We live in ‘UK’s ghost capital’… even the church clock is stuck at creepy time & we dread winter in our haunted house
AS I settle in for a night in the Screaming Woods - a 'tainted' forest surrounding the UK's most haunted village - my confidence swiftly deserts me.
With every tent peg I hammer in, I can feel a faint chilling breath on the back of my neck... as if the monk who roams the treetops of Pluckley is watching me.
Legend has it the holy man died of a broken heart in the Tudor times, but now haunts this village with 11 other ghosts.
So it is no wonder that Pluckley - surrounded by dense woodlands about 62 miles southeast of London - is believed to be the UK's paranormal capital, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Every Halloween, the rural community in Kent becomes overrun with amateur ghost hunters and thrill-seekers willing to be left traumatised.
Plenty have flocked to investigate tales of Fright Corner, where a highwayman was gruesomely murdered by several swordsmen who rammed their blades through his body, leaving him pinned to an oak tree.
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The more adventurous camp out, waiting to get a glimpse of a woman ghost who howls on a full moon, engulfed by flames.
And while locals remain sceptical of the phenomenon, most have experienced "hair-raising" moments that can't be explained.
Ahead of October 31, The Sun's resident ghostbusters travelled down to investigate the village's haunted hotspots, before settling in for a night in the woods ourselves.
What we found was a charming slice of Britain... with a dark, creepy history.
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It's close to midnight
As soon as our brave photographer stepped into the town centre, he noticed the clock on the supposedly haunted church had stopped working.
To our horror, we discovered its hands were idling at two minutes to midnight - eerily similar to the Doomsday Clock, a symbol that represents an imminent global catastrophe.
Already, the village was starting to live up to its reputation.
Pluckley has had a long-established community that dates back to Roman times and was mentioned in the Domesday Book, published in 1086.
It has played host to Anglo-Saxon bloody squabbles, peasant uprisings in the Middle Ages and was even bombed in World War II.
For Andrew Ayres, a British paranormal investigator, the village's rich history has provided a horrible track record of hauntings.
He told us: "Pluckley is reported to be the most haunted village in the UK and possibly the world.
"The ghost tales range from a coach and horses going down the main street, a watercress lady who sets herself on fire, to a monk that drifts between the trees."
As reports go, Pluckley is said to have 12 resident ghosts.
They include a highwayman, phantom coach and horses, a gypsy woman, the miller, the schoolmaster, a colonel, a brickworks worker, the grey lady, the white lady, the red lady and the monk.
It has been reported former local Desmond Carrington, a BBC broadcaster, was the main source of the village's popularised history.
Nevertheless, Andrew claimed there have plenty of odd supernatural occurrences.
He added: "I am a paranormal investigator by trade and it has to be said that the area has more than its fair share of paranormal activity.
"We’re getting at least ten inquiries a day from Pluckley, and being based next door in Maidstone - we have to go and investigate.
"There is some incredible evidence in all of those locations."
Andrew is also the owner of Ghost Hunter Tours - which book out within seconds around Halloween time.
To run an authentic show, he goes in with a sceptical mind and challenges every story or piece of evidence he is presented with.
Yet, Andrew believed it was the abnormal amount of local paranormal activity that makes the hair stand up on his neck.
Mad dogs and moving objects
Andrew said: "Pluckley has a history of strange experiences for residents and visitors.
"You’re not going to get a ghost popping out but what you do get is strange happenings – things that move, dogs that go crazy and can’t walk into the pub… the unexplainable.
"From our perspective, there is no doubt there is paranormal activity in Pluckley."
The village's two main pubs, The Dering Arms and The Black Horse Restaurant, are reportedly home to very active ghosts.
The latter tells us the Black Horse Restaurant was even ";spiritually cleansed" when the ownership changed hands.
Haunted house
Marie Bettinelli and her husband purchased the house Rose Court a few months ago, despite knowing it was haunted.
More than 250-years-old, the home was reportedly the site of tragic tale where a woman killed herself after swallowing a batch of poisonous berries.
The lady, thought to be a mistress of a Dering family member, can be heard calling for her dog between the hours of 4pm and 5pm – the supposed timing of her death, it has been alleged.
She said: "We love living here.
"We love the community spirit, everyone is so friendly here and the location is just beautiful.
"Lots of people come past and give us snippets of history and we also get inquires about the ghost and if it is still here."
While Marie admits she is a naysayer when it came to ghosts, she has witnessed some very odd happenings since moving in.
She said: "We hear weird noises all the time.
"Last night, we were sitting downstairs and it sounded like someone was going through the draws upstairs.
"But we have four cats, so it could’ve been them playing for all we know.
"We weren't brave enough to investigate it further but seeing our cat appear was good enough for us.
"I will say though I am not looking forward to the winter months."
She added: "And I am still waiting to see the Grey Lady in the backyard."
Ghost hunts
More than ten years ago, Ghost Hunters International lead investigator Robb Demarest vowed he wouldn't return to Pluckley.
Not because of the mixed response from locals but because of "eerie" feeling he got when filming finished.
Running for three seasons, the hit TV show saw Robb and his team of investigators visit haunted locations around the world.
He told The Sun: "When you walk around Pluckley village it is odd.
"What I mean by that is, this is a town when you walk in and it is not quiet... more so it is that horrible definition 'too quiet'.
"There is no one around, there is no one at the pub, there are no lights, there is no life in the centre of the town, nothing."
Robb and his crew stayed in the village overnight to record any paranormal activity.
He added: During my time, there were several odd occurrences.
"At one of the old pubs we documented a ghost, who we believe was an old bailiff.
"His sentiment we believe we could sense on the monitors moving around the building.
"We recorded his movement, his voice, his response, using electromagnetic phenomenon."
Electromagnetism is an interaction between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields, said to be one of nature's fundamental forces.
Paranormal investigators believe ghosts and spirits use electromagnetic fields to manifest or interact with witnesses.
He added: "There was a very high level of activity, but we attributed that to a lot of electrical wiring underneath the stairs.
"As much as people think we are going in to be spooky and scary, we are actually going in to give people answers.
"That said, the spookiest thing I witnessed was the disturbing atmosphere in the town.
"When we wrapped up filming, we were standing around and it was as if someone had a flatulent problem.
"Except that there was no phantom smell, it was the atmosphere, it just had that eerie feeling.
"It got to the point where the whole crew was saying 'I'm not liking this so much' so we got out and never returned.
"Is Pluckley the most haunted village in England, in the world, in its area? I wish I could give you a fantastic score like 78 out of 100 but I can't.
"What I can say, is that in my opinion with over 60 countries investigated, is it the most haunted village that I have been to - absolutely."
The jury is still out
For long-term Cliff Boulton, he is yet to see any proof that ghosts exist in Pluckley.
Cliff said: "I think it is bloody stupid.
"I've been here 31 years and the only ghost I have seen is myself in the mirror.
"I mean of course I've heard weird noises but haven't we all?"
After hearing all these accounts, it was time for me to head back to the "screaming woods" for a well-earned rest.
But as I trudged through the muddy paths, in between the skeletal trees, the idea of the monk watching me slowly crept back in my thoughts.
Everything suddenly went silent. I nearly had a heart-attack when my phone rang - thankfully it was my boss asking me if I'd got my tent up.
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And just as luckily, that proved the biggest challenge all night.
If you are keen on visiting Pluckley, here are the top 15 spookiest spots and the ghost stories behind the locations.
