The Drummer of Tedworth was a well-documented case of unexplained disturbances in Wiltshire, England, during the 1660s. John Mompesson confiscated a drummer's instrument, after which his house was plagued by thumps, drummings, and other eerie noises, attributed to poltergeist activity. The case became a cause célèbre in early modern England, discussed by philosophers and clergy alike.

The Drummer of Tedworth case influenced the development of the poltergeist and supernatural noise motif in English literature. It appears in works by Joseph Glanvill and later inspired Gothic writers, including Horace Walpole and Ann Radcliffe, who used unexplained sounds to create atmospheres of dread and psychological suspense.