GHOST STORIES
Five mysterious hauntings and supernatural happenings that obsessed 19th century Britain
The Hammersmith Ghost
Towards the end of 1803, several people claimed to have been attacked by a malevolent spirit in the Hammersmith area of London. Believed to be a suicide victim whose soul could not rest as they hadn’t been buried in consecrated ground, two female victims died from fright and a brewer’s servant was attacked in a graveyard. As a result local men armed themselves and patrolled the streets, among them one Francis Smith. Smith came across bricklayer Thomas Milwood, who was entirely clad in white for his work. Panicking, Smith shot and killed Milwood. The resultant trial set important legal precedents regarding accountability and mistaken belief.
The Electric Horror Of Berkeley Square
A notorious hotspot for supernatural happenings during the latter half of the 19th century, many ghosts walked the halls of 50 Berkeley Square in central London. A particular room on the second floor caused more fear than most, however, and tales include a young maid found screaming, dying shortly afterwards, and Lord Thomas
Lyttelton shooting at a mysterious creature in the night. In 1879 an issue of Mayfair Magazine reported that “the very party walls of the house, when touched, were found saturated with an electric horror”.
Devil’s Footprints
In February of 1855, trails of strange hoof marks appeared overnight in the snow. Covering a distance of 40 to 100 miles, they appeared on the tops of houses, fields, gardens, and in places enclosed by high walls. Local parishioners feared the marks had been left by Old Nick himself and numerous explanations, including an escaped kangaroo, have been touted ever since.
Spring-heeled Jack
Without a doubt the most famous Victorian legend is that of Spring-heeled Jack, who terrorised the streets of London between 1837 and 1904. There were numerous sightings, but none more frightening than Jane Alsop’s. On the night of 19 February 1838, she opened her door to a man claiming to be a police officer, who requested a candle because they had caught Spring-heeled
Jack in a nearby alley. As soon as she left the house, however, the man threw off his cloak, revealing a strange oilskin helmet, metallic claws and red blazing eyes. Shooting balls of blue fire from his mouth, he attacked Alsop before her sister ran to her aid and he fled. Jack became a common part of Victorian folklore and was extremely popular in the penny dreadfuls of the time.
The Grey Man Of The Theatre Royal
The Theatre Royal on Dury Lane in London plays host to many spectres, the most famous being the Grey Man, an 18th century nobleman. In the late 1870s legend has it that workmen uncovered a bricked-up skeleton with a sword protruding from its ribs.
Could this have been the Grey
Man himself?