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The "rue de la Harpe" legend
I would simply like to add that the tale found in The Tell-Tale (1824) is itself a rip-off of a probably apocryphal chapter in French chief of police Fouché's memoirs Archives de la police (1816) which tells the 1800 story of a barber named Becque, on rue de la Harpe, in Paris, who connived with his next-door neighbour baker Mornay to liquidate unsuspecting clients.
What makes this story extremely suspicious is its extreme resemblance in detail to the rue des Marmousets story from the XIVth century. In both stories, the murder is discovered because of the persistance of the latest victim's dog who keeps barking at the establishment's door after his master fails to reappear from his shaving session. See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A22691306
Fouché was himself responsible for the wholesale (non-guillotine) murder/execution/supervised massacre of at least 2,000 nuns, priests, bankers and aristocrats during the Terror and must have known what attraction stories of this type have for the general public and how they would influence the sale of his book.
I would simply like to add that the tale found in The Tell-Tale (1824) is itself a rip-off of a probably apocryphal chapter in French chief of police Fouché's memoirs Archives de la police (1816) which tells the 1800 story of a barber named Becque, on rue de la Harpe, in Paris, who connived with his next-door neighbour baker Mornay to liquidate unsuspecting clients.
What makes this story extremely suspicious is its extreme resemblance in detail to the rue des Marmousets story from the XIVth century. In both stories, the murder is discovered because of the persistance of the latest victim's dog who keeps barking at the establishment's door after his master fails to reappear from his shaving session. See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A22691306
In 1816 Joseph Fouché, Duke of Otranto and Minister of Police in France from 1799 to 1815 wrote a book called Archives of the Police. The book revealed the details of the more grisly and sensational cases with which he had dealt. One such concerned a barber called Becque, who had his business premises in a dingy street called the Rue de la Harpe. In 1800, two businessmen on their way to an important meeting stopped by Becque's establishment for a quick shave. When the first businessman had been shaved he headed off to conduct an urgent errand, but promised to return for his friend. When he returned a short time later, he was rather surprised to find his friend had already left. Becque explained that his friend had left hurriedly without saying where he was going. The merchant was suspicious, particularly as his friend had left his dog tied up outside the shop. He settled down to wait in the shop, despite Becque's obvious irritation. As time wore on, with no sign of his friend and the dog becoming increasingly restive, the merchant began to question Becque more thoroughly. At first protesting that he did not know where his friend had gone, Becque finally lost patience with the merchant and threw him into the street.
The merchant began shouting to passers-by that his friend had been abducted by Becque. Parisians, always known for their love of a good dispute, began calling for Becque to come out and explain himself. As the crowd grew, the dog became more and more animated, barking and clawing at the door. Finally the crowd burst in and, led by the dog, began to search the barber shop. What they found shocked them.
In a dark, dusty corner they discovered a hidden set of stairs leading down to a cellar. The walls were flecked with blood and on a table in the centre of the cellar lay a decapitated body. Luckily the police had been attracted by the noise of the crowd and were able to rescue Becque from an immediate lynching. Once the crowd had been cleared, the police were able to examine the room more thoroughly and discovered a hatch in one wall. Upon opening the hatch, they were amazed to find the kitchens of the baker next door. Trails of dried blood made it clear that something had recently been passed through the hatch.
Under questioning, Mornay the baker confessed all. Becque would murder the victims for the contents of their pockets which were split between the two. Mornay disposed of the bodies by mincing up the hunks passed through the hatch and cooking them in his meat pies, pies which were renowned throughout Paris for their full flavour and satisfying zestiness.
The pair were tried and found guilty at the Palais de Justice in 1801. In a punishment seen to fit their crime, they were torn to pieces on the rack rather than executed by guillotine.
The merchant began shouting to passers-by that his friend had been abducted by Becque. Parisians, always known for their love of a good dispute, began calling for Becque to come out and explain himself. As the crowd grew, the dog became more and more animated, barking and clawing at the door. Finally the crowd burst in and, led by the dog, began to search the barber shop. What they found shocked them.
In a dark, dusty corner they discovered a hidden set of stairs leading down to a cellar. The walls were flecked with blood and on a table in the centre of the cellar lay a decapitated body. Luckily the police had been attracted by the noise of the crowd and were able to rescue Becque from an immediate lynching. Once the crowd had been cleared, the police were able to examine the room more thoroughly and discovered a hatch in one wall. Upon opening the hatch, they were amazed to find the kitchens of the baker next door. Trails of dried blood made it clear that something had recently been passed through the hatch.
Under questioning, Mornay the baker confessed all. Becque would murder the victims for the contents of their pockets which were split between the two. Mornay disposed of the bodies by mincing up the hunks passed through the hatch and cooking them in his meat pies, pies which were renowned throughout Paris for their full flavour and satisfying zestiness.
The pair were tried and found guilty at the Palais de Justice in 1801. In a punishment seen to fit their crime, they were torn to pieces on the rack rather than executed by guillotine.
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