The Paranormal Database

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

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Kent Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Woman with Long Blonde Hair

Location: Birchingham - Court Mount Hotel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 03:00h (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Said to be quite pleasant to watch, this beautiful wraith in her white dress disappears into a bedroom wall. The sounds of phantom footsteps have also been reported.

Quentin

Location: Birchington-on-Sea - Lafayette Club, Station Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1978
Further Comments: This nightclub appeared in the local press after the bar manager heard the clicking of fingers followed by a voice saying 'come here' while alone. Other people claimed to have seen a blue outline that formed the shape of a young man, who gained the nickname Quentin, and speculation connected him to the location when used as a drill hall.

Sheet

Location: Borden - St Peter and St Paul Church
Type: Other
Date / Time: February 2014
Further Comments: A photograph which made it into the local press which was said to show a 'faceless monk in a habit' was unconvincing and resembled a sheet behind a window at the church.

Grey Monk

Location: Boughton Malherbe - Old Rectory
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The pale smoke coloured figure still reportedly drifts around the building.

Thomas Sales

Location: Boxley - Boxley House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s onwards
Further Comments: Thomas, a butler, is believed to have killed himself in 1898 after he was blackmailed by a gang who burgled the building. His short, well-groomed shade has been seen in the bar area after hours, and perhaps more sinisterly, his unseen hands have reportedly tried to push several people downstairs.

Gliding Hound

Location: Boxley - The Street
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Circa 1988, dusk
Further Comments: The passenger of a van observed an Alsatian-sized dog as it glided towards the vehicle before reaching a hedge, where it stood upright on its rear legs. The passenger and dog watched each other until the van turned a corner and out of sight.

Maid carrying a Basket

Location: Bridge - Bridge Place Country Club
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghostly maid seen in a bedroom is believed to have been murdered by a former owner, after giving birth to an unwanted baby. The infant has been heard crying, the sounds coming from behind the fireplace. Another figure, this time a cavalier, has also been observed on site.

Count Louis Zborowski

Location: Bridge - Higham Park
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1998
Further Comments: A figure that disappeared suddenly as it crossed a field was named as the ghost of Zborowski, who once resided at the Higham Park estate.

Bloated Face

Location: Broadstairs - Boarding School, run by Mr & Mrs Hester
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: Author Dennis Wheatley encountered a man with a white, bloated face while boarding at this school. He thought the figure was a burglar, and a hunt ensured on the property after his sighting. However, the figure had disappeared, leaving no trace. A few years later, during the First World War, Wheatley was told the figure he encountered was an elemental, accidently summoned by the Hesters.


An old postcard of the beach at Broadstairs in Kent.

White Nurse?

Location: Broadstairs - Kingsgate Castle and beach below
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December 2010 (nurse), October 2011 (nun)
Further Comments: A photograph taken by artist Malcolm Baker appears to show the upper body of a white figure moving through foliage just outside the castle. Baker believes the figure to be a nurse in 1950s uniform, carrying a tray in front of her. A few months later musician Dan Smith reported spotting a nun dressed in white on the beach just after dawn, the figure quickly vanishing.

Blithe Ghost

Location: Broadstairs - Playhouse, (theatre demolished in 1980s) Westcliff Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1947
Further Comments: Two of the Blithe Spirit cast reported hearing footsteps outside their door in the upper part of the building, but no person could be found. A former actor told the local press the site was jinxed, and she had been pushed on the staircase by an unseen force. Whispers could be heard from behind the stage during performances, but like the source of the footsteps, no guilty party could be discovered.

Woman

Location: Broadstairs - Private residence near Nelson Place
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1956
Further Comments: A newspaper article featured the activities of this female phantom, which included the rustling of an unseen dress, the smell of perfume, and the family cats interacting with something that could not be observed. On one occasion, an occupant heard a piano being played inside the house, although the instrument did not exist on the site.

Monstrous Fish

Location: Broadstairs - Sandy area, was known as Fishness
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1574
Further Comments: A twenty-two yard (twenty metre) long fish washed up on the beach, the creature's roar being heard over a mile away before dying. One of the creature's eyes was said to be 'more than a cart and six horses could draw'. It is very likely the 'fish' was a whale.

Stooping Man

Location: Broadstairs - Thanet House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom stands over a small lake in the area, as if looking for something.

Woman in Long Gown

Location: Broadstairs - Woodside Cottage
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: Seen only a couple of times, it was much more familiar for this entity to be heard walking in the upper part of the building.

Coach

Location: Burham - Pilgrims Way
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A horse-drawn coach is said to haunt this road, the occupants unseen and unknown.

Mabel?

Location: Burham - Toastmaster Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2001
Further Comments: A former landlady, Mabel may have been photographed during a New Year's Eve party in 2001, reflected in a picture on the wall. There are also reports of glasses that move themselves and strange sounds.


Bishop's Finger Inn, Canterbury.

Ellen Blean

Location: Canterbury - Bishop's Finger Inn, St Dunstan's Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Every Friday night (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Blean, a housekeeper to a Canon in Canterbury, poisoned him and his mistress when she discovered their affair. Blean disappeared soon after, and many years later her body was discovered walled up in a nearby building. The story goes that Blean's ghost haunts the street and appears in the inn itself, although the story's connection to the inn is said to be fictitious.

Abigail

Location: Canterbury - Building along Hawks Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: John Hippisley, who runs the Canterbury ghost walk, tells the story of Abigail. She committed suicide after several years of being beaten by her husband. Abigail ultimately had the last laugh, as her death was mistaken as a murder for which her husband was found guilty and hanged. Her spirit is said to linger in the upper part of the building.


Canterbury Cathedral, Kent.

Nell Cook

Location: Canterbury - Canterbury Cathedral - Archbishop's Palace, the Dark Entry, and other areas
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Nell was a servant at the cathedral. He discovered his niece was having a relationship with a canon and killed them both. Nell's ghost now walks in regret. Phantom plainchant has also been heard from the area, and the figure of a nun and the ghost of Simon of Sudbury are also reported.


Roads running through the centre of Canterbury.

One Time Mayor

Location: Canterbury - Central city streets
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Riding his bicycle around the city he loved, the mayor has proved to be quite harmless.

Clouded Leopard

Location: Canterbury - Countryside around the area
Type: ABC
Date / Time: 1975
Further Comments: An escapee from Howletts Park, this leopard lived for eight months in the Kent countryside, before being shot by a farmer.


St Margaret's Street, Canterbury.

Girl in Grey

Location: Canterbury - Former private residence (now an Estate Agent) along St Margaret's Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early twentieth century, every Friday morning at 05:00h
Further Comments: John Hippisley, who runs the Canterbury ghost walk, tells the story of a phantom girl dressed in grey clothing would be seen to enter the front door and ascend the staircase before vanishing. Eventually, a female's skeleton was discovered under the floorboards, draped in grey cloth.

Stagehand

Location: Canterbury - Gulbenkian Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2011
Further Comments: This phantom presence is said to be a stagehand wearing black clothing. While only being seen once, the figure is more likely to be heard climbing ladders.

Thrown Glass

Location: Canterbury - Maidens Head public house (Room 4 in particular)
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 2019 - 2022
Further Comments: The pub appeared in the local press after it was reported that keys were taken and glasses smashed by an unseen hand in one of the guest rooms. A jukebox reputedly played while disconnected.

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