Leading UFO and paranormal expert Ron Halliday is to deliver a talk on Scotland's 'disappearing monsters' this week. We take a look at some of Scotland's revered mythical creatures - including vampires, werewolves and the kelpies.

The Gorbals Vampire

In 1954, a group of children claimed to have encountered a vampire in the Southern Necropolis. The kids, aged between four and 14, spoke of a menacing seven-foot-high figure with iron teeth that had attacked and killed two young boys. The news spread rapidly, leading to a wave of fear and hysteria in the community.

On the evening of September 23, 1954, Glasgow police were alerted to a disturbance at the cemetery. When they arrived they were amazed to find several hundred children, armed with wooden stakes, knives and home-made tomahawks, on the hunt for a vampire. Many had their dogs.

On this occasion, a local headmaster was summoned to the cemetery to scold the children into submission. Nevertheless, the kids returned for the next two nights, intent on finding and killing the Gorbals vampire.

As the legend unfolded, it became apparent that the children had misinterpreted the situation. In reality, the so-called ‘vampire’ was an abandoned and dilapidated old tomb that the children had mistaken for a creature. The iron railings around it were perceived as teeth, fuelling the imaginative narrative.