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Haunting/Poltergeist Incident
Evidence Dossier

Legacy category: Hauntings and Poltergeists

The Drummer of Tedworth

Evidence Dossier: A record proves that a statement, transfer, examination, or result was documented. It does not automatically prove the anomalous interpretation attached to it.
OverviewEvidenceTimelineAnalysisSources
1662-1663
Tedworth, Wiltshire, England
7/10
5/10
A household at Tedworth reported drumming, knocking, movement, and other disturbances after a vagrant drummer's instrument was seized.
Moderate for documenting the historical report and its reception; low for establishing a paranormal cause.

Investigative Assessments

"The reported claim remains worth testing against the record: A household at Tedworth reported drumming, knocking, movement, and other disturbances after a vagrant drummer's instrument was seized. The strongest documented reasons to keep the file open are: Saducismus Triumphatus, 1705 edition: Preserves a complete historical source directly relevant to the reported case or its later evaluation; The Drummer of Tedworth, 1716: Preserves a complete historical source directly relevant to the reported case or its later evaluation. Key unresolved lead: Contemporaneous local legal records tied to the drummer"
"Evidentiary limitations: Moderate for documenting the historical report and its reception; low for establishing a paranormal cause. Note that: Saducismus Triumphatus, 1705 edition fails to support: A historical publication does not by itself establish a paranormal cause or exclude ordinary agency; The Drummer of Tedworth, 1716 fails to support: A historical publication does not by itself establish a paranormal cause or exclude ordinary agency. Documented contradiction: Later retellings differ on sequence, agency, and evidential weight. Leading conventional hypothesis: Human agency, expectation, and later narrative amplification"

Case Summary

An early investigator narrative, a 1716 compilation, and Andrew Lang's later critical comparison preserve the Drummer of Tedworth controversy. The records are public-domain and source-rich, but all are publications rather than surviving physical evidence.

Evidence Locker

3 inspectable evidence items. Claims and source findings are kept separate.

book Local copy hash-verified Complete source

Saducismus Triumphatus, 1705 edition

Analyst rating: supports

“| And yet I can add one thing more touching the”
Record locationtitle page; complete 362-page scan
Evidence classearly published investigation narrative
Relationship to claimsupports
Authenticity assessmentDirect download from the named institutional item page; local byte count and SHA-256 verified.
What this supportsPreserves a complete historical source directly relevant to the reported case or its later evaluation.
What it does not supportA historical publication does not by itself establish a paranormal cause or exclude ordinary agency.
ProvenanceInternet Archive institutional scan
Chain of custodyRetrieved 2026-08-06T19:15:45Z; 18152915 bytes; SHA-256 7c5983b9f7bd2a3a19f6c3dd0be46083e7b35b7ff509ad1e2342c1006938a889.
Source completenessComplete. Complete source file supplied by the repository item.
Known gaps: No known completeness gaps recorded.
Open Complete Source (Local PDF Document) Download Copy Canonical Agency Record
pamphlet Local copy hash-verified Complete source

The Drummer of Tedworth, 1716

Analyst rating: mixed

“ſometimes it was under the Bed, whence it”
Record locationtitle page; complete 48-page scan
Evidence classearly compiled case narrative
Relationship to claimmixed
Authenticity assessmentDirect download from the named institutional item page; local byte count and SHA-256 verified.
What this supportsPreserves a complete historical source directly relevant to the reported case or its later evaluation.
What it does not supportA historical publication does not by itself establish a paranormal cause or exclude ordinary agency.
ProvenanceInternet Archive institutional scan
Chain of custodyRetrieved 2026-08-06T19:15:45Z; 17363846 bytes; SHA-256 ebb49d22f1f71d8017224484dc2be5800d20181d1fc00534d9877d44999be208.
Source completenessComplete. Complete source file supplied by the repository item.
Known gaps: No known completeness gaps recorded.
Open Complete Source (Local PDF Document) Download Copy Canonical Agency Record
book Local copy hash-verified Complete source

Cock Lane and Common-Sense, 1894

Analyst rating: challenges

“has plenty of religion, and that the custom”
Record locationtitle page; complete 406-page scan
Evidence classlater critical comparative treatment
Relationship to claimchallenges
Authenticity assessmentDirect download from the named institutional item page; local byte count and SHA-256 verified.
What this supportsPreserves a complete historical source directly relevant to the reported case or its later evaluation.
What it does not supportA historical publication does not by itself establish a paranormal cause or exclude ordinary agency.
ProvenanceInternet Archive institutional scan
Chain of custodyRetrieved 2026-08-06T19:15:45Z; 17140564 bytes; SHA-256 9bad3bef0dd52e478bf21466de52625f91bd240f7852b0d432aea85b807365e8.
Source completenessComplete. Complete source file supplied by the repository item.
Known gaps: No known completeness gaps recorded.
Open Complete Source (Local PDF Document) Download Copy Canonical Agency Record

Documented Timeline

  • 1662: Disturbances are reported at John Mompesson's house in Tedworth.
  • Late seventeenth century: Joseph Glanvill publishes a widely cited narrative.
  • 1716: A case compilation devoted to the drummer is published.
  • 1894: Andrew Lang includes a critical comparative treatment.

Named Participants and Roles

  • John Mompesson household and reported visitors, reported experiencers and observers. Account basis: Retrospective. Witness quality: Moderate. The accounts are historically relevant but lack modern controls and independent continuous documentation. Evidence: e1, e2, e3

Contradictions and Record Conflicts

  • Later retellings differ on sequence, agency, and evidential weight.
  • The publications do not preserve a single continuous neutral record.

Conventional Explanations

  • Human agency, expectation, and later narrative amplification
    Evidence for: The staged records are retrospective or editorial publications and preserve conflicting interpretations.
    Limits: The source packet does not demonstrate the mechanics of every reported event.
    Evidence: e1, e2, e3

Evidence Stance Matrix

HypothesisStanceRationaleEvidence IDs
Prank, retaliation, or concealed human agencyMixedThe staged publications document competing interpretations but do not uniquely test this hypothesis.e1, e2, e3
Editorial amplification in early printed narrativesMixedThe staged publications document competing interpretations but do not uniquely test this hypothesis.e1, e2, e3
Unresolved physical disturbanceInconclusiveThe staged publications document competing interpretations but do not uniquely test this hypothesis.e1, e2, e3

Missing Evidence

  • Contemporaneous local legal records tied to the drummer
    This record would reduce dependence on retrospective or editorially framed publications.
  • A complete independent diary from a neutral household visitor
    This record would reduce dependence on retrospective or editorially framed publications.

What Remains Unresolved

  • The cause of each reported sound or movement
    No surviving staged artifact continuously controls access and observation during the original events.

Investigative Hypotheses

  • Prank, retaliation, or concealed human agency
  • Editorial amplification in early printed narratives
  • Unresolved physical disturbance

Open Questions

  • Contemporaneous local legal records tied to the drummer
  • A complete independent diary from a neutral household visitor

Archival Landing Pages and Evidence Corpus

Saducismus Triumphatus, 1705 edition

Book Local Source Verified

External URL: https://archive.org/details/saducismustriump00glan_0

Open Local Artifact (PDF Document) · Download Copy

The Drummer of Tedworth, 1716

Pamphlet Local Source Verified

External URL: https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_the-drummer-of-tedworth_1716

Open Local Artifact (PDF Document) · Download Copy

Cock Lane and Common-Sense, 1894

Book Local Source Verified

External URL: https://archive.org/details/cocklanecommonse00languoft

Open Local Artifact (PDF Document) · Download Copy