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Posted: 23-05-2003 14:52 Post subject:

In their Gazetteer of Strange Events, county by county at the end of
Modern Mysteries of Britain, the Bords list over twenty weird events
in Kent:
1: Bilsington, abominable snowman, May 1961;
2: Blue Bell Hill, phantom hitch-hiker, 13th July 1974;
3: Chatham: 4-year old girl disappears then reappears in bed, July 1966;
4: Cheriton, Folkestone: Poltergeist, Oct & Nov 1917;
5: Chilham: Big black cat or dog by ancient mound, Jan 1947;
6: Cliftonville: Sea Monster, Summer 1950;
7: Dartford: SHC death of author J. Temple Thurston? 6.4.1919;
8: Eastry: Ghost photograph interior of church, 1956;
9: Faversham: Big sandy cat, 30.8.1985;
10:Faversham area: Big black cat, January 1979;
11: Goodwin Sands: Abandoned schooner found, 1919;
12: Isle of Sheppey: Silver suited & helmeted alien, 22.3.1979;
13: Lamberhurst: Missing horse discovered in adjoining room. Door too narrow to release it, 1905;
14: Paddock Wood: Old lady road ghost, May 1912;
15: Ramsgate: Fall of pennies, some 40 or 50 in 15 minutes, November 1968;
16: Sandling Park, Hythe: Headless Cryptid with bat's wings, 16.11.1963;
17: Sandwich: Crocodile on River Stour, 29.7.1975;
18: Sevenoaks: Ice fall dents car, 18.8.1968;
19: Sevenoaks: Road ghost run over but no body found, 14.6.1979;
20: Sevenoaks Bypass: "Phantom road" may be cause of several fatal crashes, 1977 - 79;
21: Between Tonbridge & Sevenoaks: Jackal killed after several animal deaths, 1.3.1905;
22: Whitstable: Black cloud with glowing crucifix seen for twenty minutes, 25.12.1977.

Some of these stories are recounted in detail in the book. Others are just tantalizing
outlines but maybe Google will turn up something. Smile

Posted: 24-05-2003 17:51 Post subject:

Bilsington must be a hotbed of paranormal activity, as I have heard reports of phantom feet being seen at the old monastery there. I tried to find the old monastery a few years ago, but to no avail... but happened on the strange memorial to Sir Cloudsley Shovel instead... since then I seem to see his name everywhere in Kent and South London.

Also :

'16: Sandling Park, Hythe: Headless Cryptid with bat's wings, 16.11.1963;'

Could this have been Mothman ??

Posted: 25-05-2003 02:06 Post subject:

Ahem. With a name like that, I think he deserves to be memorialised Wink

Posted: 25-05-2003 08:37 Post subject:

Upstreet is about 15 mins from Canterbury. It's pretty small and situated on the edge of Stodmarsh Nature Reserve. Now I know that I slept through most of chemistry and biology, but don't marshes give off gases? If a set of exceptional conditions occured could this lead to something that looked like balls of fire happening naturally? Or am I just talking pants?
( I spend most of my spare time staying there- I don't want to start looking for flame balls in the middle of the night, not after just finding out about T.V. ghosts!*shiver* )

As to fortean places, The White Lion in Tenterden has a ghost in the restaurant (that rarely appears, twice in the 2 years that I was there and one of those times I think that it may have been my fault.) and one on the third floor corridor specifically outside room 16. This one happens all the time although you don't notice it if the hotel has residents.

Also The Wool Pack in Chilham is known within the company that owns it (Shepherd Neame) to be haunted.

Posted: 25-05-2003 10:21 Post subject:

Posted: 25-05-2003 11:43 Post subject: Ingress Abbey

Letmesee. The present Ingress Abbey was built by James Harmer a famous Georgian/Victorian Newspaper publisher. He had the poet Eliza Cook stay for long periods of time. A rumour started that she'd had a child by Harmer, and killed the baby shortly after birth. Harmer actually sued the newspaper that printed this story, but the rumours still persisted. It wasn't until many years after her death that it was found that she was a lesbian.

It has also been said that a female servant committed suicide at the Abbey and her spirit is said to wander around the house and grounds behind.

My hubby just reminded me of another event that happened on the same day as I visited the Grange. He was walking around the grounds when I noticed that he had caught the sun and his skin was really red. The thing was that when I looked carefully he had a white patch on the outer part of his arm. The patch looked like the fingers and part of the palm of a slender woman’s hand.

I’ve a friend who is also interested in Ingress. He used to live quite near and would regularly visit the grounds. Knowing that the security guards wouldn’t let him into the main house he snuck inside late one night. When he got to the cellars he discovered that there are three layers. Now the building isn’t really that big so it seems a bit odd that it would have that amount of cellars. He also found that one part of the cellar had been bricked up, and had airbricks at the top.

Posted: 25-05-2003 13:53 Post subject:

The name itself is interesting.

Ingress n. Entrance; power of entrance; means of entering.

It suggests a portal - to what? Eek Eek

Then again, taking 'entrance' as a verb, we have another take on the paranormal. Was someone playing mind games when the place was named?

And when exactly was it named? What was there before Mr. Harmer built his 'Abbey'?

Posted: 26-05-2003 10:04 Post subject:

Must've been built on land that was taken from the church by Henry VIII at the Disolution of the Monasteries.. and
later either sold on to earn him a bit of cash or handed out to one of his associates as a gift.

Think of all the tales of woe and bad vibes that would give to a place; homeless monks, sick and dying people turfed out in to the streets, starving people with no where to turn etc.

There are other 'Abbeys' like this .... Woburn, Beaulieu, and more I can't bring to mid at the moment..

Posted: 26-05-2003 17:49 Post subject: Ingress Abbey

Small potted history.

Supposed to have been a landing place for the Romans, and it has also been rumoured that they kept local slaves there before shipping them off.

Later the land was owned the crown and then given to Dartford Priory by Richard II. Several nuns farmed there until 1450. It was then leased out. In 1464 chalk from the estate was used to repair the London city walls.

After the dissolution the land went to the crown and then was sold off by Elizabeth I.

In 1633 a new manor house was built. It then passed through different owners until 1748 when it was sold to William Ponsonby the Earl of Bessborough and Viscount Duncannon. During his stay the house and grounds were improved. Unfortunately his wife and 7 of his kids all died there within a short time.

It was then sold to John Calcraft who was the father of Granby Calcraft (who was born there), a famous soldier in the Napolionic Wars.

The site was then brought by William Havelock who had the site pulled down to make way for a dockyard. The sceme fell through and again was sold on. It was brought by James Harmer and the new mansion was built between 1832 and 1834.

Portland Cement used it as a research station. During WWI it was a hospital for Canadian soldiers. Between the wars it turned into a Nautical college and in WWII it was nurses accomodation. Turned into a Merchant Navy college in 1976. Closed in 1989.

The site is supposed to be cursed, it will never pass through more than two generations. It is true that there are no records of the estate passing from any further than father to son.

Posted: 07-08-2003 03:19 Post subject: Fortean Kent.

Seeing as it was brought to my attention recently it seems The George Hotel, in Ashford, Kent has a paranormal history. Details here: http://www.paullee.com/.

Posted: 14-10-2004 07:03 Post subject:

Incidently, I noticed an appeal for local ghost hunters in a Maidstone newsagent's window yesterday. I believe the name was Michael. Mentioned Skeptics and wanted over 18s only.

Anyone from the board involved?
Just a thought.

Posted: 14-10-2004 21:46 Post subject:

Not me .

Posted: 19-02-2005 20:44 Post subject:

http://www.sandgate-kent.org.uk/ghosts.htm

Sandgate in Kent.

Posted: 19-02-2005 20:48 Post subject:

Thanks for the link Pixiebelle.

Apparently i started this thread - and indeed my post is first - but i'd never call anything 'kooky' - least of all an English county! Confused

At what price alliteration, i ask you?

Posted: 21-02-2005 12:19 Post subject:

No-one has mentioned Dover Castle (my old home town) so I thought I would: