The Paranormal Database

Potato Thrower

Location: Dartford - Undisclosed house at Ruskin Grove
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1975-1976
Further Comments: The Robertson family were forced from their home after experiencing a haunting that lasted two years. Mr Robertson reported seeing a ghostly figure at the top of the staircase on the day they moved in, their pets reacted to an invisible presence, and poltergeist activity would throw around potatoes and clean laundry. No reports have come from the site since the family moved away.

Smuggler

Location: Deal - Deal Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Described as 'hideous' in a 1926 newspaper, the phantom of a female smuggler holding a lantern haunted the castle after being violently killed. More recent stories claim the site is haunted by soldiers, a young girl, and other classic haunting motifs.

The Lady Lovibond

Location: Deal - Goodwin Sands
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 13 February, every 50 years from 1748
Further Comments: A jealous sailor deliberately ran the Lady Lovibond onto the Goodwin Sands, a treacherous area off the coast of Deal, wrecking the ship and killing all on board. The craft is now said to re-enact the crash, though there are no reports of any witnesses in 1998. Two other ghostly craft are said to frequent the area - the liner Montrose, and a man of war named Shrewsbury.

Admiral

Location: Deal - Sholdean Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The admiral who is said to have once lived here is held accountable for the odd knocks and taps heard around the home.

Redcoat

Location: Deal - Walmer castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A phantom soldier in a red coat is said to patrol the castle. After retiring, a nightwatchman said he had not seen the ghost but had heard 'some funny sounds'.

Bad Sir Giles

Location: Denton - Coppice close to Tappington Hall
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Sir Giles is said to have lured the gamekeeper's daughter into the wooded area and murdered her. Both people were said to haunt the coppice, though no actual sightings are documented.

Cyclist

Location: Detling - Site of former RAF Detling
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: August 2004
Further Comments: A cyclist dressed in a Second World War RAF uniform passed by a witness and then disappeared. When the witness mentioned the encounter the following day, they were told horses would refuse to cross the grassy area where the sighting had occurred.

Glowing Ball

Location: Detling - Unidentified field
Type: UFO
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One story said that eyewitnesses watched a glowing ball of light land in a field; when investigated, a burnt circular patch was discovered where the ball had been seen.

Misty Figure

Location: Ditton - New Hythe train station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This ghostly figure is reported to haunt the area in and around the railway station.

Dodechild

Location: Dode - Church, and general area
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Every seven years (although exact date of the cycle is unknown)
Further Comments: The Black Death of 1349 decimated the village of Dode. A piece of (likely modern) folklore says a young girl hid in the church while the rest of the village caught the illness, although she would also later die. The girl became known as the Dodechild and would manifest every seven years. A local legend claims a plague pit near the church is also haunted.

Pacing Man

Location: Dover - Castle Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2010, January 2012 (or possibly 2011)
Further Comments: During renovation of the inn, two painters spotted a man walking around the upper part of the building. They investigated but could not find the man, nor any way the figure could have left the area. Around the same time, the landlady reported rustling on the staircase and keys which jangled unaided. In 2012 the only guest in the inn spotted three men in long shabby coats and hats having a meeting in the room next door, yet the room should have been empty.

Laughing

Location: Dover - Cinque Port Arms public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sounds of laughing are said to be heard in one room here.

Horse

Location: Dover - Common Lane and another unnamed lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January 1963
Further Comments: Police were called after a riderless horse was spotted cantering in the area. No horse could be found, and in one area the creature had been reported, the snow showed no hoof marks.

Dover Castle, Kent.

Headless Drummer

Location: Dover - Dover Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mostly unknown, soldier seen 02 November 2013
Further Comments: The headless drummer boy is said to date from the Napoleonic period. A lady in red and figure in blue have also been reported, while the tunnels under the castle are haunted by Second World War soldiers and operatives, perhaps escapees from Dunkirk - one figure in khaki and with a blurred face was seen walking purposefully along a corridor in 2013. The Arthurian hero Sir Gawain is reportedly buried here.

Mordred Battle

Location: Dover - Possibly beach under the white cliffs
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Legend says Arthur returned from mainland Europe, landed here and promptly fought (and defeated) Mordred's forces for the first time.

Hooded Monk

Location: Dover - Roman lighthouse, near St Mary in Castro Church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Both a ghostly monk in a dark habit and a phantom Roman soldier forever walk the area.

Rushing Horseman

Location: East Malling - Barming Woods
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: January (normally) (reoccurring). Seen last in 1971
Further Comments: This figure has been both seen and heard as he darts around trees and over roads. One witness said the entity charged towards their car, disappearing on impact.

Fred

Location: East Malling - Unidentified council house
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: May 1972 - 1973
Further Comments: Lynda and George Heritage's home became subjected to bangs, creaks, and the sounds of dragging. The family nicknamed their ghost Fred, although a visiting member of a spiritualist church said the entity was actually Eric, who had died after falling out of bed in 1851. The case appeared on BBC's Man Alive documentary series on 21 March 1973.

Man in Long Coat

Location: East Peckham - Camping site close to Walnut Tree Inn (no longer operating)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1931
Further Comments: One camper claimed to have seen a man wearing an eighteenth century long coat and knee breeches, while another would hear reoccurring footsteps pacing around the tents and terrible screams.

Footsteps

Location: East Peckham - Walnut Tree Inn (no longer operating)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa 1931
Further Comments: The landlord reported hearing footsteps and other 'queer noises' which were said to have started after the removal of an old gravestone from outside the building (although the stone is more likely to have been a boundary marker).

Sliding Glass

Location: Eastchurch, Isle of Sheppey - Shurland Hotel
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 07 October 2011
Further Comments: CCTV caught a glass moving across a table before breaking on the floor, although some speculate that it slipped off. Staff have also reported other paranormal activities, including disembodied footsteps, banging on the walls, and a phantom little girl who manifested briefly at the foot of a bed.

Vicar

Location: Eastry - Eastry church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1956
Further Comments: Photographed in 1956 (see Janet & Colin Bord's Modern Mysteries of Britain, p40, for a good copy of the image), this ghost appears to be that of a former clergyman.

Countless Stones

Location: Eccles - Little (or Lower) Kit's Coty
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: A baker attempted to count the stones here, to prove that it was possible to number the so-called 'countless stones'. The baker placed a loaf of bread on each rock, and when complete, counted each one he took back. The Devil had other plans, however, and consumed several loaves before the baker had finished.

Failing Breaks

Location: Elmsted - Elchin Hill
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Some cars have been said to experience sudden mechanical failure on the hill, normally affecting the brakes and steering.

Unknown

Location: Eltham - Sherard House (demolished 1920)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre 1920
Further Comments: Having a haunted reputation, possibly from being empty for a number of years, workmen discovered a secret staircase while demolishing the house.