The Hammersmith Ghost, as published in Kirby's Wonderful and Scientific Museum, 1804. |
In late 1803 the
residents of Hammersmith (which is now a part of Greater London but was then a
small village about five miles west of the city) were in a panic. A number of
the villagers claimed that had seen a ghost – a few went so far as to say the
ghost had attacked them.
Many
believed that the ghost in question was the spirit of a man who had killed
himself the year before. This man was buried in the churchyard at Hammersmith,
which was actually against church law and the prevailing customs of the time.
Since suicide was considered a grave sin against God,
people who died that way were not supposed to be buried in consecrated ground.
(Instead they were often buried at a crossroads outside of town.) It was believed that the soul
of a suicide victim who was buried in consecrated ground would be unable to
find eternal rest, and would wander the earth.
And that’s
why the people of Hammersmith were convinced they now had a ghost on their
hands, and a vicious one at that. Villagers reported seeing a ghost in the churchyards, and even being grabbed by the specter. So nightly patrols began, with armed men searching for a ghost.
And eventually they found one. On the night of January 3,
1804, a 29-year-old excise officer named
Francis Smith fired his blunderbuss and killed the “ghost,” who turned out to be Thomas
Millwood, a local plasterer who was on his way home from work.
When he was shot the
unfortunate Thomas was wearing his work clothes, common to all in his trade,
which happened to be white linen pants (freshly washed and very
clean) a new white waistcoat (or vest), also white, and a white apron tied
around his body.
In addition, he was coated with white plaster dust after working all day. In other words, he was dressed like a ghost, which may not
have been the smartest move on his part given the hysteria in the village.
Millwood lived in the home of
Mrs. Fulbrooke, who testified at the subsequent trial that she had warned him
not to go out in his work clothes, or at least cover them with a coat.
Apparently Thomas had scared others in the village during the ghost frenzy. But
Thomas didn't listen to her.
On one occasion, Thomas
frightened some ladies who saw him from their carriage as he was walking along
a terrace. The gentleman who was riding with the ladies said something like
“there goes the ghost,” which Thomas didn't appreciate.
According to
Mrs. Fulbrooke’s account, Thomas answered with “a rude word” (we can only
imagine what it was) saying he was no more a ghost than the gentleman was, and
offered to punch him in the head. Too bad Thomas didn't learn
anything from this encounter.
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Alley in front of The Dove pub in modern-day Hammersmith, one of the few remnants of Hammersmith Village that's survived the centuries. |
Because he killed an unarmed
man, Francis Smith was charged with willful murder. But Smith
pleaded self-defense. He claimed that he’d called out “stop or I’ll shoot,” and
the ghost proved he was an apparition by not stopping. (Why Smith, or anyone
for that matter, thought you could stop a ghost with
bullets wasn't addressed.) However, Millwood’s sister testified that
Smith more or less fired his gun as he was saying “stop or I’ll shoot” not
allowing his victim any time to consider his next move.
This turned out to be a
landmark case, hinging on the court’s determination of what constitutes
self-defense. Could Smith get off the hook because he believed he was defending
himself against a ghost, even though the ghost turned out to be a man? It actually
took the courts 180 years to grapple with the legal issue of how to treat
someone who commits a crime based on a mistaken belief.
The jury was reluctant to
convict Smith. They decided on a verdict of manslaughter, a lesser charge than
murder. But the chief judge returned the verdict, telling the jury they had to
look at the facts and either convict Smith of murder or acquit him, regardless
of whether Smith thought he was shooting a ghost. So the jurors convicted him.
Smith was sentenced to hang for
his crime, with his body to be dissected later (a common practice on executed
criminals). But the judge reported the case to the king, who had the power to
commute the sentence. Smith ended up doing a year of hard labor for his
crime.
And Thomas Millwood? Ironically, he may have become a real ghost - he is said to haunt the Black Lion pub in Hammersmith, where his body was taken after he was shot.
A final note about this strange case: the furor caused by the trial prompted an old man with a
guilty conscience to step forward. The village shoemaker confessed that prior
to the shooting he’d taken to donning a white sheet and lurking in the churchyard, pretending to be a
ghost to frighten his apprentice.
Apparently the apprentice had been scaring
the old man’s children with ghost stories, so the shoemaker had decided to
teach him a lesson. No doubt the shoemaker's prank ignited the ghost mania in the village and ultimately cost poor Thomas his life.
The moral of this story, if
there is one, is not to be too quick to react violently if you think you see a
ghost this Halloween. And if there are any vigilantes in your area gunning for
a ghost, you might want to consider a different costume.
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***
Photos courtesy of Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons
Good story and photos, Maureen. There's a powerful lesson here. I, for one, will not be dressing as a ghost this year. ;-) xo Jennifer
ReplyDeleteThere's no way I will ever try dressing as a ghost! A witch perhaps, but never a ghost. Thanks for the great story Maureen. Maybe the lesson here is that certain people shouldn't be allowed to carry firearms?
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