Ahh, nursery rhymes—those soothing melodies often intended to lull our little ones to sleep.
However, some of these seemingly innocent songs have rather gruesome origins. Consider ‘Ring a Ring o’ Roses’ (or ‘Ring a Ring o’ Rosie’, depending on where you’re from), which is believed to reference the Black Death, a catastrophic pandemic that may have claimed the lives of up to 50 million people in the 14th century.
Although the bubonic plague, as it’s formally known, decimated about a third of Europe’s population during that era, it isn’t the unsettling nursery rhyme that TikToker ‘Notmrsspock_fact’ chose to highlight.
In a video response to a follower’s query about nursery rhymes linked to murderers, he revealed: “The one you’re probably thinking of is the Muffin Man.” This video gained significant attention, amassing over one million views in just 12 days.
To remind everyone, the nursery rhyme goes: “Do you know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man? Do you know the muffin man, who lives on Drury Lane?
“Yes I know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man. Yes I know the muffin man, who lives on Drury Lane.”
https://www.tiktok.com/@username/video/7433877845388119329
The TikToker elaborated: “‘Do you know the muffin man that lives down Drury Lane?’ refers to a man named Frederick Thomas Linwood, reportedly a serial killer from the 1500s known for murdering children.
“Being a baker, his method involved using a string to lure children with a delicious muffin before he killed them.”
Viewers quickly reacted in the comments section. One commented: “My childhood shattered.”
Another shared: “I knew about it. So many nursery rhymes are dark in truth.”
Someone else humorously added: “The muffin man would 100% draw me in with that method even as an adult.”
To dive deeper into the tale of ‘Frederick Thomas Linwood,’ let’s consider the account from the White Hart Drury Lane pub in London: “Between 1589 and 1598, Frederic Thomas Linwood, infamously known as the Muffin Man, allegedly resided on Drury Lane.
“Legend has it that Linwood murdered as many as 15 children by enticing them into dark alleys with muffins tied to strings.
“He was also said to have killed 7 rival pastry chefs with a sharpened wooden spoon.”
Is there any truth to these claims? The establishment itself seems skeptical, noting: “While it’s likely that the origins of the muffin man story are an urban myth, who doesn’t appreciate a classic 16th-century British horror tale?”
There are no historical records confirming Linwood as a serial killer. However, the London Museum can confirm that ‘muffin men’ did sell bread on Drury Lane, though their involvement in child murders is questionable.