The Story – Known as “The Pusher” …. A serial killer has been stalking the canals of Manchester, pushing people into the canals. He has killed dozens of people, and the police are not any closer to catching him, or are suppressing the truth about his existence.
There are about 10 miles of canals running through central Manchester, dating back to the city's industrial heyday in the 18th and 19th Centuries, and there could easily have been the basis of another public transport system in the city had a little bit of imagination or foresight been shown in the 1950’s. But instead, the story claims that the canals are underused crime hot-spots, where a killer can stalk with impunity.
The total reported as killed in the stories circulating, ranges from 66, to 86, in different newspapers. The figures generally refer to the City of Manchester itself, but in fact to get anywhere those numbers would have to include deaths from ‘Greater Manchester’, which is a metropolitan administrative area covering hundreds of square miles, and includes towns several miles from Manchester, such as Bolton, Rochdale and Wigan.
The main focus of activity on the canals in the evenings is the Gay Triangle area, backing on to Canal Street, where the Rochdale canal runs through a large and popular bar district …. The victims of most drownings are men, under 40, who are the risk takers and most likely to walk home alone when drunk or drugged up.
The truth? …. Well sadly (if you know what I mean), ‘The Pusher’ doesn’t exist. The Manchester City Area coroner's office lists just 35 drownings over the past decade (2007 -2017). While other recorders, such as Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service say there have actually only been 22 such deaths in the city centre since 2009.
Once you strip out those deaths not in the canals i.e. leaving those where there is no known assailant or cause, then you are left with very few ‘open verdicts’ (10), and even those are likely to be either unrecorded suicides or most likely drunken accidents. Five more of the deaths are currently ongoing police investigations. In fact the BBC found that only two or three of all the deaths were recorded as murders.
A Dutch study in Amsterdam, where an even larger number of canals criss-cross the bar districts, showed that many more drownings happen on Saturday night and Sunday morning, than other times. More than half of those who have died had been drinking or taking drugs, and that ten per cent of the men's bodies recovered from the water were found with their fly zippers open i.e. taking a leak and falling in (rather than gay sex).
Oddly, like all such stories (see ‘The Slender Man’), the fact that the truth is out there, is not a hindrance to the life of the urban myth, and this particular one is said to have spouted offshoots with reports of similar serial killers operating in Bristol, Yorkshire, and of course London (as if that particular metropolis needs any more killers than its knife wielding, drive-by shooting ethnic minorities).
So we expect that the myth of the ‘The Pusher’ serial killer to carry on, as you just cant keep a good story down.
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| Manchester Has Many Canals ...... |
There are about 10 miles of canals running through central Manchester, dating back to the city's industrial heyday in the 18th and 19th Centuries, and there could easily have been the basis of another public transport system in the city had a little bit of imagination or foresight been shown in the 1950’s. But instead, the story claims that the canals are underused crime hot-spots, where a killer can stalk with impunity.
The total reported as killed in the stories circulating, ranges from 66, to 86, in different newspapers. The figures generally refer to the City of Manchester itself, but in fact to get anywhere those numbers would have to include deaths from ‘Greater Manchester’, which is a metropolitan administrative area covering hundreds of square miles, and includes towns several miles from Manchester, such as Bolton, Rochdale and Wigan.
The main focus of activity on the canals in the evenings is the Gay Triangle area, backing on to Canal Street, where the Rochdale canal runs through a large and popular bar district …. The victims of most drownings are men, under 40, who are the risk takers and most likely to walk home alone when drunk or drugged up.
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| The Rochdale Canal Cuts Through Manchester's Gay Quarter ..... |
The truth? …. Well sadly (if you know what I mean), ‘The Pusher’ doesn’t exist. The Manchester City Area coroner's office lists just 35 drownings over the past decade (2007 -2017). While other recorders, such as Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service say there have actually only been 22 such deaths in the city centre since 2009.
Once you strip out those deaths not in the canals i.e. leaving those where there is no known assailant or cause, then you are left with very few ‘open verdicts’ (10), and even those are likely to be either unrecorded suicides or most likely drunken accidents. Five more of the deaths are currently ongoing police investigations. In fact the BBC found that only two or three of all the deaths were recorded as murders.
A Dutch study in Amsterdam, where an even larger number of canals criss-cross the bar districts, showed that many more drownings happen on Saturday night and Sunday morning, than other times. More than half of those who have died had been drinking or taking drugs, and that ten per cent of the men's bodies recovered from the water were found with their fly zippers open i.e. taking a leak and falling in (rather than gay sex).
Oddly, like all such stories (see ‘The Slender Man’), the fact that the truth is out there, is not a hindrance to the life of the urban myth, and this particular one is said to have spouted offshoots with reports of similar serial killers operating in Bristol, Yorkshire, and of course London (as if that particular metropolis needs any more killers than its knife wielding, drive-by shooting ethnic minorities).
So we expect that the myth of the ‘The Pusher’ serial killer to carry on, as you just cant keep a good story down.
I'd like to bet that nearly every town or city has some sort of canal murderer or gas works strangler myth. We still like to frighten ourselves around the fire. Often it's kids who keep these myths alive.
ReplyDeleteThe playground may well be the well pool of many of these stories.
I discuss the origins of Urban Myths in greater depth on the link. Thanks for the comment Mike.
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