April 15: Demon Drummer of Tedworth

1661 The Demon Drummer of Tedworth, England was first heard by Mr Mompesson round the middle of April (sources vary as to date).

'The Demon Drummer of Tedworth' is a famous supernatural story told by Joseph Glanvill in his Sadducismus Triumphatus.

In 1668, Glanvill published Sadducismus Triumphatus, Latin for The Defeat of Sadducism, meant as A Blow at Modern Sadducism ... To which is added, The Relation of the Fam'd Disturbance by the Drummer, in the House of Mr. John Mompesson. By Sadducism, Glanvill meant something close to modern scepticism, the deliberate denial of the supernatural. 
 
The tale Glanvill told was that a local landowner, John Mompesson, owner of a house in the town of Tedworth, had brought a lawsuit against a local drummer, whom he accused of extorting money by false pretences. After he had won judgment against the drummer and confiscated his drum, he found his house plagued by nocturnal drumming noises ...