Jack Aitken was an arsonist whose ghost is reported to haunt the English city of Portsmouth.
The city's Royal Navy dockyard houses a building known as No. 18 store, or The Great Ropehouse, three storeys high and nearly 336 metres (1100 ft.) long. Originally built in 1700 (when the original brick building was destroyed by fire) it was rebuilt again in 1776 following another fire, this time deliberately laid by Jack Aitken, also known as Jack the Painter. Aitken was subsequently hanged for his crime, and his corpse left on display in the harbour inside a gibbet. Local people have regularly reported that the chains of the gibbet can still be heard clinking in the wind during stormy weather.
References
- Hampshire Treasures - Vol XI: Portsmouth. Cached. Accessed 1 November 2008.
- Portsmouth - Paranormal Database. Accessed 1 November 2008.