The Paranormal Database

Examining folkloric, paranormal & cryptozoological locations in the UK and beyond

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Kent Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

The Force

Location: Adisham - 3 Church Lane
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1976
Further Comments: Nicknamed 'The Force' by one of the residents of this home, tables would lift themselves up, boiling water would come out of the floor, and the electric meter would operate even when power to the building was cut off.


A shadowy horse that cannot be found.

Horse

Location: Adisham - Bossington Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A legend says that a shadow of a horse has been spotted under the bridge, but upon investigation, there is nothing there.

Bad Poker Night

Location: Aldington - The Walnut Tree Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Home to a gang of smugglers, a poker game they played while waiting for 'the signal' ended with one gang member slitting the throat of another - the ghostly footfalls that can now be heard are that of the murderer taking the body to the well to be disposed of.

Loud Shouts

Location: Appledore - Old house used by Soldiers during Second World War
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s
Further Comments: The soldiers staying here during the Second World War were all killed in action. After the war, it was said they could be heard shouting and screaming in the part of the house where they lived.

Walking in the Attic

Location: Appledore - Unnamed council house on the village heath
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1975-1984
Further Comments: The sounds of something moving around the attic have been reported in this property, while strange bangs were heard coming from the stairs. Whispering could often be heard in the smallest bedroom.

Golden Idol

Location: Ash - Exact location unknown
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Hunted for by many a treasure seeker, still yet to be discovered, a large statue made from solid gold is supposed to be hidden in the lands here.

Body in Attic

Location: Ashford - An old Manor House near the railway
Type: Post-Mortem Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown - pre twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghost of a murdered man returned to his lover and directed her to find his body in the loft in this old house.

Coach

Location: Ashford - Ball Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: New Year's Eve, Midnight (reoccurring)
Further Comments: A phantom horse drawn carriage is said to travel along this lane before either crashing into a tree or falling into a pond.

Jet Black Cat

Location: Ashford - Close to railway line, Ham Street
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 2007
Further Comments: A man spotted an Alsatian sized cat near his home. The creature was jet black and had a long tail. The witness had recently lost his own pet cat and speculated that it had been eaten by the panther.

Amorous Foxes

Location: Ashford - Dering Woods
Type: Other
Date / Time: Always
Further Comments: The Woodland Trust denied the woodland was haunted by a gypsy who accidentally burnt herself to death or a headmaster who committed suicide, but rather by the sounds of amorous foxes. The Trust also highlighted that they had spent six thousand pounds on clearing up the damage caused by ghost hunters (or by people using ghost hunting as an excuse to be idiots).

Swimming Horseman

Location: Ashford - Eastwell Park and Manor House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 20 June - Horseman seen (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Riding towards the park house, this phantom horseman veers off at the last minute and enters the nearby lake. A white lady haunts the house itself, seen by porters on the night shift. In the seventeenth century, the Earl of Winchelsea cut down several oak trees, bestowing a curse on his family which took the life of his wife and son shortly after.

Gliding Lady

Location: Ashford - Repton Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1940s
Further Comments: The phantom white lady here was reportedly seen by soldiers using the building during the Second World War and was thought to be the murdered wife of a former owner. Within the manor she would ascend the staircase holding a candle, while one person who observed her outside said she had no feet and had drifted across a nearby field. The kitchen area was also reputedly haunted by a ghostly monk.

Orb

Location: Ashford - SMP Large Format (printing firm), Montpelier Business Park
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: October 2012
Further Comments: CCTV caught what appeared to be a white ball of light moving around a workshop, although it could be something small close to the camera lens. Staff have also reported the feeling of being watched and had tools moved around the site.

Burning Horse

Location: Aylesford - Area around the White Horse Stone
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A horse and rider, both bathed in flame, are said to haunt this area.

Rider with Large Hat

Location: Bearsted - Road leading to Pilgrim's Way
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This man on horseback is described as wearing a large hat and possessing silver spurs. Some stories say that various people have engaged the man in conversation, not realising he was a ghost until he vanished.

Rider

Location: Beckenham - Field along Pickhurst Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1926
Further Comments: A ghostly figure riding a white horse was spotted galloping across this field.

Unhappy Girl

Location: Beckenham - Lazy Toad public house, and road outside
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1997
Further Comments: Wearing 1980s style clothing, one witness spotted the unhappy-looking teenager before she suddenly disappeared outside the pub. There appeared to be some debate in the media whether the ghost was somehow connected to the pub or actually just a misidentified real person.

Grey Haired Woman

Location: Beckenham - Private residence along Abbey Park, Beckenham
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: October 2007, early morning
Further Comments: One occupant of the house woke in the early hours to see an elderly lady standing in the corner of the bedroom. The figure had long grey hair which curled at the end, and wore a grey dressing gown. The occupant pulled the duvet over their head and hid. Other people in the property reported an unsettling feeling during the night.

Turpin in Green Velvet

Location: Bickley - The Chequers public house, Southborough Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2013
Further Comments: Local legend says Dick Turpin's ghost was seen in an upstairs room sitting at a desk, writing with a quill. Another story says a woman in eighteenth century garb also haunts the upper part of the building. The pub hit headlines in September 2013 after it was reported a phantom French Soldier called Barnard scared away two bar staff who were staying overnight.

Footsteps

Location: Bicknor - Bicknor Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Echoing footfalls have been reported around the church and a large, strange animal seen that vanished when approached.

Hooded Figures

Location: Bidborough - St Lawrence Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: July 1998
Further Comments: Two visitors to the churchyard were alarmed by the appearance of three hooded figures floating down the path reasonably quickly. The figures possessed a faint glow, and there was also a pale hue under the hoods where their faces should have been. The witnesses ran from the churchyard but stayed outside the grounds for several minutes to see whether the figures would reappear. They did not.

White Figure

Location: Biddenden - Small wood in area
Type: Other
Date / Time: Between Christmas and Twelfth Night, pre-1930s
Further Comments: A white figure haunted the woodland and became most active over winter. The worried daughter of a farmer who had been terrified by the ghostly figure sought to help her father by recruiting Jasper Maskelyne to talk to the ghost and try to put it to rest. Jasper stood in the woodland at night; as the white figure approached, Jasper cocked a shotgun loaded with salt and fired. The ghost was revealed to be a farm labourer.


Photograph of a spitfire flying overhead.

Spitfire

Location: Biggin Hill - Biggin Hill Airport & village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 19 January (spitfire) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Observed flying overhead, and sometimes heard, a phantom Spitfire haunts the skies of Biggin Hill - January would appear to have become its favourite haunting month. Airmen dressed in trench coats have been reported in the village; they stop people and ask directions before disappearing.

Tailed Bigfoot

Location: Bilington - Field near the town
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: May 1961
Further Comments: Two girls walking from school reported seeing a large hairy figure running into nearby woods, complete with an unmistakeable tail.

Line of Monks

Location: Bilsington - Bilsington Priory
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A ghostly procession of monks is said to haunt this area, and the ruins of the priory return to their former pristine state. The wife of Joseph Conrad was one witness to this event.

Records 1 - 25 of 299

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