Penny Dreadful - Jack the Ripper 1888 Penny Pendulum

Pendulums from horrific historic events - the year is 1888 and a ruthless killer known as Jack the Ripper terrorizes London!

A Victorian Penny dated 1888 - could this very coin have passed through the hands of a Ripper victim or worse still, the Ripper himself?

Each Penny Dreadful Pendulum comes with a filigree sphere locket at the opposite end which can be used to store any type of billet revelation and even small artefacts such as human teeth or hair.

In Victorian London, when séances and spiritualism were fashionable among the affluent classes, travelling hawkers and fairground fortune tellers began offering a cheaper, more portable alternative.

For those who could not afford a professional medium—or did not have the space to host a full séance—a market emerged for what became known as “The Penny Séance.” The name did not refer to the price, but to the method: a single penny was used as the instrument through which the spirits were contacted. Not just any coin would suffice. According to medieval grimoires, there were specific instructions for preparing an object capable of piercing the veil between the living and the dead.

It was widely believed that pennies were placed over the eyes of the deceased as payment for the ferryman who would carry their soul into the next world. These coins, taken from the dead by clandestine fortune tellers, were fashioned into pendulums and spirit devices. The belief was simple—an object that had already passed through death carried a charge of its own, allowing the boundary between worlds to be crossed far more easily than in an ordinary séance.

For those wishing to recreate the atmosphere of a true Victorian séance evening, the 1888 Penny Séance Pendulum is also available as a set of five. Each pendulum is supplied in an individual black velvet pouch.