The Cock Lane Ghost

In 1762, a house on Cock Lane in London became the center of a sensation. Scratching and knocking sounds, apparently emanating from an eleven-year-old girl, were interpreted as communications from a ghost accusing a man of murder. The case drew enormous crowds, spawned pamphlets and satires, and produced one of history’s first organized investigations into paranormal claims.

The Background

Richard Parsons was a parish clerk who rented rooms in his Cock Lane house to William Kent and his common-law wife, Fanny Lynes. Fanny was the sister of Kent’s deceased first wife, making their relationship technically illegal at the time.

During a period when Kent was away, Fanny shared a bed with Parsons’s eleven-year-old daughter Elizabeth because she was afraid to sleep alone. Strange scratching noises began. Fanny became ill with smallpox and died shortly after, in February 1760.

Two years later, in 1762, the scratching sounds returned, centered on Elizabeth Parsons. The sounds were interpreted as communications from Fanny’s ghost, who accused William Kent of having murdered her by poison.

The Sensation

News of the ghost spread rapidly. Crowds gathered at Cock Lane nightly, hoping to hear the scratching and knocking. Famous visitors included Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, and Horace Walpole. The case was debated in coffee houses, newspapers, and pamphlets.

The scratching “spoke” through a code of knocks. One knock meant yes; two meant no. Through this code, the ghost accused William Kent of poisoning her with arsenic and demanded justice.

Kent, whose reputation was being destroyed, demanded an investigation.

The Investigation

A committee was formed, including Samuel Johnson, to investigate the claims. They conducted several experiments.

When Elizabeth was placed in a hammock away from walls and furniture, the scratching stopped. When she was searched, a small board was found hidden in her clothing, capable of producing the scratching sounds.

The committee concluded that Elizabeth had produced the sounds herself, presumably at her father’s instigation. Richard Parsons owed money to William Kent and may have hoped to destroy his creditor.

Aftermath

Richard Parsons was convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to time in the pillory. His wife was imprisoned, as was a servant who had helped spread the ghost stories.

Elizabeth was apparently not punished, being considered a tool of adult conspirators. What happened to her afterward is not well documented.

William Kent’s reputation was restored, though the scandal had caused him significant harm.

Legacy

The Cock Lane ghost became synonymous with fraud and gullibility. It was cited for decades as an example of public credulity and the dangers of believing supernatural claims without investigation.

However, the case also demonstrated that organized investigation could expose fraud. The committee’s methodical approach—isolating the subject, searching for hidden devices, testing claims—established principles that would influence future paranormal research.

Assessment

The Cock Lane ghost was almost certainly a fraud, perpetrated by Richard Parsons using his daughter to generate the phenomena. The investigation exposed the deception clearly.

Yet the case remains interesting for what it reveals about eighteenth-century London: the hunger for supernatural experience, the willingness to believe, and the capacity for systematic skepticism. The same forces are at work in paranormal cases today.