According to the Guinness Book of Records, the most haunted village in Britain is Pluckley in Kent, an idyllic town just 90 minutes from London
Pluckley in Kent may look like the typical idyllic country village, but while beautiful, it is also reported to be the most haunted village in Britain.
The village, which is just a 90-minute drive from London, was given the title of ‘most haunted’ by the Guinness Book of Records in 1989, with between twelve, and possibly more, ghosts reported to haunt the area.
The title is no longer in use by Guinness, leading to some questioning whether Pluckley is still the most haunted village in Britain, but either way, ghostly sightings are still being reported in the Kent town to this day.
Among the ghosts said to have been seen in Pluckley is the Red Lady, who is thought to have been a member of the aristocratic Dering family, who are local to the area. Her ghost reportedly haunts the graveyard of St Nicholas’s Church.
The tragic legend surrounding her is that she walks the graveyard in search of the unmarked grave of her child. With different versions claiming she died in childbirth, that her child was stillborn, or that the child died shortly after birth.
A second Dering woman also haunts the church, known to locals as the White Lady, who is said to have been buried inside seven coffins and an oak sarcophagus. Not much else is known about the White Lady, other than she was buried wearing a white dress, hence her moniker.
Another rather sad story is that of the Monk and the Lady of Rose Court. The Monk is said to haunt Greystones, the former rectory, while the lady haunts the manor house Rose Court.
Local stories claim that the two are connected in some way, although they differ in just how, with some claiming they were friends while others suggest they were lovers or involved in some sort of love triangle.
Whatever the connection between the two, the story goes that the Monk died of a broken heart, and the Lady of Rose Court took her own life by drinking the juices of poisonous berries and ivy. Some even claim that she died standing at her window, looking towards Greystones.
A Tudor Lady has also been reported to haunt Rose Court, with some claiming she and the Lady of Rose Court are one and the same. This ghostly figure can be heard calling for her dogs on the stretch of road between Greystones and Rose Court.
Other ghost stories of Pluckley include a highwayman, known as the Screaming Man, a Gypsy woman who drowned, and a phantom coach and horses.
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