Burke and Hare murders Elizabeth Byrd used the events in her novels "Rest Without Peace" (1974) and "The Search for Maggie Hare" (1976). The murders have also been portrayed on stage and screen, usually in heavily fictionalised form. David Paterson, Knox's assistant, contacted Walter Scott to ask the novelist if he would be interested in writing an account of the murders, but he declined, despite Scott's long-standing interest in the events. Scott later wrote: Burke and Hare murders The Burke and Hare murders were a series of 16 killings committed over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were
West Port, Edinburgh the main street through the western part of the burgh of Portsburgh - a burgh of barony from 1649 to 1856. The name "West Port" originally referred only to the gate itself, but was used for the entire length of the street leading away from the gate in maps from around 1837 onwards. "Wester Portsburgh" still appeared as the name of the street on maps as late as 1831. "Portsburgh" can also be seen as the name for the same street in a map from 1836. However, this does not serve to distinguish it from the eastern part of Portsburgh