In 1762, thousands of Londoners, including lords, clergymen, and the famous dictionary writer Samuel Johnson, crowded into a narrow street to question a ghost. One knock meant yes. Two knocks meant no. And "Scratching Fanny" had a shocking answer: she said she had been poisoned.

The man she accused was William Kent, a Norfolk moneylender whose late partner, Fanny Lynes, had died of smallpox. The man behind the haunting was Kent's landlord, parish clerk Richard Parsons, who owed him money.

On this Halloween edition of Brewed With Intent, we pour a warm cup and unravel the Cock Lane Ghost: the knock code, the paying crowds, the committee that tested a child in a quiet house, the silent vault, and the courtroom that finally ended it. It's a ghost story with a real motive, and a reminder that intent was hiding behind the knocks the whole time.

Brewed With Intent is the Saturday morning bonus series from Deadly Intent. Full episodes drop every Wednesday.

Content note: This episode discusses a false accusation of murder, a death from illness, and a child being used to carry out a deception. Nothing graphic.

Keywords: Cock Lane Ghost, Scratching Fanny, 1762 London haunting, Samuel Johnson ghost, Richard Parsons, William Kent, Fanny Lynes, historical hoax, fake haunting, true crime history, Georgian London, Halloween true crime

#CockLaneGhost #ScratchingFanny #BrewedWithIntent #DeadlyIntent #TrueCrimePodcast #TrueCrimeHistory #HalloweenPodcast #HistoricalHoax #GhostStory #GeorgianLondon #SamuelJohnson #TrueCrimeCommunity

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