Difference between revisions 123501052 and 123501053 on dewiki

{{Use British English|date=April 2011}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2011}}
[[File:Cock lane ghost.png|250px|thumb|alt=A monochrome illustration of a narrow street, viewed from a corner, or intersection. A large three-storey building is visible on the right of the image. The ground floor has three windows, the first and second floors have two windows each. The roof appears to contain a row of windows, for a loft space.   The word "KING" is written between the first and second floors, and a sign, "Gas meter maker" hangs above the ground floor windows.|A 19th-century illustration of Cock Lane.  The haunting took place in the three-storey building on the right.]]
(contracted; show full) | first = Lawrence H. | title = Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1264 to Present | url = http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/ | publisher = measuringworth.com | accessdate = 13 January 2010}}</ref><!-- old estimate in case of argument - (about £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|20|1759|r=-2}}|0}} as of {{CURRENTYEAR}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK}} -->|group="nb"}}  In response, Kent had him arrested.<ref name="Grantpp410">{{Harvnb|Grant|1965|pp=4–10}}</ref>

==Fanny==
    
While attending early morning prayers at the church of [[St Sepulchre-without-Newgate]] William Kent and Fanny met Richard Parsons, the officiating [[clerk (choral)|clerk]]<ref name="Grantpp410"/> Although he was generally considered respectable, Parsons was known locally as a drunk and was struggling to provide for his family.  He listened to the couple's plight and was sympathetic, offering them the use of lodgings in his home at what (in 1965) was 20&nbsp;Cock Lane, to the north(contracted; show full)ictionary of National Biography | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2004 | url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/21456 | accessdate = 21 December 2009 | doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/21456}}</ref>  Kent asked Elizabeth to stay with Fanny, who was then several months into a pregnancy, and to share her bed while he was away.  The two reported hearing scratching and rapping noises.  These were attributed by Mrs Parsons to a neighbouring [[Shoemaking|cobbler]], although when the noises re-occur
red on a Sunday, Fanny asked if the cobbler was working that day; Mrs Parsons told her he was not.  James Franzen, landlord of the nearby Wheat Sheaf [[public house]], was another witness.  After visiting the house he reported seeing a ghostly white figure ascend the stairs, and terrified, left to go home.  Parsons visited him there that same night, and claimed also to have seen a ghost.<ref>{{Harvnb|Chambers|2006|pp=39–40}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Grant|1965|pp=14–15}}</ref>

(contracted; show full) Chronicle]]'' and the ''[[London Chronicle]]'' printed reports from 16–19 January (the latter the more sceptical of the two), and ''Lloyd's Evening Post'' from 18–20 January.  The story spread across London and by the middle of January the crowds gathered outside the property were such that Cock Lane was rendered impassable.  Parsons charged visitors an entrance fee to "talk" with the ghost, which, it was reported, did not disappoint.<ref
 name="Benedictp172"/><ref>{{Harvnb|MacKay|1852|p=232}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Westwood|Simpson|2005|pp=463–464}}</ref><ref name="Benedictp172"/>  After receiving several requests to intercede, [[Sir Samuel Fludyer, 1st Baronet|Samuel Fludyer]], [[Lord Mayor of London]], was on 23&nbsp;January approached by Alderman Gosling, John Moore and Parsons.  They told him of their experiences but Fludyer was reminded of the then recent case of fraudster [[Elizabeth Canning]] and refused to have Kent or Parsons arrested (on charges of murder and conspiracy respectively).  Instead, against a backdrop of hysteria caused in part by the newspapers' relen(contracted; show full)==External links==
*[http://www.sarahbakewell.com/Other%20Writing.html#scratchingfanny A 'Fortean Times' article about the Cock Lane Ghost]
{{featured article}}

[[Category:Ghosts]]
[[Category:Hoaxes in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:History of the City of London]]
[[Category:Crime in London]]
  
[[Category:18th century in London]]

{{Link FA|fr}}
[[fr:Fantôme de Cock Lane]]
[[ja:コック・レーンの幽霊]]