The Haunting Murder Case Of The Hammersmith Ghost

this week on buzzfeed unsolved we walk through a

ghost

hunt from over 200 years ago that turned into a real

murder

case

the hammer

ghost

200 years ago that sounds like the peak ghost moment that everyone loves since so when do you think the first ghost was Adam and Eve hmm it was one of them a ghost I don't know how it works I don't know it was Jesus the first girl we're getting a little off track okay yes we are we're right a supernatural

case

that it became a true crime case or a

murder

case it's a beautiful marriage of the two shows it's funny because over the years doing this show I've often thought about turning our supernatural cases into murder cases what's supposed to happen What does that mean, motherfucker, let's get into it?

On the north bank of a winding section of the River Thames in London lies the village of Hammersmith, while less than five miles west of Buckingham Palace in the early 19th century Hammersmith represented the border between country and city and in the late In 1803 this village of newly built houses had a ghost problem late at night, a tall specter covered in a white shroud emerged to wander the areas around Black Lion Lane, thought to be the spirit of a villager that he had cut his own throat the previous year, the ghost would haunt him. and sometimes even attack travelers who leave late this sounds like a level 10 ghoul a level 10 ghoul if he's wearing a white sheet like charlie brown i don't know what a white shroud means that could mean a blanket or it could mean he's wrapped like a white fog.

I think it's a classic blue ghost. I'm going to say it's a fog because no one will be scared of a little sheet with holes cut into it. I disagree, erase the concept of the classic blue ghost from your mind. Yes, suddenly. a blue ghost appears which is a boo ghost, you saw him as a bow ghost, he's just wearing my sheets, that's not how you would react, you know if you were 200 years ago you would have never seen a bugose, you would be screaming with blood. I think it's disrespectful to think that 200 years ago someone wouldn't go.

He's a guy under a sheet. You are in a sheep. Dude, this angry drunk man is using his bed in one incident the driver of an eight horse cart carrying 16 passengers was so scared by the ghost that he fled on foot abandoning his passengers and horses it's a big cart for you to leave stand back and say see you later just take it off oh that's true you don't want to leave that cart I guess not the horses were probably confused imagine the edge of that baby probably mahogany maybe I damn dude just sanded it to perfection probably some gold leaf maybe it just slips off the skin like the man who smokes butter anyway don't leave your car full of passengers behind the horses they're probably scared too and eat the horses winning at the same time that's deafening to see your master run away while there are some bulgos running around, I still don't think it's a guy in a sheet, I think it's like a white fog around this thing.

People describe ghosts as having something like a target, it's like something ethereal, okay, I see potato chips, I haven't seen it, so no, you certainly haven't. in a ghost, the ghost I saw looked like a person, why don't you continue the story that a man described as Thomas Groom walking through a church yard with his hands in his pockets and a jacket under his arm came out from behind a gravestone that someone grabbed him by? the neck with both hands the hands turned the groom but there was no one to be seen when he pushed with his fist it felt like he was hitting a big coat but he didn't touch anything solid well I'm just going for a walk you know he doesn't It's telling that way, although this is like a war story, so I was walking through the cemetery and suddenly I have these two hands on my neck and I turn around and I knock them out. kill the ghost buddy, I kill the ghost, how do you grab someone and then turn around?

Because that's not easy, can you imagine doing it? I mean, if it was a ghost, we're talking about breaking the laws of physics, yeah, I guess, what do you think? He hits and doesn't feel anything solid, but he feels like a coat boy. He would give a million dollars to see this guy do that. You were like eating an apple next to a tree and you saw this guy walking, he looked like a horse's butt. It would be like you, in another incident, a pregnant woman was walking near the cemetery around 10 at night, suddenly, a white specter materialized from the tombstones and came behind the woman, she tried to run away but was caught, the ghost started pressing her against his arms and the woman fainted a few hours later some neighbors found out that the woman woke her up and took her to her house there, supposedly she went to bed and never woke up just when you think you're out of danger, a ghost hugged you like a bear it's weird for a ghost to hug someone right yes to hug that's why it's legal yeah i'm actually curious do you think it's possible to have a literal heart attack because you were so scared What attacked your body in that moment you had? a heart attack is so possible I think that happens all the time I'm scared of all these places we go yes because they could directly kill me I would probably make it funny all the time also there is something more embarrassing than finding my dead body stiff in the middle of a dusty hallway with that stupid erector camera on my chest and a spirit box in one hand is especially because we would have the gopro footage of your motionless face and then I will communicate with you through the spirit box, yeah, and I'm leaving, I'm God, Shane, save me, please take me to the hospital, stay still and I think I didn't turn this thing off.

The citizens of Hammersmith began staying inside after dark, unless absolutely certain. Some villagers became convinced that what was

haunting

their town was not any ghost but simply a person dressed in a sheet and they were tired of living in fear. Would a town hall meeting be held? and say we have to stop this guy, yeah, I would literally get some pitchforks, just a pitchfork, a torch, yeah, you'd be pretty scary with a pitchfork and a torch, actually, yeah, I mean I already have some sort of pitchfork. . a fork, someone on Twitter told me I have colonizer hair right now, yeah he has a point, I look like a pilgrim, I mean you might as well complete the whole outfit, get that trident, I look like I'm about to burn some witches , maybe you'll get a rosary just this with a pitchfork writing respect the scriptures determined to detect this public nuisance some men in Hammersmith set up armed patrols to inspect the streets at night in the hope of catching the culprit unfortunately it proved impossible to monitor the countless routes of entering and exiting Hammersmith. and the spirit continued to terrorize the residents one night, a patrolman saw the specter and gave chase.

He later reported seeing the spirit tear off a large white cloth before escaping pursuit. Now, is this the real origin of that type of white sheet? No, of course not. They were doing that to scare people into thinking they were a ghost, so obviously it had been popularized in some way before that, so now we've come to the more tangible element of true crime, where it depends in some way on some antics of January 3, 1804, Francis Smith, age 29, had had enough of the apparitions, the fact that someone was scaring his fellow townspeople and the fact that this person had so far eluded capture infuriated him.

Smith decided to put an end to the ghost once and for all, according to some reports. Smith prepared for his patrol by drinking in a pub. Anyone knows that the best way to prepare for your first day as a vigilante is to play before the game in a pub. I respect this guy because he's had enough of the ghost because he bothers him. guys, that's true, a real sense of community, he's a protector, yes, a guardian, so at least his intentions are good, even if he's going to die, yes, in the middle of a stupid drunk, well, you know Guinness can often confuse good intentions.

It was certainly a time of heightened nerves in Hammersmith and few were as familiar with that fact as Thomas Millwood Millwood worked as a bricklayer and as such wore a uniform of white linen trousers, a white flannel waistcoat and a white apron, all white, yes , oh no, you can see where. This is going to be attentive, millwood had been mistaken twice for the ghost of Hammersmith while walking at night in his all-white outfit once, a man and two women traveling in a carriage saw millwood and shouted quote, here goes the end From the ghost quote, Millwood said he was no more a ghost than the man in the carriage and then asked the man if he would like a punch in the head.

Can you imagine being asked politely if you would like a punch in the head? Obviously the answer is no, but for a fraction of a second. I'd be like no, yeah, obviously not, but yeah, the way you asked it made me think like you were asking me if I'd like to go to the pub or something. I said, yes, I would love to go, but what if? It was more aggressive, although like, do you like being hit on the head? oh yeah, that's a little meaner, no, so the answer is definitely no, in an effort to prevent people from suspecting her husband of being a ghost.

Millwood's wife asked her to cover his work clothes. while in public Millwood refused, I just don't know what the logic is if someone told me, hey, they're looking for a person dressed all in white at night and they're ready to kill this guy, so I think. maybe you shouldn't wear all white, yeah, at night, where do you get off on the night of January 3rd, the night Francis Smith decided to stop the Hammersmith Ghost's reign of terror? Millwood stopped by his parents' house to chat with his mother and sister Anne. Meanwhile, Frances Smith was on patrol at around 10:30 p.m.

Smith encountered watchman William Gerdler on Beaver Lane when Smith told Gerdler that he had planned to hunt. to the ghost that night. Gerdler said he would join the man after he finished clocking the time and inspecting the lanes he was in. probably as excited as he is approaching any time it's 11 p.m. m. and everything is fine come in my name is william gerdler it's me gerdler once again and it's 11 get ready for bed I love you shut up already we've grown up Ben I love you I said it was a particularly dark night it was supposed to be impossible to see objects even on the other side of the road, so Smith and Gidler arranged a secret handshake so they knew he was the other friend, advance friend, final friend, date that we could.

Do that in haunted houses, yeah, that would be fun, so you say friend, I say advance friend, yeah, yeah, it's reciprocal 'cause we're friends, 'cause we're friends, right, yeah, we're friends, I feel good about that, yeah, That is good, no. You know how many times I have to tell you that I don't believe in any good times, I don't say it with a lot of yes, you're right, we should change the greeting, maybe it's just in the dark, I say, hey, and then you say ah, stay here, my friend is that good late into the night, back at Thomas Millwood's parents' house, the bricklayer finally got up to return home to his wife, he said goodbye and closed the door behind him while his sister Anne was getting up. and he headed towards the door he heard a voice outside called quotes damn who are you and what are you damn I'll shoot you end of quote sounds like he was going to be shot well I mean I'll say this he certainly said what he was going to do Before he did, he made his decision, yes he made his decision, yes, it's probably a good time to intervene, I'm not a ghost, there's no stopping, Millwood's sister, Anne, saw a flash of light as the sound of a shot pierced the night.

She called out to her brother from the window but got no answer. She ran out of the house and down the road where she found her brother lying in the street when she was halfway to him. She knew he was dead. There was no one else. around francis smith retired to the white heart pub where he met the gerdler watchmen, it's bad, everyone opens the doors like in a saloon, everyone packs their bags, we're ready to go home, the ghost is dead, he's well, do you think smith and girdler? Still his little friend advanced in a big way like out of the bar, but he said friend in a way that he knew Gerdler knew he had done the dean friend, advanced friend, Smith Gidler and two more men turned back to whoever it was, Smith had shot.

Smith confessed to Gidler that he feared he had seriously hurt the man. For his part, Gerdler noted that he had heard Smith's shot, but he didn't think much of it. Shooting apparently occurred very frequently in the area. Appointment every quarter of an hour, almost all night. End of quote. If you live somewhere in a time where guns are fired every 15 minutes, yeah, maybe it's not wise to dress up as a ghost to scare people on the streets at night? In that cityHe used to play a lot of jokes. about my roommates and I would always be afraid of scaring them if I thought they had a glass of water or something in their hand or an iPhone because I thought they might break it or they would throw the water at me yeah so I can just Imagine if they were walking down our shitty house with a gun, probably not the best idea to get a good boo.

I don't think you would get your alcohol if that were the case. I don't think I would either. I mean, I'd get a look of derision, obviously, this guy's a fool, vigilante Smith, yes, but he seems to feel remorse for killing a man in cold blood on the street because he thought he was a ghost, do you think? When he got there, he said, "I think I killed the ghost" and the other guy said, "Oh, yeah, and he said, Yeah, and he had a sister. He was leaving his sister's house. Yeah, and you know what." He had a heartbeat.

He said, don't shoot, I'm not a ghost, just slow dance on him, maybe we should go. Check it out, huh, I made a scream. Look, when the men got to the body, they found that Smith's shot. had hit Millwood in the jaw. Faja took Millwood's lifeless body to the Black Lion pub. A surgeon summoned by the coroner reported that Smith's shot had penetrated the vertebrae of the lower left jaw into the neck and the spinal cord. The coroner considered the matter intentional murder and a repentant blacksmith turned himself in to the authorities who took him to jail to await trial in the old parade ground I shot him in the jaw I shot him with my Ghost Gat It's very funny, they cause a wave in a bar.

I guess it's a kind of meeting point in the city. That's the great thing about pubs in London. Yes, every person from every occupation is probably in the pub because it's a very social thing. At any time I could have the surgeon, the coroner and probably have a lawyer and a judge, I could finish the whole case right there in the pub on January 13th. The trial that followed became a very important one in English legal history, as Smith admitted to killing Millwood, he insisted that he was in error and pleaded not guilty throughout the trial.

Smith showed a lot of shame and remorse. He was physically unable to stand without the help of another person and had difficulty even pronouncing words. his own defense according to a report cites the pale tone of his continents throughout the trial together with the signs of contrition that he exhibited aroused the sympathy of all the spectators end of the quote it seems that he let himself be carried away by this ghost fever yes, I'm almost sorry Bad for him, he was probably a little blurred, yes he got a little ahead of his skis, yes that's right, I can see why he would feel regretful.

You know, he's trying to save everyone in town and do some good by shooting this ghost. yeah, and then he does it while maybe a little drunk who knows and he regrets it, he feels bad. Smith testified that upon calling out twice to the white figure approaching him and receiving no response, he became so agitated by what he assumed was now a real Ghost that he fired his gun out of fear and panic. When I'm looking for ghosts, I hear noises. I'll think he's a ghost at that point and then I'll come back and analyze the evidence and then I'll be.

I could make that determination later, but if my methodology involved shooting everything I thought was a ghost, there would be a lot of people dead, a lot of people dead, you'd probably be dead too, honestly, you'd be locked up. I would be behind bars, yes, and I would just be saying the whole time look how many ghosts I caught after all the witnesses had been heard, the judge presiding over the case, Lord Chief Baron McDonald, addressed the jury explaining that nothing in the case could constitute a crime. anything but murder, he gave the example of a man who set out with the intention of shooting not a ghost but a highway robber, if that man shot someone who he thought was a highway robber but who turned out not to be one, that was still a murder, he also reminded jurors that, as disgusted as Smith was by the fact that someone was terrorizing the village dressed as a ghost, that didn't give him the right to go out with a loaded gun and shoot the person. , I think it doesn't really matter if you believe what you believe. what you are doing is right in your heart, yes, because you could be a serial killer and be like that, look, it is my passion, I believe that what I do is art and simply to achieve my artistic creation I have to paint with human organs, sue me, why are you taking me? to prison what is happening however after an hour of deliberation the jury returned with a verdict smith was guilty of involuntary manslaughter a charge that had not been brought against him the judge reminded the jury that this was not an option available to them they should Convicting or acquitting Smith of murder and murder alone, the judge further emphasized his point by reminding jurors that even if Millwood had been someone posing as a ghost blacksmith he would still be on trial for murder, the judges of the cases pointed out that even if a police officer killed someone he had the right to understand that that was also a juicy murder, a juicy legal drama, kill someone, kill someone, it doesn't matter if you're thinking you're killing a ghost or if you're a cop who kills a murderer or something like that. a thief or something, it's still murder, maybe we as human beings shouldn't take the responsibility of ending anyone's life.

It's probably a good plan. The jury apparently believed that the fact that at that time Smith truly believed that he was shooting a bullet at a ghost should be taken into account as there was no place in the law for this interpretation, however, the jury reconvened and came to the decision that yes, Smith had indeed murdered Millwood Smith was sentenced to be hanged the following Monday due to the great interest. The case had won, however, Lord Chief Baron McDonald immediately referred the case to the Crown, who quickly ordered a respite during the pleasure, end of quote, I mean, it seems like a lot of the public has sympathy for this guy, well , they wanted that ghost on the network.

Surely they wanted to catch that ghost, but in the meantime, ASAP this quote-unquote ghost is still out there, that's supposedly true or maybe the ghost said, "Oh, I'm going to pack it up now, yeah, I didn't know this guy had ghost bullets." my tormented days are over, I go to the knife, I imagine the ghost entering the scene and seeing the guy just being like when he shoots the other guy and thinking that on January 25th King George III had pardoned Smith by demanding that he serve. a sentence of one year hard labor instead of hanging, I'd say that's a big difference between hanging yourself to death and being like, hey, pick up trash for a year, I mean, he sounds like he's really sorry and I look, I get it. , murdered someone, I think this guy got off with a bit of a slap on the wrist if you consider what the alternative might have been, I mean 200 years ago, although the hard work was probably hard as Smith escaped the gallows for shooting the unfortunately Millwood dress. there is still an unresolved issue at the center of this story who was the ghost of

hammersmith

our first theory is that the ghost was nothing more than a shoemaker named graham trying to scare some employees graham was arrested in january 1804 accused of being A nuisance as he reportedly went out at night dressed in a blanket, Graham claimed that he only put on the costume in an attempt to scare some trainees who had scared their children with ghost stories, although he was seen by something more than the apprentices, even the watchman.

Reportedly saw Graham sounds like a funny guy, he's one of the ghosts, it seems like yeah, yeah, he definitely dressed like a ghost. Yes, there is no doubt that, grimly, Graham was a singer in the church and even sang at Millwood's funeral. A funeral that was a direct result of the hysteria over the Hammersmith ghost he was like wait a minute I dressed like a ghost also held on after Graham's confession the Hammersmith ghost apparently stopped making appearances according to a source however Ram alone was responsible for a ghost appearance on December 29, which leads to our next theory.

Look, you can never make sweeping judgments like this, but I would say that feeling protective of his children in that way makes me think he wouldn't hug a pregnant woman to death. No, don't read scary stories. my children, you scared my boys. Can you imagine if someone approached us in the middle of the street and yelled at us? My children can't stop watching you on YouTube and now they can't sleep. They would like a punch in the face. Our second theory is that several people were responsible for dressing up as the ghost. It is not clear if it would have been a coordinated group or rather individuals taking advantage of a legend to have fun at the expense of their neighbors.

I like the idea that it is a group of people because this reminds me of when there were those sightings of clowns and it seemed like they were different people across the country who heard about maybe a sighting and then said, yeah let's make this happen, that was The moment we saw a clown in Mexico, yeah it was and it scared me , a clown came up to our car and was cleaning our window and after about 20 seconds of cleaning our window I realized he had no cleaning supplies. he was just imitating and we all sat there in silence terrified as we watched, I hope the light changes soon, so yes, it could have been, although it could have been a group like that, in fact, while the sightings of the ghost stopped after Graham admitted to trying to scare his apprentices, the ghost resurfaced in 1824, this time with hooks and reportedly even the ability to breathe fire.

This iteration turned out to be a young farmer who was captured and sent to the house of correction. Despite this, in 1932, Hammersmith was again troubled by reports. of a ghostly being dressed in white that could climb walls and bushes using long claws, it's very scary to imagine a boo ghost, you know, it was a she climbing up a wall, imagine all these kinds of undulations that make it climb and make squeaking noises. I'm not going to give you our latest theory is that a real ghost haunts and continues to hunt Hammersmith. Some locals claim that every 50 years, at midnight on a full moon, Hammersmith Cemetery is visited by a white specter floating among the graves - probably someone around, I mean. if there really is a ghost, at least Millwood didn't die because of a little prank, there was actually a ghost in Hammersmith, yes it probably wasn't, but yes of course it's possible that all three theories are responsible, maybe some Villagers saw a real ghost in Hammersmith and some people with an extra sheet lying around decided to dress up, including the shoemaker.

I think it's possible that there was a real ghost sighting that spread to a couple of people and then, like we just said, it took on a little bit of a life of its own and people started dressing up as ghosts. My money is on flesh and blood, baby, as someone who doesn't believe in ghosts. If I were walking alone at night and someone wrapped in a sheet came up to Me and hugged Me, I would be upset, just like someone who has seen a ghost. Yeah, I saw the ghost and I didn't faint or die, so you either know it or you don't.

I'm alive, oh yes, I'm alive. Am I or are you? The Francis Smith case stimulated a debate about self-defense law in England that would not be fully clarified until the early 1980s. One thing is pretty certain, however: if you see a ghost, don't shoot it with a gun. He's a ghost, a bullet probably won't do much to him anyway and while some claim that Thomas Millwood's ghost haunts the Black Lion pub where the vigilante Gidler brought his lifeless body, he wonders if Hammersmith was haunted by someone who was playing a deadly prank on a leaf or a real ghost remains unresolved another season finale in the books any final thoughts well that was a real corker ryan thanks for telling me another story you're welcome don't shoot a ghost use a net that It's the demon boy promise ghosts are real don't shoot them don't agree put them in a net shoot them yourself