Set in Scotland's magnificent capital, Edinburgh, Murder dolls is a tale of serial killers, Bodysnatchers and grisly science. The story begins on a misty morning in 1836 with the discovery of 17 miniature wooden coffins. Inside each one, is an eerie, dressed doll. The discovery of the dolls has led to some interesting theories everything from the work of a madman to tales of witchcraft. But some believe that Edinburgh's miniature coffins may be connected to Scotland's most notorious serial killers Burke and Hare - two Irish laborers who murdered seventeen victims in the 1800's. But how are the dolls connected to the 17 murder victims and who made them?
Burke and Hare are notorious even today, but in the time of Ghosts of Albion their crimes are a matter of relatively recent memory. Their murder spree, known as the West Port murders, began in Edinburgh from late 1827 and continued for most of 1828. Their victims were drugged and suffocated to keep them intact; the bodies were sold to a Dr Robert Knox for dissection. In the end, a neighbour discovered the body of their last victim and alerted the police. However, the evidence of murder wasn't actually that good, and Hare was offered immunity if he confessed and testified against Burke. Burke made his own confession - in which he claimed that Dr Knox knew nothing of the origin of the bodies they sold him - but was sentenced to death and hanged in January 1829.