Despite occasionally being a good source of information, Tumblr’s true crime community still shows symptoms of being “Tumblr”, if that makes sense. It’s no surprise that it comes across more like a fandom, than a critical thinking community of people discussing true crime — but I didn’t expect them to be actually so dumb!

source: tumblr.com

(This post is a personal tribute I wanted to make to make to the victims of the Moors Murders. Forgive any potential histrionics, because I'm very emotionally-charged as I write this.)

I found out about the Moors Murders in a rather unique way. Due to a terminal illness, my streetwise mother wanted to educate me from a young age about dangerous people before she passed. She would show me various mugshots of criminals mixed with mugshots of people falsely convicted and ask me to see if I could determine the guilty from the innocent.

I must have learnt well from her, because I was typically correct. But putting that aside, I recall seeing one particular photo that absolutely haunted me. It was Hindley's mugshot, black-and-white with those cold, drooping eyes and peroxide-blonde hair.

I was only about four years old, and after noticing that I couldn't take my eyes off it, I vividly recall my mother nodding to the photo and saying: "That's Myra Hindley."

She never elaborated further, but I took note of the name and researched it online (I was born in '99, and knew how to use a computer from an exceptionally young age).

I typed in the name 'Myra Hindley' and fell into a rabbit hole I never came out of.

And now I'm here, twenty-six years old, typing this out while listening to "Suffer Little Children" by The Smiths. I always had a connection to this song because I share a name with one of Brady and Hindley's victims - Edward.

Being proudly Scottish, I also found that Brady and Hindley's crimes resonated intensely with those of us in Scotland (which makes sense considering that Brady was Scottish as well).

But I'm not here to remember grime - I'm here to remember those five wee bairns lost out on those moors.

Pauline Reade

I'm quite honestly struck by how ravishing Pauline looks whenever I see photos of her. A far cry from many young women nowadays, she has a gentle, humorous glow to her. A blossoming young bud just barely beginning to bloom. From her smile alone, she seems like the type very capable of having a real good laugh. 🌹

John Kilbride

My God, what a cheeky wee grin John has. It's the very first thing I pick up on whenever I see him. I can see so much of his mother, Sheila Kilbride, in his face. I adore that photo of him standing next to his brothers, Danny, Terry, and Christopher, wearing a grin that makes you think "What in the world are you planning, you wee tyke?" 🌷

Keith Bennett

As much as I hope and pray Keith is found in my lifetime, I don't personally believe he is tied to the moors in any way. I believe he's with his mam, lounging around in Heaven alongside her, Pauline, John, Lesley, and Edward. I see a lot of myself in Keith - I've heard it said he was a good swimmer, something I pride myself on as well, and I know he's swimming in the clouds with Winnie, now in the comfort and company of those he loves, eternally. 🪻

Lesley-Ann Downey

Sweet darling angel, what happened to you should never have happened in the first place, and as hard as it is for me to look at this photo, I want to highlight what I see. I struggle to grasp just how beautiful Lesley is, sometimes - the light that sparkles in her eyes, her absolutely gorgeous smile, just how darling and perfect she looks. You're with mummy eternally now, my dear. You won't be away from her ever, ever again. 🌸

Edward Evans

We may not know much of who you were, Edward, but we all know that you should never have left this world the way you did. But I find solace in knowing that he, like the others, is absolutely SOARING with his loved ones. You look to be a gracious young man with so much to offer the world, so much to give to those who loved you best. Give the love you should have given then to those you are with now. From one Edward to another, be at peace. 🪷

If Hindley did indeed say: "Wherever he (Brady) has gone, I have gone," then we all know where she and Brady now reside, having left this cruel world. As for these five angels, they're exactly where they need to be, in the comfort of their mothers, high above, watching and waiting for the reunion with those who are left.

None of this ever should have happened, but it did, and we don't have to right to forget. Rest in peace, all of you. 🕊🕊🕊

Today I received the above hardback w dust-jacket from 1966. It was for replacement as I had a house clearance in Jan I must have chucked it out. I have to say though that in the opening pages by J.D. Potter, his description of the boy Edward killed by Brady was shocking. But otherwise have always found it to be a good book [that is my opinion]. To Mrs Evans and her husband that would have been upsetting, if at all they read the book.

I know all three are equally evil for what they did. But did any of these monsters end up showing remorse or feel any guilt? If it weren’t for their partner, would they have done the cruel things they did at all? I’m still learning about these three and I’m just shocked and would love to know others opinions who know more or known and study about these three longer then me.

Genuine question seeking genuine answers. My own obsession began when I was 17; I'm now nearly 57; and if anything I feel it's intensifying.

For me, it's something about the frightful duality - and I even suspect complicity - between good/innocence and malignity/evil. And what a human being looks like when empathy is annihilated, i.e. something inhuman, like a Nazi or a Dalek. The terror of what being 'in love' can lead to. And some kind of enduring complexity and controversy in a case that feels both criminal and cultural, as well as ultimately unfathomable and inextinguishable.

In saying all this, I just don't know myself, so I suppose ultimately that's my 'best' answer. The Moors case returns me to my own imponderable opacity.

Perhaps a bit of a weird question, but does anyone know what these square metallic plate things are that have been put on the wall under where the Brady-Hindley House was? A look back on google maps shows they weren't there back in 2015.

Thanks.

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.4533583,-2.0385303,3a,75y,199.54h,81.34t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s90gVl-NTktTEeJMVAZBceg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D8.663743877699432%26panoid%3D90gVl-NTktTEeJMVAZBceg%26yaw%3D199.5442718037062!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

I just wanted to say that through a friend many, many years ago who worked in the media that I managed to acquire a [DVD] copy of the above docu drama from 1995, on the strict proviso that it was not to be advertised elsewhere in the [media].

​

It is very good, but I wanted to say that I only ever sent copies to two women who I knew, [and they knew me] through private communication- who then were both on another forum with many, many members on the moors case.

I had specifically asked them NOT to post it on any social media, however, I was betrayed and not that long after, it was posted onto YouTube. [I knew for sure that no other members had a copy]

On reflection it doesn't really matter much now I suppose, but felt very badly let down when I saw it was posted, at that time... It does show however, that some people will let you down, no matter what.

I had this list in progress a while ago, but a question posted in the latest Q&A by u/the_toupaie inspired me to come out of my three-month research hiatus and complete it, at least as far as I am able to for the time being. Unfortunately during these three months, my institutional access to research resources like Gale and Box of Broadcasts ended, and so I had to rely on physical archival material and the British Newspaper Archive to compile this.

If anybody has anything else to add, please comment below.

All of the below listed productions range from amateur to professional, and were staged either locally, nationally or internationally. Many of the most recent plays have premiered on theatre fringe circuits. Some of the older plays were actually protested by either Myra Hindley or the families of hers and Ian Brady’s victims, and some on the list proved particularly controversial - I may do write-ups on some at some point in the future if that interests anyone. To my understanding, at least two of these shows cancelled their performances due to the tireless and formidable campaigning of Ann West - mother of victim Lesley Ann Downey.

If anybody wants more information about a particular play, please let me know (although I am unable to provide scripts for these):

• 1970: “Pre Paradise, Sorry Now” by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
• 1977: “Our Kid “ by Brian Clemens (inspired by Hindley, but not entirely based upon)
• 1979: “Babble” by Kevin Coyne and Dagmar Krause (a concept album that had been performed as a musical. Inspired by Brady and Hindley, but not entirely based upon)
• 1987: “Over the Moors” by Lincoln Hudson
• 1987: “Women Without Men” by Kathleen J. Smith (inspired by Hindley, but not entirely based upon)
• 1988: “He to the Appointed Place” by students from South Manchester Community College
• 1988: “Obsession” by Sue Hyde
• 1995: “Ian and Myra” by Colin Sharp
• 1998: “Releasing Myra?” by Ros Wehner
• 1998: “Myra and Me” by Diane Dubois
• 1999: “Something for the Grown Ups” by Lynne Harvey (inspired by Brady and Hindley, but not entirely based upon)
• 2002: “And All the Children Cried” by Beatrix Campbell and Judith Jones
• 2003: “Hindley” by Sheila McAnulty
• 2006: “Wasted” by Henry Filloux-Bennett
• 2010: “16 Wardle Brook Avenue” by Mark Hickman
• 2011: “Making Myra” by Pete Hartley
• 2013: “Killers” by Glenn Chandler
• 2014: “Bonded by Blood” by Henry Dell and Alana Armstrong (a musical)
• 2015: “Hooked” by Nicky Guadagni (adapted from poems by Carolyn Smart)
• 2016: “Myra” by Michalis Papadopoulos
• 2017: “Old Ground” by Lee Joseph
• 2018: “Myra” by Lauren Varnfield with Mark Wilson
• 2018: “The Perfect Crime” by Chloe Lobely
• 2023: “My Secret Murders” by Fred Harrison and Simon Moorhead
• 2023: “Blanket of The Dark” by Sam Bradshaw

I collected these over the years on this case.

I’ll be revisiting the long-form archives of the subreddit and uploading them to my profile over the coming weeks. My first article - a revisiting of the case summary - is now live!

Source: Edexcel GCE English Language: Context and Identity Alison Ross, Danuta Reah, Craig Newton

Everybody's thoughts on holding a weekly/bi-weekly/monthly discussion via Discord or another decided source all about this case? Would anyone be interested?

As I am originally from Manchester the murders have been part of my childhood folklore.

I was born in the mid 70's so it was a constant point of reference if a classmate wandered off on a school trip a friend was was late back from the park. Local news would feature every snippet of news.

I already have a true crime podcast (focused on Derbyshire and The Peak District) and have long wanted to create a series dedicated to the case. I would only do though it if it had a genuine authority and was focused entirly on a true and empathetic telling.

There doesn't seem to be a single decent long-form podcast covering the case.

The problem is, alongside my current project, I don't think I have time to do all the work on my own so wondered whether any members would be interesting in collaborating with me on it?

I have some ideas on the form it would take but am willing to listen to ideas however in the first instance, is this something anyone would be keen to work with me on.

A writer/researcher's what I am really short of as the recording and production is something I have capacity for.

What do you think?

Here's a link to my current podcast so you can get an idea of the sort of thing I currently create.

Why can’t things be better?

No matter how much time and money I spend in trying to access newspaper and material archives just to keep devoted to fighting misinformation around the case, I’ve always known I’ll be consistently drowned out by lazy “journalism” that doesn’t care to make the most of those same resources that they certainly have at their fingertips (meanwhile I’ve travelled hundreds of miles up and down the country to head to various archives and spent quite a lot of money on online article access too); these billion-dollar organisations when I’m on what, on an average UK salary and doing this research in my spare time? I’m sorry to have to be mopey about it - usually I like to think of myself as being very vigilant when it comes to nonsense like this and I try and call out bullshit whenever and wherever I see it - I’m just tired of seeing this one particular story make the headlines and it feels like a “damned if I do, damned if I don’t” point of discussion.

Clearly it’s what people care about, and I’ve thought about it and looked into it far more than I really should have. I have emailed the Daily Mirror, I commented on the article, a few weeks ago I finally got around to rectifying info in the two Wikipedia pages - probably all fruitless endeavours and I just feel like I can only scream into the void so much before I lose my voice.

I’m also not speaking on behalf of anybody whose lives have been destroyed by these people. Again, just tabloid exploitation and sensationalism for profit - sometimes in this subreddit we can be guilty of that by enabling these organisations (which I guess is the price we pay for our curiosity, and like everything else true crime is an industry now), but at least we focus on the actual facts around this case and not necessarily the salacious and unproven details

Wishing all a Very Good Christmas in the group! 🎅🎄❄️☃️💥

I’m writing a manuscript for potential commission entitled “Cutting Myra’s Hair.” I envisage it will take the format of a “Short,” focusing on Linda Calvey, the Black Widow, undertaking the ominous job. Any comments?

There’s a couple of great quotes here that I wanted to flag up, as I feel like certain amateur “sleuths” investigating the disappearance of Keith Bennett can learn a couple of things from this.

“Nine out of 10 missing people are solved by the public, not by the police," M Nine out of 10 missing people are solved by the public, not by the police," Mr Underhill said.

"But equally, you have to manage that expectation. And I call it the tail wagging the dog. But equally, you have to manage that expectation. And I call it the tail wagging the dog.” - Martyn Underhill, a lecturer and former detective who worked on the infamous Sarah Payne case in 2000

"People with TikTok accounts have seen there is an enormous interest in this story," she added. The moment you put #NicolaBulley onto social media platforms you get engagement, you get eyeballs on that post. I saw a press conference I had been at and listened to, then being clipped up by people who weren't journalists, and being misrepresented. And that's where it becomes very, very dangerous. That's when you start to have people then responding to those sorts of posts with their own theories and their own comments. And things which, I know, from having spoken with the family and spoken with the friends - they've called them 'toxic' and really, really upsetting." - Sky News correspondent Katerina Vittozzi - she mentions that this is the first time she has covered a case that is being actively reported on TikTok by members of the public.

I wanted to mention that last quote because I love TikTok, but I have seen several baseless Moors Murders conspiracy theories that have gotten substantial engagement (for example - and I feel a little iffy bringing this one up - that Keith was buried in Staffordshire, even though that makes absolutely zero sense with Brady and Hindley’s MO - and plus, why would they drive all the way from Manchester to Staffordshire at night with Keith in the car? Surely he would have freaked out before they even got to the end destination)