before leaving the scene. It was so dark Oliver couldn't make out what these two items were, so he crept closer when the killer was out of sight. Upon the dead woman's eyes, were two copper coins. She was a victim of The Undertaker! Oliver kept this story a secret until he was in his thirties in 1929, by then it had been 17 years since the murders took place.

Another witness claims to have actually seen the killer's face, believing The Undertaker to be a man. Because this woman, named Elizabeth Rowling, was almost a victim of this foul killer. She reported to the local newspapers in the summer of 1912 (when the murders were first appearing) that a strange man dressed like an undertaker was approaching her, he had a pointed mustache, waxed upwards like some demented smile that matched his equally wicked grin. The man had teeth so white, they almost shined in the darkness. He appeared well kept and clean, someone who was upper class, perhaps preying on the lower class for sport. She described him as a human hunter, a man out in the gutters of London, searching for easy targets. Although the strange man never told her this, she simply sensed this was the case, as the mad man looked overjoyed to see such a young, petite lady such as herself, wandering the dark streets alone. Elizabeth screamed and ran, faster than she thought possible, behind her she heard the sounds of pennies dropping on the cobblestone ground, seemingly confirming that the creep she saw was in fact The Undertaker himself. Fortunately Elizabeth managed to escape the mad man, hiding within a particularly filthy gutter, covering herself with mud and other brown sludge that might've been human waste. Although the stench was horrid, it did the job, as The Undertaker ran right past her, down the narrow alleyways of London, a shining silver kitchen knife sparkling in his hand against the candle lit street lights.

Many speculate that The Undertaker and Jack The Ripper may just be the same killer, as he often targeted young women and was believed to be spotted wearing a black trench coat and top hat, very much like an undertaker. Whoever these two were, whether or not they were the same person, still does not answer the question. Who was The Undertaker? Nobody has ever identified him, not even 112 years later.