Burke and Hare: Scotland’s serial killers

Burke and Hare are unique as Edinburgh’s notorious serial killers. Wrongly described as grave robbers, in 1827 they murdered the living and sold their bodies for ten sovereigns each to Dr Knox and his eagerly awaiting medical students. Their victims, the poor and vulnerable, were lured to death with whisky and smothered. The gruesome details of 16 killings in 9 months, men, women and a 12 year-old child, continue to horrify and fascinate readers in equal measure.