Kent Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
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
Footsteps
Location: Sundridge - General area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A revolt during the House of Stuart resulted in many homes in the village being destroyed, the ghostly footsteps heard dashing around the area and the occasional knocking on doors said to be villagers seeking shelter.
First added: 2026-07-17 | Last updated: 2026-07-17 | ID #16737
Grey Lady
Location: Sundridge - Private cottage
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1949
Further Comments: The activity from a phantom grey lady was said to have increased after the conversion of the building into three dwellings.
First added: 2026-07-17 | Last updated: 2026-07-17 | ID #16738
Witch
Location: Sundridge - Private cottage
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1949
Further Comments: Occasionally heard by a neighbour, this phantom witch-like woman was seen jumping through a window by a visitor.
First added: 2026-07-17 | Last updated: 2026-07-17 | ID #16739
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
Tall Man
Location: Thurnham - Thurnham Castle
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 17 June 2003
Further Comments: A small group of people standing around a fire watched a seven foot tall man dressed in a green and blue tunic run past, waving his arms wildly. Though only visible for a couple of seconds, one of the witnesses reported that while the figure had no face, he did possess smartly cut short hair.
First added: 2003-07-09 | Last updated: 2003-07-09 | ID #4405
Woman in Black Dress
Location: Timberden Bottom - Private house, exact location unknown
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: December 1968 onwards
Further Comments: While the ghostly figure of the woman has been seen several times, a phantom clown has appeared twice, hanging in the air where, if the legends are to be believed, he hanged himself in the 1600's.
First added: 2002-06-17 | Last updated: 2002-06-17 | ID #1292
Orange Lights
Location: Tonbridge - Barden Lake
Type: UFO
Date / Time: 01 September 2007, 21:00h
Further Comments: A group of ten orange lights flying in a straight line were spotted by fishermen. A few of the lights formed triangular shapes. Changing position slightly, the witnesses could see around twenty more lights flying low behind the tree line, all moving in the same direction.
First added: 2007-09-18 | Last updated: 2007-09-18 | ID #7961
Brick Tosser
Location: Tonbridge - Bradley House (demolished), outskirts of town?
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Late 1959
Further Comments: Men working on the demolition of the property had bricks thrown at them by unseen hands, resulting in hospitalisations. Workers also reported being attacked by a thrown door and covered in water after a pipe was wrenched from a wall. Accompanying the events were periodic sightings of a phantom young man with blonde hair, a photograph of whom would later be discovered under floorboards.
First added: 2026-03-07 | Last updated: 2026-03-07 | ID #16415
Norman Soldiers
Location: Tonbridge - King's Road / Goldsmid Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Local legend said that these two Norman troops became lost while en route from the Battle of Hastings to London. The pair were caught by Saxon soldiers (and it did not end well).
First added: 2023-10-01 | Last updated: 2023-10-01 | ID #15079
Woman
Location: Tonbridge - Lodge Oak Lane, outside Cardinal's Error public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom woman would wander along the lane outside the pub, although it may be many years since she last appeared.
First added: 2023-10-01 | Last updated: 2023-10-01 | ID #15080
Lady with Large Hat
Location: Tonbridge - The Cardinal's Error public house, Lodge Oak Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen sitting at the base of a bed by two different ladies, the true history of this ghost is unknown.
First added: 2002-06-16 | Last updated: 2002-06-16 | ID #1263
Headless Lady
Location: Tonbridge - Tonbridge Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The headless woman who reputedly rode around the castle moat was identified as Lady Bettina de Tonbridge, forcefully removed from her home after her husband's debts resulted in the castle being taken by the bailiff. Betty had been ill for a while, and after being taken to a cottage hospital, died soon after. The castle has recently become popular with ghost hunting groups, who report screams, footsteps, and other strange occurrences.
First added: 2026-04-03 | Last updated: 2026-04-03 | ID #16462
Lost Count
Location: Trottiscliffe - Coldrum Long Barrow
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Barrow still present (sans capstone)
Further Comments: The stones of the barrow, said to be the site of a great battle and covering the remains of a Black Prince, are impossible to count (according to folklore). A secret tunnel containing treasure is reputed to run between this location and the St Peter & St Paul Church in Trottiscliffe.
First added: 2024-10-19 | Last updated: 2025-12-23 | ID #15673
Huge Dog
Location: Trottiscliffe - Pilgrim's Way
Type: Shuck
Date / Time: 1745?
Further Comments: A very large black hound is said to stalk the village, and may have attacked two locals in 1745, killing one and severely injuring the other.
First added: 2002-06-17 | Last updated: 2002-06-17 | ID #1280
Figures in Green
Location: Trottiscliffe - Road near Coldrum Long Barrow
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 01 May 2001, 04.30h
Further Comments: A pair of witnesses reported seeing a smiling man and woman dressed in ornate green clothing approaching them down this road. The figures in green disappeared on a bend of the road just before both parties should have met.
First added: 2004-05-18 | Last updated: 2024-10-19 | ID #5135
Door Opener
Location: Upnor - Upnor Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January - February 1996, and 2020s
Further Comments: A ghost was blamed when alarms would be set off without explanation and locked doors found unlocked. More recently, it is reported that a boy in Georgian clothes has been spotted outside the fort, and mild poltergeist activity is experienced within.
First added: 2025-12-22 | Last updated: 2025-12-22 | ID #16209
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