The Laughing Man at Blackpool

There are horror stories and there are histories. Horrors are invented histories, the truth. Most of the time.

Sometimes however, the line between these two genres blurs, what should be history becomes a horror story and what should be fictional horror, steps menacingly into our history.

In the Northern English seaside town of Blackpool there is an amusement park called the Pleasure Beach. For almost a century, children have enjoyed the rides and entertainment in this fun filled place and yet, for almost as long, they have run at full speed past the curious figure of the Laughing Man. A dummy, seated in a glass display case that allows awful cackle to ring across the park. He is a well known part of the area's history and also one of its horrors.

Unlike with other horror stories, this one comes with evidence. Photos, videos, eye witness accounts. This is no longer fiction.