10 Haunted Houses That Have Murdered People

5. The Hammersmith Ghost Murder Case

Sometimes, the victims of murder by ghost are (allegedly) actually killed by evil spirits, or else driven to kill because of them. In others, a mistaken belief in a haunting leads to the foundation of a precedent in British law regarding self-defence, and whether people can be considered liable of murder if they committed it as a consequence of a mistaken belief. Such is the story of the Hammersmith ghost murder case.

There had been a number of reports of sightings and even attacks by a ghost - claimed to be that of a suicide victim from the area - in the Hammersmith district of 19th century London. Armed patrols began to get spooked whilst on duty in the area, which is what lead one Francis Smith to shoot and kill plasterer Thomas Millwood. Smith was found guilty.

It was the white smock, trousers and waistcoat of Millwood appearing through the late-night mist, as if an apparition, that caused Smith to open fire. The death sentence for murder was commuted to a year's hard labour for Smith, in light of his mistaking Millwood for the ghost which was never buried, since suicides weren't meant to go in consecrated ground. So he claimed another victim in taking his own life...