In late 1803, a ghost started terrorizing Hammersmith London and soon led to a very real life murder. 

While walking home one night Thomas Millwood was tragically mistaken for the ghost and killed. And the ensuing murder trial raised a number of questions. Who was the Hammersmith ghost? Was it real or a prank?

References:

Feikert-Ahalt, Clare. “The Case of a Ghost Haunted England for Over Two Hundred Years.” In Custodia Legis, Library of Congress, 30 Oct. 2015, blogs.loc.gov/law/2015/10/the-case-of-a-ghost-haunted-england-for-over-two-hundred-years/.

“The Hammersmith Ghost.” Historic Mysteries, www.historicmysteries.com/history/hammersmith-ghost/37316/. Accessed 4 June 2024.

“Hammersmith Ghost.” The Morning Post [London], 10 Jan. 1804, p. 3.

Clarke, Roger. Ghosts: A Natural History: 500 Years of Searching For Proof. Oxford UP, 2012.

Mitchell, Edwin Valentine, editor. The Newgate Calendar: Comprising Interesting Memoirs of the Most Notorious Characters Who Have Been Convicted of Outrages on the Laws of England. J. Robins & Co., 1826. Introduction by Henry Savage.

“Trial of Francis Smith.” Old Bailey Proceedings Online, www.oldbaileyonline.org/record/t18040111-79?text=%22Francis%20Smith%22. Accessed 4 June 2024.

“Hammersmith Ghost Haunts Again.” BBC News, 4 Feb. 2004, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/3364467.stm.

Kerrison, John. “Spectrecide: The True Story of the Hammersmith Ghost Murder.” Medium, 31 Oct. 2018, medium.com/@johnkerrison/spectrecide-the-true-story-of-the-hammersmith-ghost-murder-47993eede3fa.

“The Hammersmith Ghost and the Strange Death of Thomas Millwood.” Crime Magazine, www.crimemagazine.com/hammersmith-ghost-and-strange-death-thomas-millwood. Accessed 4 June 2024.

Middleton, Jacob. Spirits of an Industrial Age: Ghost Impersonations, Spring-heeled Jack and Victorian Society. Manchester UP, 2018.