The Paranormal Database

Man in Black Cloak

Location: Northfleet - Ye Olde Leather Bottle public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2004
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 poltergeist would push items off the shelves.

Blonde Man

Location: Northfleet - Ye Olde Leathern Bottle public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This tall ghostly gentleman has been reported within the building. A female form also haunts the place.

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 on oncoming cyclists.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Flickering Light

Location: Pluckley - Church of St Nicholas
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Sounds of knocking can be heard coming from beneath the church at night, often accompanied by a flickering and fluttering light inside the empty building. Some say the light belongs to Lady Dering, buried within three lead coffins to prevent her decay. The churchyard is reputed to be haunted by a red lady, wandering the area in search of her missing baby. Finally, the inside of the church is also said to be haunted by a woman in mid-twentieth century clothing.

Victorian Woman

Location: Pluckley - Dering Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This pub is said to be home to a phantom woman in Victorian clothing who lurks by the bar.

Pleased to Meet you...

Location: Pluckley - Devil's Bush
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An unknown bush in the village can be used to summon the Devil, by dancing three (or thirteen) times around it, and/or saying (or not saying) a spell.

Headmaster

Location: Pluckley - Dicky Buss's Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1965
Further Comments: Taking his own life in the 1800's, the phantom headmaster was observed by an author in the mid-twentieth century; the entity wore stripy trousers and an old coat.

Walker

Location: Pluckley - Elvey Farm Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Blamed for poltergeist activity, a phantom walker was once said to frequent the farmhouse. There are also reports of a haunting smell (burning yarn or wool) and the ghost of Old Bill, who sits on the end of a bed and talks to himself.

Dying Highwayman

Location: Pluckley - Fright (aka Frith) Corner
Type: Environmental Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A large spectral tree has been seen here, together with a highwayman pinned to it by several swords. On other occasions, an elderly phantom woman is spotted; thought to be a gypsy woman, she accidentally set herself on fire with her pipe while sleeping.

Miller

Location: Pluckley - Mill Hill, location where ruined mill once stood, near the Pinnock
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This location is haunted by both a miller and a gypsy woman, the latter said to have burnt to death on the site.

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 on the site.

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 exist. Finally, men (but never women) would find one room particularly disturbing, with builders refusing to work within and guests leaving during the night.

Tutor Lady

Location: Pluckley - Rose Court
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This reputed female phantom could be heard calling out for her hounds, although it is said that she has not been heard for many years. The woman is said to have committed suicide by eating poisonous berries.

Screams

Location: Pluckley - Screaming Woods
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local legend says that the screams which emerge from the woodland belong to those who became lost and died amongst the trees.