When researching for our Riddled tour, we came across one pest more than any other – rats. This wasn’t a problem exclusive to Dundee, but it seems our furry pals have been causing issues for the town for centuries. Picture this: it’s 100 years ago, and Dundee is having a bit of a rat problem.Read more ⟶
Category: Dundee History Archive
How to use the archive
Just keep scrolling down to see the most recent posts, and click previous at the bottom of the page to see more – be warned there are over 130 stories here! If you’re looking for something specific, use the search bar (there’s one in the footer on every page if you keep scrolling down, you’ll find it!) or click on any category (like crime and death, or wars and battles – the ones with the coloured backgrounds below each post) or one of the words in the tag cloud below to see all posts in a specific theme.
We hope you enjoy reading all the stories about Dundee’s dark history we’ve put together for you, but if you’re looking for things to do in Dundee why not take one of our walking tours!
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Invasion of Forkie Tailies Terrifies Dundonians
The scourge of the Forkie Tailies have always been a terror to behold, despite the lack of any danger at all, these beasties are sure to give any Dundonian the heebie jeebies when we spot one. Commonly referred to as earwigs, and notoriously feared for the false rumour that they will burrow into people’s earsRead more ⟶
Dundee History – Online Research Resources
We are all stuck indoors at the moment, and with no access to archives and libraries we’ve had to make the most of the research we can find online. Thankfully, these days there is an abundance of records that have been digitised and are easy to search and read while cosy at home too. WhetherRead more ⟶
A right pea-souper
Winter usually throws us a few curveballs as she goes; black ice, flooding, burst pipes and even thunder-snow is to be expected in Scotland at this time of year. Danger lurks on every corner and on every (un-gritted) path as we slip and slide our way around. There’s always something you can rely on –Read more ⟶
A Series of Unfortunate Events
On January 4th 1922, the scene in the Harrison household on 24 Brook Street was probably very similar to many others. William Harrison and his wife were both at home with their two young children, three year old George and eighteen month old Catherine. The fire was roaring and the kettle was boiling up someRead more ⟶
Dundee Calendering Company Fire
It was late afternoon on Saturday 20th December 1873 when the flames were first spotted from the windows of the calendering department halfway down Sugarhouse Wynd in Dundee’s Cowgate. By the time they had been seen, the fire had already caused significant damage. The Fire Brigade were called, but despite their attendance and protracted efforts,Read more ⟶
What have we been up to?
Jeez, where do we start? Best to start with our Deceased in the East tour which we did in early March this year – what a laugh. Who knew death, darkness and mystery could be so funny! If you were one of the 230 folk who managed to make it, you’ll know exactly what we’reRead more ⟶
A Violent Son
Nestled away in a copy of The Evening Telegraph and Post from late July 1905 is a dark tale of a violent ex-soldier. There aren’t many words, as the railway disaster in Liverpool which claimed 20 lives takes up the vast majority of the page, but what it does say paints a vivid picture ofRead more ⟶
Death by fire – just not how you think
Sometimes fires can be deadly, as we all know, but not always in the way we expect. As we’ve been browsing the newspaper archives we’ve noticed a bit of a trend, with deaths by shock following a fire, including one woman in her 80’s dying after the shock and excitement of being evacuated by aRead more ⟶
A Strange Suicide
When an on-duty constable patrolling the harbour on 11th March 1894 noticed something in the water at King William Dock, he quickly called for assistance in dragging it out of the water. When the object was lifted to shore, they quickly realised that what they had pulled out of the Dock was a human bodyRead more ⟶