Do You Know The Muffin Man? He Was A Serial Killer Who Preyed on Kids

And the catchy song was meant to warn children to stay away

There are many versions of this horrifying story. The Muffin Man, also known as the Drury Lane Dicer, was the first known serial killer in England. His name was Frederic Thomas Lynwood, and he was born in 1563 and died in 1612. There are many accounts of Lynwood’s crimes, however, no surviving records. This is either one hell of a folklore story or one of history’s most creepy mysteries.

In Victorian England, it was common for families to have fresh foods delivered to their homes. If you’re in the US, imagine the Milk Man from the 1950s, same deal. Every morning, Victorian families could expect to find a parcel of bread for that day’s meals. A popular morning meal was muffins, but these were more like English muffin bread and less like sugary sweet American muffins.

The Muffin Man would make his deliveries just like other bakers, but he would lure children away from their homes by playfully tying a string it a muffin and pulling it away from the steps where the parcel lay. The kids, likely thinking this was a fun game, would chase the muffins, which led to The Muffin Man’s bakery, where he would kill the children. But not before torturing them.

The Muffin Man did not appreciate the fierce competition in his surrounding neighborhoods. So he murdered seven other bakers, or so the tales go.