The Paranormal Database

Devil's Hoof

Location: Newington - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A hoof print is visible in a stone by the gate. The Devil was once so upset by the sound of the church bells, he climbed the steeple with the intent of stealing them; he slipped and fell, leaving the single piece of evidence behind.

Monk

Location: Newington - George Inn, High Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Seen by a handful of customers over the years, it is more common for the ghost to be blamed when glasses are smashed or items disappear.

Headless Woman

Location: Northfleet - 16 Waterdales
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1966
Further Comments: Two ghosts haunted this council house (the headless woman, and a younger blonde haired girl), forcing the occupants to leave. Two journalists who spent a night in the house reported their room becoming icy cold, and the sounds of creaks and of something sliding along the floors.

Footsteps

Location: Northfleet - 40 Overcliffe
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Late 1960s
Further Comments: Home of a groundsman at a golf club, the man left the building after experiencing strange taps and disembodied footfalls.

Shattering Ashtrays

Location: Northfleet - Old Sun public house (no longer operating)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Circa 1960s
Further Comments: The blame for strange sounds, broken glasses and shattered ashtrays was allocated to a resident ghost, although licensees Anne and Dennis blamed vibrations from the nearby river.

Grey Girl

Location: Northfleet - Undisclosed alleyway
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1988
Further Comments: While walking home, this witness spotted a sad looking girl wearing tattered grey/silver clothing. The girl disappeared.

Man in Black Cloak

Location: Northfleet - Ye Olde Leather Bottle public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 2004 (poltergeist)
Further Comments: The landlord claimed the site was haunted by a man in a black cloak, and a maid who haunted the upper rooms. A slightly older story of a phantom blonde man may be the same entity as the cloaked figure. A poltergeist would push items off the shelves and would spring into life if any bar staff denied its existence.

Scottish Clansman

Location: Otford - Private cottage
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Pre 1950s (Scotsman), 1951 (poltergeist)
Further Comments: A Scottish clansman traditionally haunted the kitchen of this property, although the owners in 1951 had never encountered anything strange until renovations were carried out and a strong presence could be felt near the fireplace.

Grey Lady

Location: Oxney Bottom - Road between town and Dover
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1973?
Further Comments: This figure in a dark grey cloak is said to look so real that people have tried to speak to her, not realising what she is. The entity has also been blamed for causing several accidents as she drifts in front of incoming traffic. A bus conductor once saw her climb on board his vehicle and walk up the stairs - when he went up to collect the fare, she had vanished.

Highwayman

Location: Oxney Bottom - Woodland in the area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Once the haunt of footpads and robbers, the woodland in the area is still said to be home to a ghostly highwayman prowling the area.

Old Lady

Location: Paddock - Paddock Wood
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: May 1912
Further Comments: This ghostly granny would cross the road in front of oncoming cyclists.

Anne West

Location: Pembury - Great Bayhall Manor house, and churchyard (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1803
Further Comments: Anne feared being buried alive, so she requested a bell be placed in her crypt when her time came. When she was buried, the bell rang for several nights, and her corpse was seen walking down the road towards her former home. She continued to haunt the area for many years afterwards.

Young Woman

Location: Pembury - Area around Hawkwell Mansion
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This young woman escaped her wicked husband in London and returned with her baby to her mother's home in the village. However, when she arrived, she found the building had burnt down; she lay in the ruins and froze to death during the night. Her ghost remains.

Ann West

Location: Pembury - Great Bayhall Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1800s, early 1900s
Further Comments: Ann West, one time inhabitant of the manor house, is said to be to blame for the ghostly noises and shadow-like figure that was seen in the hall.

Elisabeth

Location: Penshurst - Bottle House Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Felt rather than seen, this phantom lady has an unknown history.

Old postcard of Penshurst Place.

Sir Philip Sidney

Location: Penshurst - Penshurst Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 2017
Further Comments: Stories say that the sixteenth century poet Sir Philip haunts his former home. Another ghost, that of an Elizabethan lady who takes the form of a lady in grey, has been observed in the garden. In 2017, a visitor felt a cold draft with weight and a body-like form move across her back in the tapestry room. The visitor mentioned the experience to a nearby guide, who said that they had seen the lady in grey several times.

Unsuitable Villager

Location: Penshurst - Vicarage, and road leading there
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 25 April 2004
Further Comments: This ghostly figure re-enacts the journey he took during life to rendezvous with his secret love, the vicar's daughter. A small group of people reported seeing a shade in this area in 2004, dressed in black and holding what appeared to be a bag or case.

Jenny the Dairymaid

Location: Plaxtol - Old Soar manor house, two miles from Plaxtol
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Priest seen 1972, other activity said to peak in June (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Jenny committed suicide (or died by misadventure) in the chapel area after finding out she was pregnant - people now report lights that flicker around the chapel after dark. A phantom priest was reported by two people in the chapel in 1972, accompanied by a fall in temperature. Other people have reported soft footsteps in different parts of the building.

Pluckley's nature reserve, close to the brickworks.

Screaming

Location: Pluckley - Area around the Brickworks, Pluckley Heath
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1991, and 09 October 2021
Further Comments: To hear the screaming ghost (a man who fell down a claypit) is not uncommon in this area and is reported to be quite bloodcurdling. A witness who heard the scream in 1991 said that they were familiar with fox noises and the ghost's cries did not resemble those of the creature. In 2021 two witnesses were left 'spooked' as they drove past the Brickworks and passed through a localised mist which contained pocket-like holes.

The Black Horse at Pluckley.

Invisible Hand

Location: Pluckley - Black Horse Public House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s onwards (pub), 1970s (house)
Further Comments: This non-alcoholic spirit moves items across the bar, tidies, and sometimes hides coats and wallets, with a particular interest in black cardigans. The site is also home to disembodied screaming. In an interview with the Evening News, a former owner of the adjoining property claimed to have seen a tall dark figure appear in the bedroom.

Miller

Location: Pluckley - Mill Hill, location where the windmill once stood, near the Pinnock
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather dependant: Prior to a storm
Further Comments: The area around the windmill, which burnt down in 1939 after a lightning strike, would receive visits from a long dead miller (or a figure in black), with at least one story claiming the entity still haunts the site and manifests before a storm. A letter to a local newspaper in 1948 claimed the ghost to be actually an owl.

Colonel

Location: Pluckley - Park Wood (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1965?
Further Comments: This woodland, levelled in 1965, was home to a phantom officer who had hanged himself at the site.

The hidden Pinnock Bridge.

Watercress Seller

Location: Pluckley - Pinnock Bridge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom older woman spotted here has been identified as Sarah Sharp. She is believed to be a watercress seller who accidentally set herself on fire with her pipe while sleeping.

Owl

Location: Pluckley - Pinnock Farm
Type: Other
Date / Time: Pre 1948
Further Comments: A letter in the Kentish Express reported a ghost thought to be at the farm turned out to be a screech owl.

Alarm

Location: Pluckley - Private residence
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1989
Further Comments: Two employees would be woken at 02:15h by their alarms over a two week period, although neither had set their devices. The figure of a young woman quickly vanished after being spotted by one employee, and a cat would appear in the building before disappearing in areas with no possible exits. Finally, men (but never women) would find one room particularly disturbing, with builders refusing to work within and guests leaving during the night.