For those who prefer their tourism a bit on the grisly side of history, There’s Romancing The Gibbet, a new app.
Academics from Bristol in southwest England have developed a mobile phone app that alerts walkers when they pass some of the goriest sites from the region’s history.
As part of a project called “Romancing the Gibbet”, the University of the West of England has funded a series of audioguides that play excerpts of 250-year-old ballads and court proceedings as listeners pass the scenes of notorious crimes.
“The extraordinary 18th century practice of hanging and sometimes gibbeting selected felons – exhibiting their bodies to public view in iron cages – at the scene of their crime was intended to leave an indelible and exemplary impression on disorderly villages and small towns,” the university said.
There’s more at Reuters, including some of the specific murders and murderers who are part of the touring app.
Kinda lazy way to legend trip but I’d do it.
My kind of tour. Bonus points for actual graves or building ruins. A skull or two would be best.
I’d really like hearing the ballads.
The ballads would be cool, deeefinitelt, esp. if they find good performers. Big fan of the gory history, though.
rq:
Yep, me too. I’ve gotten lost many a time at http://www.executedtoday.com/ and the Old Bailey.
OooooOOOooooooOOOoooooo!
I think I spent about 3 days doing nothing but reading cases at the Old Bailey when it went on line, some of the court cases were fucking amazing. I have to stay away from executedtoday unless I have lots of free time, it’s unbelievably easy to get lost in the mists of time there.
Oh yes, look up your birthday at executedtoday! Here’s mine.
Here’s mine.
Also Chernobyl. Probably shouldn’t put a smiley at the end of this.