Gordon Augustus Thompson, better known as Galloper Thompson, was a 19th-century linen mill owner and adventurous globe-trotter. After spending years abroad, he returned to Belfast and settled in Jennymount which now the Alexandra Park Avenue area. A devoted horseman, he was often seen riding at speed through the local streets towards the Jennymount Mill on North Derby Street.

According to local lore, before his death in 1886, Thompson vowed that if he couldn’t secure a place in heaven, he’d return to haunt his old home. Sure enough, not long after his death, ghostly sightings began. Residents reported a phantom rider tearing down Jennymount Avenue, sometimes described as headless — a detail linked to a story that Thompson was decapitated in a mill accident. Others claimed his ghost would ride borrowed horses from nearby stables, only for them to return exhausted and caked in mud by morning.

Over time, the tale became a chilling warning for local children: get home before nightfall, or risk an encounter with the Galloper. Today, the story has become a beloved part of Belfast folklore, commemorated in street art and remembered as one of the city’s most enduring ghost stories.