Britain's spookiest village 'has the most ghosts' and is haven for dark tourism in October

Armed with their cameras, tape recorders, thermometers and other apparatus, they settle down to watch and wait, hoping to see or feel what many who have gone before them have done. This little village, so charming and pretty in daylight, is listed in Guinness Book of Records as having the most officially recorded ghost sightings, including a highwayman, several ladies, a miller, a hanged man and others.

The village is a traditional Wealden village, set in beautiful countryside of orchards and sheep grazing. It is a long-established community with activity dating from Roman times and a mention in the Domesday Book. Blessed with many old properties, the parish church of St.Nicholas is Grade 1 listed and has its origins in Anglo-Saxon times. There are more than sixty listed properties in the parish. But visitors don't come here for the architecture, however impressive. They come for the ghosts and hopefully to be spooked senseless, especially around October and Halloween.

Pluckley in Kent, England, is famous for being the most haunted village in Britain, with numerous reported ghostly apparitions, including a highwayman, a screaming woman in Dering Woods, and a monk looking for his lost love. The village gained recognition in the 1989 Guinness Book of Records as England's most haunted village, and although the category no longer exists, its reputation persists.

It is reputed to have twelve (possibly thirteen or fourteen) ghosts. Some of these include the spectre of the highwayman hid in a tree at the Pinnock, a phantom coach and horses seen in several locations around the village, the ghost of a Gypsy woman who drowned in a stream at the Pinnock, the miller seen at Mill Hill, the hanging body of a schoolmaster in Dicky Buss's Lane, and a colonel who hanged himself in Park Wood

Others include a man smothered by a wall of clay who drowned at the brickworks and The Lady of Rose Court, who is said to have poisoned herself in despair over a love triangle.

Then there is the White Lady, a young woman apparently buried inside seven coffins and an oak sarcophagus who haunts St Nicholas's Church (pictured) and The Red Lady, reputedly a member of the Dering family who haunts the churchyard of St Nicholas's Church. A small white dog has also been reported in the same location.

Richard Jones, an author who hosts a ghost walk in the village said: "There are a number of spots around the village that have a distinct 'feel' to them, and several of these haunted places are connected to the Dering family, Lords of the manor from the 15th century until World War I.

"An intriguing remnant of their tenure can be seen in the round-topped windows that grace so many of the buildings. During the Civil War, Lord Dering escaped capture by Cromwell's forces when he dived head-first through such a window.

"When he later came to rebuild his manor house he commemorated the feat by having every window built in the same style, and this in turn was copied throughout the village. Sadly, the house itself burnt down in 1951, but many houses you pass on the walk still feature this reminder of his great escape.

"The walk will give you the chance to enjoy picturesque countryside and fresh, pure air, albeit air that is charged with a great deal of psychic energy!".

Mr Jones, who also hosts ghost walks around London, explained more about the spooky happenings.

He said: "Located at the top of the first aisle in St Nicholas's Church is the Dering Chapel, where numerous members of the family lie buried. A strange, dancing light has frequently been seen in the upper section of the window to your right. It is often accompanied by the sound of knocking coming from the family vault beneath your feet.

"In the early 1970's, in the hope of recording supernatural phenomena, a group of psychic researchers persuaded the then rector, the Reverend John Pittock, to allow them to spend a night locked inside the church.

"When the vicar came to let them out the next morning they complained of having spent an uneventful night, the boredom of which had been alleviated only by the vicar's dog, who had come to visit them from time to time. 'Actually,' the vicar commented, 'I don't have a dog'."

Greystones is another spooky building in the village, haunted by a monk who drifts among the surrounding trees. He is said to have lived in Tudor times, and is reputed to have fallen in love with the daughter of a neighbouring property. She died under tragic circumstances and he sank into a state of melancholy and bitterness and his only solace was to walk the green fields and leafy lanes where they had enjoyed so many romantic interludes together.

His ghost apparently continues to wander the neighbourhood, and was last seen in 1989 by an American journalist who glimpsed his unmistakable brown-robed figure drifting behind the house.

On a much lighter note, Pluckley has another claim to fame. It was the setting for the TV series "The Darling Buds of May". (still available on ITVX). Author H.E.Bates lived nearby and his stories of the Larkin family enjoying an idyllic rural lifestyle remain ever popular. Visit Kent has launched aDarling Buds tour centred on Pluckley.

This, together with Pluckley's reputation as the most haunted village in England, attracts many visitors who come to enjoy the countryside and its walks. There are several footpaths in and around the parish, the most celebrated of which is the long-distance Greensand Way. Walkers should note that much of the parish is without pavements/footpaths and hi-vis clothing may be advisable. Similarly, the lack of street lighting suggests that you bring a torch during hours of darkness....