The bleeding heart, a cobbled courtyard in Holborn depicts this hidden history, with a spin-chilling effect. Lady Elizabeth Hatton was the toast of the 17th Century London society. Beautiful, young and wealthy her story depicts a murderous encounter with the devil.
Some claim it’s true, and quash the urban myth label, but it is up to you to decide. In 1662, at her annual winter ball a slightly hunched gentleman, with a clawed left hand strode into her ballroom.
He took her by the hand, danced around the room with her once, and exited with her through the double doors and out into the garden. The ballroom erupted in discussion, who was he? Thought to be an old flame that had returned to propose, this sadly was not the case.
Her body was found, torn limb from limb on the cobblestone courtyard. However, her heart was still pumping blood onto the cobblestones. Some say the man who danced with her was the devil. And from this tale, the courtyard takes its name as: the bleeding heart.
Elizabeth’s end has become the subject of many a toast at the Bleeding Heart Tavern, but don’t believe the patrons when they tell you they spotted her ghost in the area. Nearly 400 years on, and this gruesome urban legend still prompts a shiver.
If you dare to dance at the centre of this courtyard, and by chance see the truth,
do tell us.
Nearest tube: Farringdon Underground
Have your say - info@offbeatlondon.co.uk
Some stories tell you about the wondrous union of two lovers while others talk about the horror of parting. The Bleeding Heart Courtyard off Greville street has a bit of both these elements.
by Jialu Shen
published on: 08 March, 2010
The Devil dances in Holborn
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