I went ghost hunting in the most haunted city in England… and ended up playing with a Ouija board in the graveyard

As I stood in the most haunted part of Britain’s most haunted city, my guide handed me a Ouija board and a K-II electromagnetic field meter.

In the dark of night, from St Nicholas Churchyard in Pluckley, Kent, all you can see is the faded eternity of the leaning headstones emanating from the imposing 13th-century church.

Ghosts are thought to emit a magnetic field that the K-II device registers, with the field strength determining how many of the five lights flash from green to red.

“Red Means Run,” Andrew Ayres, of Ghost Hunting Tours, Explained.

As soon as he handed the device to me, the second to last orange light flashed clearly – probably an indication that I needed to stretch before the main event.

In the lower left window of the Dering Arms facade (above) is said to be the ghost of an old lady, one of at least twelve different spirits said to be native to Pluckley, Kent.

The cemetery has a dedicated area for the village’s historically wealthy Dering family (pictured), including the resting place of the Red Lady who haunts the land.

All year round, but especially around Halloween, people across the country take the hour-long train from London to this small Kentish town for a dose of adrenaline that can only incite fear.

Pluckley in Ashford was once listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as “Britain’s Most Haunted Village” – a category no longer used.

At least twelve clearly identifiable ghosts, as well as a number of other hauntings, deserve this title.

Among their haunting stories is a killer’s deathmatch that repeats itself forever in Fright Corner, with the ghost ending the same way every time: the ghost is hanged from a tree.

The place is filled with a ghostly atmosphere, and even the nearly 200-year-old train station can’t hide the fact that it’s one of the oldest in the country.

The village’s history goes back a long way and is mentioned in the Doomsday Book of 1086

As you approach the center of Pluckley, you pass a stretch of road where a driver once claimed he almost crashed his car due to an overwhelming and unearthly cacophony of clattering hooves with no horse in sight.

Parking in the town centre, I settled into what must have been the supernatural equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle.

On one side is the black horse. This 15th-century pub wants nothing to do with the story of glasses being moved or cutlery disappearing, but staff at the nearby Swan Inn have confirmed they have heard such reports from a member of staff who worked with their ghostly neighbor has.

Across the road, on Dicky Buss’s Lane, is the spot where a schoolmaster was found tied to a tree by his pupils more than a century ago. His body is still occasionally found in the same place to this day. The place can be seen.

And just a stone’s throw away in the opposite direction is the St. Nicholas Church with its cemetery, which is claimed by two ghosts – the Red and White Ladies.

The ghost of the White Lady is said to have escaped through her seven coffins and oak sarcophagus and haunts the church in a long, white, flowing dress.

Buried in a lead coffin in the cemetery set aside for Pluckley’s historically wealthy Dering family, the Red Lady will return to the area in search of her stillborn baby.

Just an hour’s train ride from London, ghost hunters flock to the Kent town every Halloween and the rest of the year

Pluckley held the title of “Britain’s most haunted town” in the Guinness Book of World Records until the category was discontinued

Andrew Ayres of Ghost Hunter Tours (above) is surprisingly skeptical about Pluckley’s legendary ghosts, decorated by former resident Desmond Carrington

The last person you would expect to be skeptical of these stories is Mr. Ayres, the leader himself.

However, he explained: “You will never see a woman in a white flowing dress in a cemetery.”

He didn’t doubt just this one ghost or the few ghosts in this place. Mr. Ayres’ skepticism extended to the far reaches of Pluckley and included the old lady of the Dering Arms, the menacing monk of House Greystone and the screaming bricklayer trapped in his own wall.

He explained that he pays little attention to the specific legends associated with Britain’s most haunted village, which are exaggerated by former resident and ex-broadcaster Desmond Carrington, with Mr Ayres’ questionable attitude key to this. to wear to people he shows around him. that it is him. Guide them in good faith.

“I approach it with skepticism,” he continued, “we will always try to debunk things.”

He even admitted that the Screaming Woods’ name, originally called Dering Wood, was captured in a 2004 Top Gear episode in which Richard Hammond and James May spent the night in a Smart.

Nevertheless, Mr. Ayres continues to accompany visitors into the forest, including for a “Victorian séance” on this Halloween night. So why?

“Is Pluckley paranormally active?” He asked rhetorically and replied, “Very!”

He explained that the activity he sees on ghost tours in the area is in the form of dots and lights in photos, unexplained noises and broken equipment – “the batteries are going crazy here.”

The cameraman who was with Mr. Ayres and I joined, struggled as if on course to turn on his camera to capture the entrance to the forest.

It was a good precursor to another inexplicably terrifying moment of my greatest hits tour, which occurred on our return to the church when our guide finally revealed the K-II meter and Ouija board.

The above supernatural activity indicated by the K-II, mr. Ayres told me about a night vigil in the 1960s at the church that was interrupted by knocking sounds from the crypt below – meters away from the site where I found myself all this. years later.

This timely revelation put all plans to play with the Ouija board that night on hold while we tried to explain the electromagnetic activity.

The three of us checked our phones as a notification when a device turns on could affect the meter.

My last post was the most current, but 15 minutes before the time did not help to justify the behavior of the equipment.

St. Nicholas Church is home to two ghosts, the Red Lady and the White Lady, who are buried in seven coffins and a sarcophagus

The Red Lady was a member of the Derings and was buried in a lead coffin from which she escaped in search of her stillborn baby.

Dering Wood has adopted the name The Screaming Woods since appearing in an episode of Top Gear almost twenty years ago

I gave the Ouija board to mr. returned Ayres, which was a given given the combination of a nagging fear of being haunted for the rest of my life and a general skepticism about the efficacy of attempts to communicate with the dead.

After saying goodbye to the church and my guide, I returned to the safety of my car.

Although Mr. Ayres assured me that the city’s legends were not what he encountered in his travels, I couldn’t help but brace myself for the sound of hooves around me as I rode out of town.

Perhaps this is why Pluckley is so popular with ghost hunters and anyone else with even the slightest interest in the supernatural.

It’s exciting once you immerse yourself in the legends, believe it or not, as long as you’re aware of the stories, you can’t help but think about what you might encounter as you go from one important place to another not.