The Muffin man

As the famous nursery rhyme goes, Do you know the muffin man? it turns out that most of us didn't know the true dark horror story behind the muffin man. First, let's get to know who the muffin man was, his real identity is "Frederic Thomas Linwood" and he lived on Drury Lane between the years of [1589 and 1598] he killed an estimated number of over 22 people, 15 children and 7 rival chefs.

The muffin man song was originally a warning song to children in the 16th century as he used to lure kids to dark alleys using a muffin on a string, it is also said that he killed the seven chefs known as: 1- Chef Randal, drowned in brownie batter 2- Chef William, Brain beaten to death 3- Chef Carver, to much [BAM] with a matchlock 4- Chef George, Flattened with a pin 5- Chef David, Cooked till golden brown 6- Chef Aaron, Shaked and baked! 7- Chef Adam, Killed with a Mortar after tripping over a Pestle

He was born in the year 1563, yet the most ridiculous thing about him was his death in the year 1612 as Several years after being pummeled by an angry mob, Frederic would be eating his dinner, when he decides to smash a cockroach with his fork, only to hit his hand, causing him to scream and choke on a dumpling. Frederic’s neighbor attempted to resuscitate him using leeches, but it was too late, he was already dead for several hours. His mother held a funeral service for him two days later!

Some further information on Drury lane:

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Drury lane was known as a fashionable street, with residents including The Marquess of Argyll, Oliver Cromwell and Nell Gwynne. Lavinia Fenton, afterwards Duchess of Bolton and the original Polly Peachum in the Beggar’s Opera lived in a coffee house on the lane.

However, in the 18th Century, Drury Lane became one of the worst slums in London, notable for its brawls, drunkenness, prostitutes, and gin palaces. Regular customers of The White Hart included Jack Sheppard and Rickard (Dick) Turpin, who came in for a bevy prior to his hanging in 1739. Condemned men habitually stopped in for a last drink and women’s comfort before facing the hangman’s noose.

A different Muffin man from London

The ‘muffin man’ brought muffins and crumpets from a local baker and sold them at a profit. He would walk around London’s streets selling his muffins to people at the cost of half a penny each and he might even deliver them to wealthier homes.

In 1861, a man called Henry Mayhew travelled around London documenting all of the different jobs which people did. He printed his notes in a book called ‘London Labour and the London Poor’ and he included a section about street sellers. Mayhew said that most ‘muffin men’ were either the young sons of bakers, or elderly men who had once been bakers. ‘There are a few girls in the trade, but very few women’.

Yet not everything is safe even the most delicious dishes sometimes aren't safe for consumption so how safe and tasty were the muffins?

In the 18th and 19th centuries, there were no laws to make sure that the ingredients in food were safe. To keep bread cheap and produce it in large quantities, some bakers would put things like chalk or plaster of Paris in it to make it look whiter and chunkier – yuck!

Now that we have finally reached the end of this small informative story a question remains...

Did you really know the muffin man?