Mass Hysteria and Murder: the Tale of the Hammersmith Ghost

How a cobbler in a tablecloth terrorized his neighborhood and caused an innocent man’s death

Image from the Newgate Calendar’s account of the Hammersmith ghost (public domain)

During the long, dark nights of November and December 1803, a rumor spread in Hammersmith, a neighborhood in west London. Several residents reported seeing a ghost. He was tall and dressed in a white cloak, although some residents said he had horns. The ghost jumped out and scared people in the darkness; some said that he had actually attacked them. Thomas Groom, a servant, described his encounter with the apparition:

“I was going through the church yard between eight and nine o’clock, with my jacket under my arm, and my hands in my pocket, when some person came from behind a tomb-stone, which there are four square in the yard, behind me, and caught me fast by the throat with both hands, and held me fast; my fellow-servant, who was going on before, hearing me scuffling, asked what was the matter; then, whatever it was, gave me a twist round, and I saw nothing; I gave a bit of a push out with my fist, and felt something soft, like a great coat.”

People in Hammersmith began to panic — as is the case with things like this, rumors built on each other and took on a life of their own. A story spread that a pregnant woman had died of fright after being assaulted by the ghost. Many residents believed that the spirit of a man who had committed suicide was roaming the neighborhood — it was considered sacrilegious to bury a suicide victim in a holy burial ground. Citizens formed neighborhood-watch patrols, prowling the streets each night in search of the spectre. A few days after Christmas, one of the watchmen saw the ghost and chased him, but he tossed its white cloak aside and disappeared into the night.

An engraving of the ghost, 1804 (public domain)

On January 3, 1804, a man named Francis Smith was walking the streets of Hammersmith with his shotgun, keeping an eye out for the ghost. As midnight neared, he saw something — a figure clad all in white. He called out: “damn you, who are you, and what are you? Damn you, I will shoot you!” Smith fired before the ghost could answer.