The Cock Lane Ghost
In 1762, all of London queued in a narrow lane to hear a ghost answer questions with knocks and scratches.
What was reported
In early 1762, word spread that a house in Cock Lane, near St Paul's Cathedral, was haunted by a spirit that communicated by knocking and scratching: one knock for yes, two for no. The noises centred on a young girl's bed, and the spirit, nicknamed 'Scratching Fanny', was said to be that of a woman who had once lodged there.
Crowds blocked the street, aristocrats came to sit in, and a committee including the writer Samuel Johnson investigated.
Explanations offered
The committee found that the noises happened only when the girl could make them, and she was caught with a small board hidden in her clothes. The haunting had been staged as part of a grudge against a former lodger. The adults behind it were convicted of conspiracy, and the case became a byword for public gullibility.
- When
- 1762
- Where
- Cock Lane, Smithfield, London, England
- Witnesses
- Crowds of Londoners, including the writer Samuel Johnson
- Status
- Hoax
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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