The Trial
On July 10, 1762, William Kent took Richard Parsons, his wife, the Reverend Moore and two other accomplices to court. They were charged with: “a conspiracy to take away his life by charging him with the murder of Frances Lynes by giving her poison whereof she died.” Kent was finally able to seek recompense-because the Cock Lane ghost had finally been unmasked as a malicious fiction.
After the fiasco in the crypt, Samuel Johnson’s report concluded that” “It is…the opinion of the whole assembly that the child [Elizabeth Parsons] has some art of making or counterfeiting a particular noise and that there is no agency of any higher cause.” This belief was confirmed by the investigation into the girl. For when Elizabeth was made to keep her hands above the bedclothes, the scratching sounds did not occur. Furthermore, a maid had spotted her attempting to conceal a small piece of wood on her person that she later used to make the noises.
Elizabeth herself, once discovered, admitted her deception. Her father had forced her into it, she said. This explained Parson’s extreme unwillingness to have his daughter isolated from her family during the investigation. It also explains why Elizabeth herself broke down several times, crying that she was afraid for her father and on once occasion admitting that he would be: “ruined and undone, if their matter should be supposed to be an imposture.”
The trial lasted just thirteen hours. Kent testified, as did Fanny’s maid, who emphasized the loving nature of the relationship between Kent and her mistress. Fanny’s doctors confirmed that she had indeed died of smallpox. Richard Parsons, meanwhile, was revealed as an impecunious drunk, who had fabricated the ghost in vengeance for Kent taking him to court over the unpaid debt. However, there were still those who supported the idea of the Cock Lane ghost who were willing to testify in court. Catherine Friend, who had rented the apartment after Kent, explained she had left Cock Lane because of the haunting.
After fifteen minutes deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of guilty. The Judge adjourned sentencing, so the defendants could come to financial terms with Kent and avoid prison. In January 1763, the Reverend Moore and one of the accomplices finally agreed to pay Kent £588. Richard Parsons and his wife, however, continued to maintain their innocence. Mrs. Parsons was sentenced to a year in prison and her husband two. Richard Parsons was also sentenced to be publicly pilloried three times- once at the end of Cock Lane. Unusually, the crowd, who took collections for him rather than abusing him, treated him with unexpected kindness.
Some people at least still believed in the Cock Lane ghost.