Kent Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
Crying Man
Location: Shoreham - Crown Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Appearing outside the inn, this phantom man died of a broken heart. He was married to the landlord's daughter but was press ganged and sent to sea. By the time he returned, his wife had died.
First added: 2008-10-05 | Last updated: 2008-10-05 | ID #9009
Man with Brown Dog
Location: Shorne - Shorne Lodge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghost of an old man, accompanied by a small brown dog, has been seen in one of the bedrooms here. A misty presence was observed moving along the ceiling in the 1940's, and a young girl is also said to haunt the building.
First added: 2002-06-17 | Last updated: 2002-06-17 | ID #1289
Grey Lady
Location: Sissinghurst - Approaching the village from Wilsley Pound
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2000s?
Further Comments: By a large tree near a white house on the approach to Sissinghurst from Wilsley Pound, a phantom grey lady occasionally stands.
First added: 2007-02-20 | Last updated: 2007-02-20 | ID #7109
Priest
Location: Sissinghurst - Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The garden area is said to be home for a peaceful monk, killed by Sir John Baker who built the castle. His footsteps have been heard walking alongside visitors to the gardens. A phantasm has also been reported on a staircase in the castle, though it is unclear whether it is the same entity.
First added: 2002-06-17 | Last updated: 2002-06-17 | ID #1279
Crossers
Location: Sittingbourne - Railway Level Crossing (no longer part of the railway)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1893
Further Comments: The crossing here had a spooky reputation after a train driver spotted a white figure run across the line in the early hours of the morning. The driver thought that the figure had been hit by his train, but when the area was searched, nothing could be found. At least one person had died on the crossing and a footbridge was erected as a result.
First added: 2020-05-02 | Last updated: 2020-05-02 | ID #13724
Small French Man
Location: Smarden - The Chequers Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late Spring (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The ghost of a French POW from the Napoleonic war is said to move small items around the premises and upset pets in the building.
First added: 2002-06-06 | Last updated: 2002-06-06 | ID #1097
Green Lady
Location: Southborough - Common
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 31 December (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Roaming the common on New Year's Eve, nothing more is known about this woman.
First added: 2023-10-01 | Last updated: 2023-10-01 | ID #15078
Short Woman
Location: Southfleet - Rectory
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: Believed to be either a nurse or a nun, this spectre wears a brown outfit and carries an armful of paper.
First added: 2002-06-16 | Last updated: 2002-06-16 | ID #1244
Jack
Location: St Margaret's at Cliffe - Unidentified fields in the area
Type: Other
Date / Time: November 1904
Further Comments: A group of men looking for a ghost which had taken up haunting the area claimed something like 'Spring Heeled Jack' escaped them by running into the mist. Several other ghosthunters mistook a nurse walking home for the ghost, while another team startled a horse and trap which narrowly avoided injuring the driver.
First added: 2020-05-12 | Last updated: 2026-01-31 | ID #13776
Long Sea Beast
Location: St Margaret's Bay - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1912
Further Comments: This sea serpent was observed moving swiftly through the water, vanishing from view after a sailing boat moved too close to it.
First added: 2003-06-28 | Last updated: 2003-06-28 | ID #4372
Moaning
Location: Staplehurst - The Kings Head public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1972
Further Comments: After a headstone in the garden was removed, phantom noises came from the bar area once it was devoid of human life, and the guest room. The latter area is supposed to terrify animals.
First added: 2002-06-17 | Last updated: 2002-06-17 | ID #1285
Python?
Location: Strood - Carnation Road area
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Late 1990s
Further Comments: There were reports of a large snake, presumed to be a python, observed in people's gardens along this road and the nearby wooded area. One witness observed the creature swimming in her pond.
First added: 2024-10-12 | Last updated: 2024-10-12 | ID #15657
Black Cat
Location: Strood - General area
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: One witness observed a large black cat in an alleyway eating something, while a teenage girl camping in a garden peered out after hearing a noise and spotted green eyes looking at her. One theory is that the creature lived in woodland near Higham.
First added: 2024-10-12 | Last updated: 2024-10-12 | ID #15656
Kentish Longtails
Location: Strood - General area
Type: Curse
Date / Time: 24 December 1190 onwards
Further Comments: One legend says that Thomas Becket was riding through the land when a member of the de Broc family cut off his horse's tail. This must have mightily upset the archbishop, as Becket cursed the population of Strood to be born with tails.
First added: 2008-08-25 | Last updated: 2008-08-25 | ID #8779
Black Cat
Location: Strood - Private residence, Albatross Avenue
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1979
Further Comments: A phantom black cat would walk through the walls, and two different phantom men were seen in the property. Mild poltergeist activity would also occur when the occupants discussed leaving. A clairvoyant reportedly exorcised the entity, which she claimed was the ghost of a child who had died over one hundred years previous.
First added: 2026-05-16 | Last updated: 2026-05-16 | ID #16559
Older Lady
Location: Strood - Temple Manor
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Built in the thirteenth century and occupied by the Knights Templars, this building was said to be haunted by an older lady. Local folklore also says that there is a secret tunnel that connects the site to Rochester Castle on the other side of the river.
First added: 2024-10-13 | Last updated: 2024-10-13 | ID #15663
Smart Man
Location: Strood - Three Crutches Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Dressed in fine clothing, this phantom gentleman is said to walk through a wall in the dining room. Another ghostly figure has been observed sitting at an upper floor window.
First added: 2008-10-14 | Last updated: 2008-10-14 | ID #9033
Cursed Widow
Location: Sundridge - Combe Bank - Parkland
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Cursed by her husband prior to his execution (the woman's testimony placed him there, enabling her to run off with another man), Lord Ferrer's widow died in a fire so intense only part of her thumb was recovered. Her spirit is said to be looking for the rest of the body.
First added: 2002-06-16 | Last updated: 2002-06-16 | ID #1267
Drummer
Location: Sutton Valence - Sutton Valence Boarding School
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The local press reported a phantom drummer boy would stand on the lawn, having been seen several times over a three hundred year period. A lady in white also haunted the site, as did a former master and his dog.
First added: 2026-04-03 | Last updated: 2026-04-03 | ID #16463
Gamekeeper
Location: Swanley - Field in the area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1999
Further Comments: This area is reputedly haunted by a gamekeeper wearing a long brown coat and tricorn hat, killed after accidentally stepping on a mantrap that he had set to catch poachers.
First added: 2015-05-17 | Last updated: 2015-05-17 | ID #11817
Mother
Location: Swanley - Private residence, Rowan Road
Type: Other
Date / Time: April 2015
Further Comments: Local news carried the story of a woman who claimed that the ghost of her mother could be seen peering out of a window in her former property on Google Earth, although the image is more likely to be pareidolia.
First added: 2015-05-17 | Last updated: 2015-05-17 | ID #11818
Sky Ship
Location: Swanscombe - Church and nearby Blue Anchor public house
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 1211
Further Comments: A group here for Sunday service watched a strange ship drop anchor from the heavens, which became entangled around a gravestone. One of the crew jumped overboard and headed towards the anchor, moving as if swimming. Witnesses grabbed the stranger as he reached the ground; he struggled briefly before drowning, even though on dry land. The remaining crew in the ship severed the rope of the anchor and sailed away; the strange artefact was melted down and used to make the hinges on the local church doors.
First added: 2002-07-18 | Last updated: 2002-07-18 | ID #1824
Young Man
Location: Tenterden - A28, near Silver Hill
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: February 1997
Further Comments: A woman driving along the road watched in disbelief as a semi-transparent man dressed in black stepped out in front of her car. She hit the figure and stopped immediately, but was unable to find the man, and her car remained undamaged.
First added: 2004-08-13 | Last updated: 2004-08-13 | ID #5296
Officer
Location: Thanet - Former Ambulance Station, now Westwood Cross
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2004
Further Comments: A cold wind felt in the former ambulance station, even in the height of summer, was attributed to a phantom officer. Some believe that even though the building has been replaced by a shopping centre, the ghost remains.
First added: 2008-10-05 | Last updated: 2008-10-05 | ID #9014
Gardener Watching the Goldfish
Location: Thanet - Thanet House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This dedicated gardener has been watched several times standing on a stone bridge, watching the fish in the pool.
First added: 2002-06-17 | Last updated: 2002-06-17 | ID #1291
Records 351 - 375 of 413
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