An American Monster Geek in London: Looking back on the Summer of 2011

It's hard to believe that Summer 2011 has come and gone here in London. It's even harder to believe that it actually came at all.

In looking back over the summer, in addition to the fun travel outings we did, we managed to find time to get out and do some fun history walks.

One of our going away presents was a Haunted London Walks book, and one of the walks took us out to Chiswick, which is in West London.

Our friends Michael and Lynn live out there right along the Thames River. These walks in the summer are part History Tours and part Pub Crawl.

We've developed some close friends that like to get out on these weekends and do these walks. And the best part is that we can take the dogs along with us.

One interesting pub stop was at "The Black Lion". A ghost was reputed to have been spotted in Chiswick, and one night, a vigilante thought he saw the ghost and fired a shotgun at it.

Sadly, it was just a poor human bricklayer covered in dust. His corpse was brought to the pub where the vigilante was tried and found guilty of murder. It is said that bricklayer's ghost now haunts the pub and nearby neighborhood.

As we walked on, we came to another location of a grisly death. We came to the spot where the body of John Druitt, one of the men suspected of being Jack the Ripper was found. He had drowned of apparent suicide in the Thames and washed up over here.

There were plenty of creepy signs and graveyards along the walk.

As well as an estate that at one time was used as an insane asylum. It has now been converted into an Institute for the Arts.

Of course, the most famous site in Chiswick is The Fuller's Brewery. They are still a privately owned company, and make some of the best beer in London.