Sweeney Todd...man or myth?

Question

I think he was real, but what do you guys think

Answer 1

There actually was a sweeney todd, and he was a murderous barber, but a lot of his legend was exagerrated for the musicals and movie.

Answer 2

This site http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/seria...  says: "The Demon Barber Sweeney Todd is the English bogeyman: the character older children call upon to frighten their friends and younger children. To most people, the Demon Barber who used a trap door and trick chair to slaughter his clients was the stuff of urban legend.  But most myths and legends have a basis somewhere in truth, and Sweeney Todd is no different. There really was a mad barber, he really did use a trapdoor and straight razor to rob and kill customers, and most did end up as filling for meat pies. Extensive, painstaking research by British author Peter Haining has shown this without a doubt. "

(The above is just a portion of the 23 part story on the site above, that includes the man's early life, his trial,  Broadway salute and bibliography--or list of sources of information).

Answer 3

Technically, the man the stories are based on is supposed to be real, but most of the things you read are only based on the man who was the Demon Barber. The stories were blown up to boogey-manish tales for children. ('Eat your veggies or The Demon Barber will get you!')

The man who was said to be the really Sweeney was not wronged. And if he was married, it wasn't a happy marriage. It was to a street walking lady, and one day in horrible jealousy, he killed a man who was flirting with her and was forced to leave for a while. The marriage didn't last, but not because of anyone else.

He went to London and did work on Fleet Street, though not above a Mrs. Lovett. He didn't meet her until several years after he had begun killing people (which wasn't for revenge, but normally for something he wanted. He killed a Beadle because he wanted his pocket watch.) He had his chair hooked up to fall through the floor head first. The drop to the tunnels below would normally kill the man, but in case he would run down and finish the job. Barbers were trained in everyday medicinal arts back then and he would have know what to do with the body. He disposed of them in the church that had been shut down.

A few years later, it is believed he started having an affair with a woman by the name of Lovett, though her first name is unknown. She would use the edible parts of his victims in her pies and he would pay for her shop. Until someone started to get wise to the goings on and tracked down the dozens upon dozens of bodies beneath the church by following the smells. The tunnel kept going to Lovett's shop and during an attempt to arrest her, a mob heard her charges and attempted to kill her on the spot. Sweeney's arrest took place with no trouble.

The case was hard to try, as evidence was scarce, and the prosecution had received several shaves from Sweeney and lived to tell it. And the star witness, Lovett, had poisoned herself with arsenic while being held in jail. The pocket watch of the Beadle played a starring role in convicting the man, who was sentenced by the judge to be killed with the words 'And may the lord have mercy on your soul.'

His body was mutilated by the barbers of London after he was killed.

The works known now, especially the musical, are romanticized very much, and it is hard to find account that is completely nonfiction.

I tried to keep that abridged, as it's a quite interesting read. The childhood history is interesting, and being familiar with the fiction works, it's nice to see where the inspiration comes from.