Home » Travel » London Underground » Ghosts on the London Underground - Part 2

Ghosts on the London Underground - Part 2

© Annie Mole

In May 2000 I wrote about ghosts that had been "seen" on the London Underground and now I've come across a strange tale about other strange creature on London's subway.

It is from the Fortean Times reporter Michael Goss, but even he doubts whether the legend is true.

"The London subterraneans are real troglodytes, born and bred down below and seldom if ever coming to the surface. They are an evolved or perhaps devolved species: foul, secretive, stunted, ruinous. They've probably forgotten how to speak English; it's even likely that they've developed their own gutteral and ghastly language by now - if they have been under London for as long as popular lore avers.

"I have never seen one of these subterraneans, nor so much as met a person who has seen one. These troglodytes exist in that nebulous quasi-material form that is part-rumour, part-legend (or, as some folklorists say, "rumour legend").......

"The Subterraneans seems a deceptively playful kind of London legend: the sort which narrators repeat with disparaging amusement, but which cries out to be believed. It is fairly consistent, as such legends go. The underground race evolved from a small group of humans who fled below out of desperation - outcasts from society, perhaps, who had nowhere else to go. Feeding on unspeakable pabulum, they adapted and survived down there, the adaptations including a reversion to near-bestial form and a gradual loss of English speech. They prowl the sewers and railway tunnels showing themselves as little as possible. They might be pitied, except that (tacitly or explicitly) the legends make them ferociously antagonistic towards us. They probably eat the sandwiches and burgers we discard and it is "widely believed" that they also eat tramps, drunks and other isolated late-night commuters. Now you have another good reason for avoiding the Northern Line after rush hour."

Who needs any good reason to avoid the Northern Line?

An excellent addition to this story came from John from Wellington in New Zealand

"I'll just say something about that legend of the troglodytes said to inhabit disused tunnels and prey on unwary travellers. This is almost exactly the scenario of a film I saw many years ago called "Death Line", which has scarcely been heard of since. Donald Pleasence starred as a bungling police inspector, and Christopher Lee took an unusual (for him) cameo role as a victim. The only trog (very nasty) actually seen on screen spoke mainly in grunts, but he'd also mastered one phrase in English: he roared "Mind the doors!" over and over again at a terrified young woman who'd fallen into his clutches."

The copyright of the article Ghosts on the London Underground - Part 2 in London Underground is owned by . Permission to republish Ghosts on the London Underground - Part 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.