Headingley Bear Pit
Having heard from a friend that there was a 'bear pit' in Headingley and not really knowing what one was I made a quick trip to see it. It's all thats left of the Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens and was built for members of the public to view bears. I found it to be quite an eerie place. Online research suggests there is a record of a child falling into the pit before being viciously killed by one of the bears.
This subject really appeals to me, drawing bears, the bear pit and possibly the mauled child could work well alongside a historical account of the location.
The Gay Canibal
This story is more recent and is rather disturbing. I chose it due to the dark nature of the story. 2008- "Anthony Morley seasoned some of the leg meat in the kitchen with herbs and cooked it in olive oil before cutting it into bite sized chunks and chewing a piece which he spat out into the kitchen waste bin. Police discovered pieces of partially cooked human flesh found on a chopping board."
Being only 2008 I doubt this event would be of tourist interest and much as I'd like to draw such an awful scene I fear it would be insensitive to include it in this project.
Leeds Tunnel Systems
There are many accounts of secret tunnels that run all under Leeds, some being part of 'The Dark Arches' others abandoned subway projects. Most interesting are the tunnels that run between certain buildings in the town centre. I can see an information guide on these tunnels and the reasons/stories of their existence being of great interest.
The tunnels really spark my curiosity and the image making possibilities are exiting. An informative guide on the tunnels has great potential also.
Mary Bateman - The North Witch
Mary Bateman is the name of an infamous murderer from the 1700/1800s who passed herself of as a healer in order to gain access to certain people. Then poisoning them before robbing them. After many recorded crimes across Leeds Bateman was hung in York for witchcraft.
Considering the popularity of ghost walks I think a Witch walk could be of great tourist interest, perhaps detailing the locations of her activities across Leeds. Thinking about pictures, i'd quite like to draw a hanging and the witchcraft opens a lot of doors.
St. Peters Graveyard
My encounter that started this module for me details the story of St. Peters. Moving a graveyard and putting it to practical use seems wrong to me and I'd like to put light on that, nobody that I've asked had heard of this either and the graveyard on an incline could be a different place for tourists to visit.
Illustrations for this record will be challenging for me as conveying the story including the train line, the graveyard, the church and the road is a complex task.
The Yorkshire Ripper
In a search for old and interesting murder cases and learning a little from my encounter with the police, I came across the Yorkshire Ripper. Across the 1960s, 70s and 80s Peter Sutcliffe killed 13 people, the majority being in Leeds. The nickname of the case bing 'The Yorkshire Ripper' really caught my attention. I envisaged ripper walks alike the ones in London. Unfortunately however again it's too recent as a story to be of any historical interest and theres also a fear of being insensitive to the families of those involved.
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