The Cock Lane ghost, also known as Scratching Fanny (yes, I typed that with a straight face—sort of), was a haunting that gripped the nation and sent the capital wild with fear and excitement in 1762. The haunting happened at a house on Cock Lane, close to London’s Smithfield Market, near St. Paul’s Cathedral.
William Kent was a usurer from the North. After the death of his wife, Elizabeth, in childbirth, he became romantically involved with her sister, Fanny. Canon law prohibited a man from marrying his wife’s sister, so the couple moved to London, lived together at the above house on Cock Lane, and called themselves Mr. and Mrs. Kent. At the time, the house was owned by a parish clerk named Richard Parsons and his daughter Elizabeth. During their stay, Fanny had complained of hearing knocking and scratching sounds in the house when no one was around, but nothing supernatural was attributed to the sounds at the time. When Parsons found out the couple weren’t married and Fanny was pregnant, he used this scandalous information as leverage to get out of paying back a £20 loan he had taken out with Kent. Kent had him arrested, and he and Fanny left the lodging, moving to a nearby house. Fanny died of smallpox not long after, as they were not married. Kent tried to keep his name out of the arrangements for her burial, but she had named him the beneficiary in her will. Angry at Kent for what he perceived as his humiliation, Parsons started to spread rumours that the unmarried couple had been at odds and that Kent had murdered poor Fanny, which is why he was trying to conceal his involvement with her. He also started to claim that her ghost haunted his house on Cock Lane. His 12-year-old daughter Elizabeth started telling people she had spoken to the spectre, and Fanny had indeed confirmed that Kent had murdered her.
Further escalating his claims, Parsons invited a ‘man of high standing’ to the house, intending for him to corroborate his ghostly claims. The man did not see Fanny but saw the terrified face of Elizabeth, who claimed to have seen her. He also supposedly heard the knocking that followed and deemed the case worthy of further study. The man returned the following night with twenty others, clergymen and investigators, ready to investigate the haunting.
Conveniently, the ghost only appeared to Elizabeth but would communicate through a series of knocks—one knock for yes, two knocks for no. Elizabeth was clear that Fanny’s ghost would only communicate in total darkness.
Once more, Elizabeth’s interpretation of the knocks and scratching confirmed that Fanny reiterated her accusation against Kent and that her spirit would only rest once he had been hanged.
The tales of Fanny’s communication spread like wildfire and captivated the public. The story was published in The Public Ledger in depth, with a few embellishments. As belief in the afterlife was essential to Christian doctrine, several preachers became embroiled in the case. This opened up debate as to the place of the supernatural in Anglican and Methodist beliefs that erupted across the country. Kent’s reputation was in tatters, as he was now tarred as a murderer. However, Parson’s fortunes were much improved; Cock Lane was inundated with visitors, all hoping to enter the house and experience the knocking. Parsons happily admitted them in—for a fee.
“Fanny” declared she would continue to haunt and terrify the poor child wherever she went, until Kent had been punished.
The investigators wanted to put this threat to the test and organised a ‘road trip’ for the trio—father, daughter, and ghost!
At the house of a local clergyman, Fanny did not appear to Elizabeth, and only suspicious, weak knocks could be heard. With investigators and the general public losing interest, Parsons declared that anyone who visited Fanny’s grave would see her. So the spectators all moved on to her grave, to no avail. Parsons next said that if Kent were present, then the apparition would surely show herself to all. Kent was found and dragged to the grave. When no ghost appeared, Fanny’s coffin was opened, and her decomposing body was shown to all those around. For the investigators, the story was over. Renowned preacher John Moore, who had been Parsons’ biggest supporter, wrote:
‘I do hereby certify, that though, from the several attendances on this occasion, I have not been able to point out, how, and in what manner, those knockings and scratchings, of the supposed Ghost, were contrived, performed, and continued; yet, that I am convinced, that those knockings and scratchings were the effects of some artful, wicked contrivance…’
However, the locals were still adamant that there must be a haunting. Poor Elizabeth was just too terrified during the séances that were held, and she described things in words no 12-year-old would know, they concluded.
Kent was not about to let things go; he had Parsons, Elizabeth, and several others indicted. All were swiftly found guilty and ordered to pay Kent a substantial amount for the distress caused. Still protesting his innocence, Parsons was sentenced to two years of imprisonment and was ordered to stand in the pillory three times before finally being released. Strangely enough, Parsons was treated well while serving his punishment, and the locals even collected money for him. Those in Cock Lane claimed the knocks and scratching continued and that Fanny’s ghost was real.
The haunting of Cock Lane lived on in art and theatre for centuries, as featured in the works of Oliver Goldsmith and William Hogarth. It was also satirically featured in works by Dickens, with Mrs. Nickelby humorously claiming that her great-grandfather ‘went to school with the Cock-lane Ghost.’
Today, Cock Lane is no more, having been demolished in 1979. In its place sits a row of office buildings, whose haunting status is currently unknown.
An illustration of the room where the haunting took place
Sources:
Historic Ghosts and Ghost Hunters, Bruce H. Addington
The Cock Lane Ghost: Murder, Sex and Haunting in Dr Johnson’s London, Paul Chambers
