English: Cock Lane as seen in MEMOIRS OF EXTRAORDINARY POPULAR DELUSIONS AND THE Madness of Crowds, 1852 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
1. The Cock Lane Ghost
Perhaps the most famous of all London ghost stories began in January 1762 when Elizabeth, the twelve-year- old daughter of a parish clerk called Richard Parsons, seemed to become the conduit through which a murder victim could accuse her killer from beyond the grave. Communicating largely through the standard system of coded knocks (one for yes, two for no), the ghost of Fanny Kent, a former lodger with the Parsons, told how she had been poisoned by her common-law husband, William Kent. The story reached the newspapers and the Parsons' home in Cock Lane, near St Paul's, was besieged by journalists, clergymen and sightseers. For a time Cock Lane became as popular a destination for sensation-seekers as the lunatic asylum at Bedlam. Fanny, or Elizabeth, did not disappoint her audiences. When William Kent was brought to the house, he was greeted by a flurry of knockings, accusing him of doing away with his wife. Unsurprisingly, he denied it all. Visitors continued to flock to the house. One was the writer Oliver Goldsmith, who left an account of what he saw.
Perhaps the most famous of all London ghost stories began in January 1762 when Elizabeth, the twelve-year- old daughter of a parish clerk called Richard Parsons, seemed to become the conduit through which a murder victim could accuse her killer from beyond the grave. Communicating largely through the standard system of coded knocks (one for yes, two for no), the ghost of Fanny Kent, a former lodger with the Parsons, told how she had been poisoned by her common-law husband, William Kent. The story reached the newspapers and the Parsons' home in Cock Lane, near St Paul's, was besieged by journalists, clergymen and sightseers. For a time Cock Lane became as popular a destination for sensation-seekers as the lunatic asylum at Bedlam. Fanny, or Elizabeth, did not disappoint her audiences. When William Kent was brought to the house, he was greeted by a flurry of knockings, accusing him of doing away with his wife. Unsurprisingly, he denied it all. Visitors continued to flock to the house. One was the writer Oliver Goldsmith, who left an account of what he saw.