A Shot in the Dark: The Hammersmith Ghost of 1804

Dark Histories

Ben Cutmore

History

4.8 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2024

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the last twenty-five years, ghost hunting has entered something of a golden age, with all sorts of technology playing its part and filling up an investigators kit bag. Cameras, EMF metres, InfraRed thermometers and spirit boxes all help to carve a science out of a difficult premise, with differing levels of credibility. In the early 1800s, things were a little bit different. It was a simpler time. All you needed back then was a stiff drink, or maybe two, and a loaded revolver, because as we all know, if you want to catch a ghost, you need to shoot it first. All well and good, provided the ghost you shoot isn’t just a man in his work overalls. SOURCES Old Bailey Proceedings Online (1804) Trial of FRANCIS SMITH (t18040111-79). Available at: https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/record/t18040111-79. Kirby, R.S. (1804) Kirby’s Wonderful & Scientific Museum. Barnard & Sultzer, London, UK. Taylor, Joseph (1815) Apparitions; Or, The Meaning of Ghosts, Hobgoblins & Haunted Houses, Developed. Macdonald & Son, London, UK. Waters, Thomas. (2015) Magic and the British Middle Classes, 1750–1900. Journal of British Studies, vol. 54, no. 3, 2015, pp. 632–53. Mitchell, Valentine (1926) The Newgate Calendar. Garden City Publishing CO. NY, USA. The Star (1804) Coroner’s Inquests. The Star, Fri 06 Jan 1804, p4. London, UK. The Star (1804) The Hammersmith Ghost. The Star, Mon 09 Jan 1804, p2. London, UK. Morning Post (1804) The Ghost of Hammersmith. Morning Post, Fri 06 Jan 1804, p3. London, UK. Kentish Gazette (1804) The Real Hammersmith Ghost. Kentish Gazette, Fri 13 Jan 1804, p3. London, UK. Johnson’s Sunday Monitor (1804) Hammersmith Ghost. Johnson’s Sunday Monitor, Sun 15 Jan 1804, p3. London, UK. Illustrated Police News (1937) Ghost Shot Dead In Village Cemetery. Illustrated Police News, Thurs 04 March 1937, p1. London, UK. For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: http://audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9 Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories & Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/ Or you can contact us directly via email at [email protected] or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.

Transcript

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0:00.0	In the last 25 years, ghost hunting has entered something of a golden age, with all sorts of technology playing its part and filling up an investigator's kit bag.
0:10.0	Cameras, e. F meters, infrared thermometers and spirit boxes,
0:14.4	all helped to carve a science out of a difficult premise
0:17.6	with differing levels of credibility.
0:19.6	In the early 1800s, things were a little bit different it was a simpler time all you needed back then was a stiff drink or maybe two and a loaded revolver because as we all know if you want to catch a ghost you need to shoot it first.
0:36.4	This is all well and good provided the ghost that you shoot isn't just a man in his work
0:41.6	overalls. This is Dark Histories where the facts are worst in fiction.
0:50.3	Hello and welcome back to Dark Histories I'm Ben your host as always and this is
0:56.3	season 8 episode 11 I don't believe I have much in the way of news today so we're
1:02.4	going to jump straight into it this episode
1:04.1	is one that I read about a long long long long long time ago back when I did
1:09.3	yesterday today if anyone remembers that And I remember coming across the story and thinking I'm not sure
1:16.2	that's enough for a full episode and looking into it a little bit more I decided we'll give it a go.
1:21.2	So yeah today's episode is a little bit shorter than the others, but it's I think it's all there
1:26.2	So yeah, I hope you enjoy it. This is called a shot in the dark the hammersmith Ghost of 1804.
1:36.3	The Victorian era is often seen as a period of great supernatural belief, a world of Gothic literature,
1:42.0	ghost stories, spiritualism, mesmerism,
1:44.8	psychical investigations, nine-bending scientific discoveries
1:48.8	and religious experimentation that might consider it as a paranormal or superstitious golden age.
1:55.0	This viewpoint of the age can make it hard to reconcile that just decades earlier
2:00.0	the world was in a much more skeptical place.
2:02.0	The age of Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th
	...

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