While the term Dark Tourism may be becoming more well-known through mainstream media by Netflix documentaries such as Dark Tourist as people wishing to immerse themselves in the events that have led to tragedy. However, do people really know the meaning of the term dark tourism?
When people first think of dark tourism and attractions linked to death, suffering and tragedy it’s predominantly places such as the Paris Catacombs and the Second World War concentration camps like Auschwitz that are first associated with the term. However, within Britain there is a long tradition of dark tourism that has actively taken place ranging from those who have participated in religious pilgrimages to see the likes of the relics of St Cuthbert to public executions and faithful manmade and natural disasters such as the Great Fire of London 1666 and the Lynmouth Flood.
In addition to Britain witnessing many devastating events, there are numerous museums that tell us of a darker period of British history through its exhibits and artefacts, such as the medical museums of Surgeons’ Hall Museum, Edinburgh and the Hunterian Museum, London, that demonstrates how medicine and healthcare has developed overtime, such as when surgery procedures were performed without anaesthetics.
The term dark tourism has been adapted by attractions to market a darker chapter of their history, however there are many more attractions that are linked to death, suffering and tragedy within the UK that aren’t necessarily first thought of when we think of dark tourism.
Leon McAnally due to publish his book: ‘A Guide to Dark Attractions in the UK,’ wants to give those interested in dark tourism a book that allows them to seek out more places that are linked to death, suffering and tragedy which tell us about Britain’s dark heritage.
While there are many popular attractions like Shrewsbury Prison and the Tower of London, there are many other attractions that are overlooked by tourists such as the George Marshall Medical Museum that exhibit an assortment of death masks from the early 19th century. It is also the way in which an attraction has been perceived such as the Barts Pathology Museum that is known for displaying over 4000 medical specimens, that don’t just teach us about death and disease but show us how close society is to death.
Alongside his book covering many museums and their artifacts his book also covers many iconic landmarks such as prisons, castles, and cemeteries. His book also tells the story of personal graves and tombs, nuclear bunkers, execution devices, memorials and many more. The book will not just take you to places that have witnessed the scenes of calamity, but also take the reader back to the Roman period, the Medieval period, and the Victorian to demonstrator how beliefs of different periods can now be perceived as dark tourism. His book will also look at disasters that have taken place in the 21st century like the 7/7 London bombs and how we have come to remember those tragically caught up in such calamities.
With his book covering over 280 places within Britain, he aims to fascinate others enough by sharing with them more about Britain's dark heritage. His hope is that the reader will share these attractions with friends and family, or when discussing about Britain while on vacation. What better way to capture the mind of someone else than telling them of Britain’s dark history!
Check out their website: https://dark-attractions-uk.mailerpage.io/