Pluckley, Kent, has long claimed the title of “most haunted village in Britain,” even earning a spot in the 1989 Guinness Book of World Records. With at least a dozen named ghosts, including the Red Lady of St. Nicholas Church, the White Lady, the Watercress Woman, the highwayman...the list goes on... it’s become a pilgrimage for paranormal enthusiasts.

In this episode of Citegeist, we begin with the legends as they’re typically told, taking a walking tour through Pluckley’s countless hauntings and then turn to archival research to examine historic newspapers, guidebooks, and scholarly research to trace how the village’s list of ghosts exploded over time.

https://citegeistpod.com/

Have a ghost story you want to share? Leave a voice note or send an en email at https://citegeistpod.com/contact
Podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/citegeistpod
Personal Instagram: http://instagram.com/joshua.spellman

Channel illustration by
GiAnna Ligammari: https://virtualgia.com/
GiAnna's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virtualgia.zip

Royalty Free Music: "Behind the Veil" by 8er41

SOURCES

Andrew Green. 1990. Our Haunted Kingdom. With Internet Archive. Fontana. http://archive.org/details/ourhauntedkingdo0000andr.

Bain News Service, publisher. 1910. Walter Winans with Gun and Dead Buffalo. Glass negative. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2014694839/.

Bain News Service, publisher. n.d. Walter Winans. Glass negative. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Accessed February 11, 2026. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2014685406/.

Chris Maynard. 1977. All About Ghosts (The World of the Unknown). With Internet Archive. Usborne Publishing Ltd. http://archive.org/details/allaboutghoststh0000chri.

Daily Herald (United Kingdom). 1939. “On Ghost Hunt At Midnight (B.S.T.).” July 24. British Newspaper Archive. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000681/19390724/028/0003.

“Dering Wood in Pluckley | Atlas Obscura.” n.d. Accessed January 20, 2026. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/dering-woods.

Faversham News. 1911. “Woman Burnt To Death: Shocking Occurrence Near Pluckley.” August 19. British Newspaper Archive.

Fireside Horror. n.d. “Ghostly Folklore - Britain’s Most Haunted Village. — Fireside Horror’Fireside Horror’ by P A Sheldon, Is a Book Filled with Mystery, Horror and Thrills. These Ghostly and Occult Tales Will Capture You Imagination.” Accessed February 2, 2026. https://www.firesidehorror.co.uk/blog-2/ghostly-folklore-englands-most-haunted-village.

Jones, Richard. n.d. “A GHOST WALK AROUND PLUCKLEY ENGLAND’S MOST HAUNTED VILLAGE.” Accessed January 31, 2026. https://www.london-walking-tours.co.uk/free-tours/haunted-pluckley.htm.

Kentish Gazette. 1772. May 23. British Newspaper Archive. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000235/17720523/010/0004.

“Laying Pluckley’s Ghosts to Rest: New Research Uncovers the Truth about the Most Haunted Village in England | UWE Bristol.” n.d. Accessed January 20, 2026. https://www.uwe.ac.uk/news/research-uncovers-truth-about-pluckleys-ghosts.

Lily. 2021. “Pluckley Circular Walk [Complete Guide & Map].” The Flamingo Hiker, December 8. https://theflamingohiker.com/pluckley-circular-walk/.

Moreton, Simon. 2025. “Laying Pluckley’s Ghosts: Frederick Sanders and the Origins of the ‘Most Haunted Village in England’, 1939–79.” Folklore 136 (1): 39–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/0015587X.2024.2425199.

“Most Haunted Village.” n.d. Accessed January 31, 2026. http://www.real-british-ghosts.com/most-haunted-village.html.

“Most Haunted Village in Britain, Pluckley.” 2011. Ukmythology, March 6. https://ukmythology.wordpress.com/most-haunted-village-in-britain-pluckley/.

Pluckley. n.d.-a. “Ghosts.” Pluckley. Accessed January 20, 2026. https://pluckley.net/village-life/history/ghosts/.

Pluckley. n.d.-b. “History.” Pluckley. Accessed February 1, 2026. https://pluckley.net/village-life/history/.

“Pluckley Brickworks, Ashford, Kent, England, UK.” n.d. Accessed February 1, 2026. https://www.mindat.org/loc-420667.html.

Pluckley Ghost Storytellers: The Men Who Gave Kent Its Hauntings | Spooky Kent. 2025. Ghosts and Hauntings. August 31. https://www.spookykent.com/pluckley-ghost-storytellers/.

“Psychic News, 1971-06-19 (Page 2) Metadata | Digitalcollections.Lib.Umanitoba.Ca.” 1971. Psychic News, June 19, 2.

Shakespeare, William. 1613. English:  “The Dering Manuscript” – the Earliest Extant Manuscript of a Shakespearian Play. Folger Shakespeare Library. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Dering_Manuscript.jpg.

“Surrenden Dering House | England’s Lost Country Houses.” n.d. Accessed February 1, 2026. https://www.lostheritage.org.uk/houses/lh_kent_surrendendering_info_gallery.html.

“The Derings of Surrenden Dering Manor | Ukmythology.” n.d. Accessed February 1, 2026. https://ukmythology.wordpress.com/the-derings-of-surrenden-dering-manor/.

“The Highway Man.” n.d. Accessed February 7, 2026. https://www.ghostconnections.com/The%20Highway%20Man.htm.

The Independent. 2025. “Secrets of England’s ‘Most Haunted Village’ Revealed in New Research.” April 24. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/pluckley-kent-ghosts-haunted-study-b2738832.html.

“This Is What Happened When I Visited the Most Haunted Village in Britain | The Independent.” n.d. Accessed January 20, 2026. https://www.the-independent.com/travel/uk/england/pluckley-kent-most-haunted-village-in-britain-b2851150.html.

Underwood, Peter. 1975. A Gazetteer of British Ghosts. With Internet Archive. New York : Walker. http://archive.org/details/gazetteerofbriti0000unde.

Wikipedia. 2026. “Pluckley.” January 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pluckley&oldid=1331106193.