The Unsound Mind of the Hangman - John Ellis, Chief Executioner

[@DaysofHorror]

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[@shirleybezuidenhout2724]

Poor man must have been in a bad space when he tried to end his life. It was a botched job and didn't die. He must have realised that what he was doing, to earn a living had a terrible affect on him, hence the depression he suffered. He tried a second time and this time it was successful. R.I.P. John Ellis. Thanks for sharing Chris and Vicky.

[@lainydepp]

Why have I only just found your channel? Brilliant 😊 really enjoyed listening to you tell the story, although it's a sad one. Looks like I've got some catching up to do 😊

[@DaysofHorror]

Hi Lorraine, thanks for joining our little community 😀 Just hope you like some of the things we have covered.

[@dorothychambers3956]

Another great video, sad story, thanks Chris and vicky

[@Daysofhorror-vickie]

Thanks Dorothy, glad you enjoyed 😊

[@MiddyExplores]

Another fantastic video. A very sad story told with dignity and respect.

[@DaysofHorror]

Cheers Middy. Out of all the executioners, Ellis is the most 'interesting' story, for want of a better word. It makes you wonder if what he was feeling or possibly,.displaying, in terms of emotion, would be picked up today? Psychologists etc if so, his life would most likely have been very much different. Also,none thing I failed to say in the videos and I regret it now, is that I don't feel he was intentionally going to attack his wife and daughter..I think he scared them out of the house so they didn't see him cut his own throat. He loved his wife and children, so I honestly believe he may well have just wanted them out of the way. I mean, both managed to easily get away, and considering he had a knife, that mustn't have been an easy thing to have done, unless he wanted to make it easy for them.

[@MiddyExplores]

@@DaysofHorror I totally agree with you I think he scared them off so he could commit suicide and it must have been gruesome. A very sad story and I was thinking PTSD right from the off, there is no way you could do that job and not be affected. The fact they were so poorly paid and no pension also added to the stress. A very sad story as always told with dignity. I think your videos are getting better and better 👍

[@lorrainedalgleish7616]

That was a really haunting and well presented episode. You made me feel really sorry for poor John Ellis ( and I'm anti capital punishment). Imagine the nightmares that sensitive man must have suffered. Strange that he chose gun and then razor for his own attempts, and not hanging which he had knowledge of and skill at. I don't think I would've wanted to go to a barber whose other job was public executioner😮

[@DaysofHorror]

I know we are all quick to possibly think that executioners themselves may well have been evil and didn't really care about the criminals they were executing, but being human beings, surely they must also have felt some, dare I say it, 'shame', in what they were doing and could this have caused them anxiety, stress etc as the years (and executions) went by? Could they honestly deal with it mentally? Could they sleep at nights? One man who may be able to answer this is Steve Fielding who has wrote numerous books on the exectioners and is somewhat an expert in this field. I'll contact him and see what he thinks.

[@lorrainedalgleish7616]

@@DaysofHorrorUntil watching this, I'd never thought of it from the executioner's point of view. I think it would make a great one man play.

[@donnabooth9904]

I love watching your new videos tonight it was a sad one😢😢 keep up with the good work guys can't wait to see more videos like this X ❤

[@DaysofHorror]

Many thanks Donna. Always wanted to visit this grave and re-tell his story. So glad to have done it now.

[@donnabooth9904]

❤❤

[@StephenBishopNOMAD]

Another excellent and very interesting video. Thankyou both

[@DaysofHorror]

I'm glad we finally covered this story. There are also a couple more famous or infamous graves in that cemetery we might be going back to soon.

[@StephenBishopNOMAD]

@@DaysofHorror brilliant looking forward to them 😁

[@rozcole3650]

A tad addicted here in OZ to your wonderful events you cover in UK HISTORY 😁😁

[@DaysofHorror]

Glad you like them!

[@Daysofhorror-vickie]

Thank you Roz. Appreciate this 😊

[@rickhayes9923]

Hey i have really been enjoying your videos great work cheers...years apart i know but could this hangman be a distance relative of Ruth Ellis.. would be interesting to know.. cheers.

[@DaysofHorror]

Yes, absolutely!

[@Daysofhorror-vickie]

Not related. But like your thinking 🤔

[@tonyhayes-piuk]

Such an interesting story. You can understand why a hangman would become anti capital punishment. Like Albert Pierrepoint, who towards the end of his career, saw hanging as revenge and not punishment.

[@DaysofHorror]

Check out youtube.com/@thehangmansrecord2860?si=qj_o6l6gyJLycYQh and a good friend, Steve Fielding. He has researched the history and stories surrounding hanging, and the detail he puts into his videos is incredible. And he is a top, top man as well. Very friendly to chat with.

[@TruthSeekerInvestigations]

That was surreal, the hangman, excecutioner taking his own life! Amazing story and getting to see his grave, eerie!

[@DaysofHorror]

I think he was haunted by everything he had been witness to. People would say he had insomnia and had trouble sleeping, often being found sitting in his bed staring at the ceiling!

[@TruthSeekerInvestigations]

@@DaysofHorror Not surprised! It eventually got to him!

[@paulapratley5904]

Another interesting video, perhaps it takes a strong mind to do this horrendous work, it obviously got the better of him in the end ( could he have been suffering with PTSD ? from Paula in Oxfordshire

[@DaysofHorror]

Plausible.

[@Daysofhorror-vickie]

Yes, I don't think I could have done that job.

[@AcornElectron]

One hell of a lot of Ellis’s in these vids. Not that surprising when you think of how many Welsh migrated north when the pits were in full flow but still it’s quite disproportionate when you look at the amount of murders by Ellis’s compared to the number of Ellis in the population.

[@DaysofHorror]

I'm confused 🤣

[@AcornElectron]

Hahaha, sorry. It’s just a fair few of the unsolved deaths in the 1800s videos seem to involve the last name Ellis although it’s not exactly a Smith, White, Cooper level of commonality in Britain. It’s fairly rare in its normal form. Ellison, Ellston, Ellsdon, Eldon, Ellins, Ellinson are all derivatives of the original name of course (Son of Ellis) but Ellis, up North, was unusual outside of Welshmen that had moved out of the valleys to the mines up here.

[@davidburton-richardson5092]

Hi Chris Hi Vicki fascinating video, thanks for your wonderful channel. I would imagine that by being a Hangman over the years would take a terrible toll on a person's health, both physically but especially psychologically. Even with the worst cases it must be so hard to see the fear and panic that a person feels just before their death. Edith Thompson was a case in point. My dear Mum would often talk about her as I grew up. There was no real evidence against her, I'm convinced that her lover murdered her Husband so that he could be with her. I do not believe that Edith had any idea as to what was about to happen. And as well as that the terrible state that she was in when she had to face John Ellis would have made any one to lose their mind. And the blood and possibility of her being pregnant is about as barbaric as it gets. If someone paid me £million I could never witness or do such an act of bsrbarism. David

[@lorrainedalgleish7616]

There was a similar murder case a few years before the Edith Thompson one. I can't remember the name of the wife, Alma ???, but she got off. Her young lover was hanged and she subsequently drowned herself. In this case the husband was murdered in his home, unlike Mr Thompson who was murdered on the street coming home from an evening out with his wife. I would think Edith believed right up to the last day that she would at least win an appeal. But after world war one and the loss of so many men's lives I think public opinion was against her, and she was seen as instrumental in the needless deaths of two more men.

[@christineraphael3811]

This is a very interesting video about a complex and sensitive man whose book I have also read. I have to admit to reacting very extremely on the subject of the death penalty, where those who especially harm and take the lives of children, should pay the ultimate price, legally. Unfortunately, the presence of the death penalty didn't appear to deter those who murdered when it still existed here in the UK, during my youth. Of course it is concerning that there are those who were hanged on circumstantial evidence, meaning that if the death penalty was ever returned then there should be no doubt about their guilt, especially with DNA evidence being available now. Interestingly some other executioners were able to detach from this particular task without it knowingly affecting their lives, but was there a cost for them too? This is such a debatable subject and am sure will remain so.

[@Jkk55]

Brilliant! you told the story so well I have seen John Ellis's grave and read the book a very interesting read. I have always believed in capital punishment I think there would be far less murders Anyway that's just my opinion. Also Chris not forgetting Albert Pierrpoint who also came from Lancs in fact he ran a pub in the town I live in. I am sure there are another one or two past hangmen from the area too. Anyway thank you so much 👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@DaysofHorror]

Hi Jules. There are a few more from the North West. One came from Accrington and was the guy that took over from John Ellis after his retirement, I should have mentioned that in the video but completely forget his name. As for Albert Pierrepoint, I left this alone as Daft Monkey had already began working on his backstory and we like to try and let each other cover stories individually and not at the same time. It's one I might go into at a later date though. As for capital punishment, I don't know, it may be a deterrent, but then I begin thinking about those who may be executed who could be innocent. Its a fine balancing act. Also, whose to say it won't mess with the minds of the executioners in the long term, like it did with John Ellis. Its definately something that I think needs discussion though.

[@lunevalleyparanormal]

Albert Pierpoint followed in his Father Henry & Uncle Thomas’s footsteps who were both official hangmen Albert was born in Clayton in the west riding of Yorkshire but as quite rightly stated did run a couple of Pubs here in Lancashire One in Oldham & later Preston

[@gingermolly234]

An interesting video. You read about the trials, but never consider the effect on the officers who have to carry out the penalty. The problem with the death penalty today is the question of certainty and possible lack of forensic proof. Would the public be willing to serve on a jury knowing they could send an innocent person to death? The whole life sentence was brought in to cover this.

[@DaysofHorror]

And you only have to look at a more recent case, that of Lucy Letby, and her defense team still maintaining her innocence. Imagine if someone like her was innocent but yet hung. It's a tough one I think, and we have a story coming out this weekend where a young girl was murdered in 1987 and her killer was allowed to leave prison for 'similar' offences prior to committing her murder. I dont want to give anything away, but if he had been executed, the poor girl would still be alive today. But, this is just one example.

[@trevorwright6165]

great story chris and vicky and a sad end john ellis must be at peace now i have noticed in the graveyards up in your area there is a lot of black stone unlike here they are mostly white and grey would that your local stone used for you area ??? thank you both for your time filming for us all i had a look at your spanish holidays you all had a good time and some great walks all the best from trev and chris xx

[@DaysofHorror]

A lot of the headstones around where we live are pretty much the same, the black stone type, and to be honest, I've never really thought about where the stone itself comes from, but now you have me intrigued. We know a couple of vicars who may know more, so I'll fire off an email to them and see if they can help. Its a great question!

[@trevorwright6165]

@@DaysofHorror o dear more work for the top team sorry about this cheers from trev and chris xxx

[@lochlainnmacneill2870]

I always ask myself if hangmen like Ellis and Pierrepoint were legalised psychopathic serial killers.

[@Daysofhorror-vickie]

Good point 👍

[@THECutto]

A job that much of the time, I personally wouldn't bat an eyelid over doing . But it would take a terrible toll on someone who had to execute people like Edith, or someone, who acted in the heat of the moment, and wasn't a bad person.

[@starlessgolightly]

We have "Day-Horrors" too.

[@DaysofHorror]

I don't understand?

[@joblakesley2159]

Hi Chris, have you ever thought of covering Albert Pierrepoint? One thing I do know is that he ran a pub in the Manchester area

[@DaysofHorror]

It's one we haven't spoken about too much to be honest.

[@grottybt5006]

They were quite willing to have them do their dirty work and not even pay them a pension or look after them, then get enraged when he tried to make a living with his shows. I don't trust this government with the death penalty today, maybe if it was their sentence lol

[@DaysofHorror]

I agree with this! Oh, and also the government sentiments too ;-)

[@tombaker4586]

Well made video. The story also reminds me of those nurses taking lives in the Hospitals, playing God.

[@soniarosado2848]

❤😮what a strong story rip John E it could happen to anyone who does this for a job 😢 20/24 🇺🇸 thxs Chris amen 🙏

[@DaysofHorror]

Many thanks Sonia.

[@dannyrolfe8953]

I expect he had PTSD. Most of the excecuioner’s see to have suffered with their mental health.

[@DennisFreitas-bn7nh]

Very sad job !

[@DaysofHorror]

Ive thought about the job these executioners once did and wonder just what they really thought of it. I mean, surely it must have weighed heavily on them before and after the executions? No matter how brave a face they may have put on, I think inside it must have been very difficult to live with.

[@mikeolin2561]

Love the show love your accent . and no i wouldent bring back execution . where would it stop . i.e the terry venebles case where two young boys were treteated as hard criminals and other cases we know now were more borderline . and cases where people have actually turned and become citizens even after bad crimes of murder . ARE U UR BROTHERS KEEPER . ..P.S I feel affinity with Your Victoria . and i feel i would love to hear more of Vicki. i dont know exactly why but i feel i know her even though im in a different country and iv never been to Briton id like to hear her sometime talking to us. .

[@jeepsthetimebandit]

Personally I don't agree with the death penalty. I can't get my head around if it's illegal to kill someone, how can you then kill that person? It surely can't be illegal unless a judge decides otherwise.