For decades, nay centuries, Pluckley has reigned supreme as the most haunted village in Britain – aka "the village with a dozen ghosts" – but could its title be taken by an ancient settlement some miles to the west... that of West Malling?

It's a dangerous claim to make – a claim that could raise a maelstrom of protesting groans and clanking chains from Pluckley's haunted community, which might even be loud enough to drown out the protesting wails of "it's a town, not a village" from the haunted streets of West Malling.

But whatever, town or village, these earthly designations count for nothing when it comes to matters of the 'other side' and there's no time for the bickering matters of the living.

Halloween is almost upon us and it's time to make haste on a virtual ghost walk around West Malling's ancient streets.

We see your dozen ghosts, Pluckley, and we raise you... 13.

Around the turn of this century, Margaret Gadd was well known for her guided ghosts walks around the town, and went on to produce a book on the subject Ghosts of West Malling – uncovering a ghastly treasure trove of haunting tales.

While these form the basis of this tour, modern day residents have added their own spooky anecdotes to the burgeoning chronicles of West Malling's ghosts.

High spirits at West Malling Airfield

While West Malling is known for its early Norman abbey and tower dating back to the 11th Century, its RAF airfield - now Kings Hill housing estate - has yielded more than its fair share of ghosts stories, despite being a mere 90 years old.

The officer's mess, later turned into Tonbridge and Malling Council offices, was reputably haunted by a group of airmen playing billiards, and there have been several reported sightings of Second World War pilots and officers walking around the site.

During the filming of TV's 'We'll Meet Again' at the airfield in the early 80s, a film director reportedly noticed two airmen looking into the engine compartment of a jeep, and asked for them to be moved out of shot, presuming they were extras. But when a member of the film crew approached them, they disappeared....

On the evening before the last Great Warbirds Air Show, in 1991, several sightings were made of Second World War aircraft and their crew in and around the hanger and landing on the runway.

And one resident said the airmen were still wandering around Kings Hill. "One of my old neighbours saw an airman in her bedroom," she added. "I also heard of someone leaving early for work one morning and an airman walking past and nodding good morning to him."

Spinning a yarn at the Farm

Formerly The Bear, the Farmhouse pub is reputably home to Captain Lucas, an 18th Century resident of West Malling and former employee of the East India Company, who used to have rooms here before his marriage. As Margaret Gadd has it, his ghost has been seen at regular intervals throughout history, and the son of one former owner used to chat to him. These days, he's less chatty, but staff continue to report strange occurrences.

Barmaid Ellie Dixon explained: "After midnight all the lights upstairs in the function room start flashing – literally when we leave, about 1am Friday or Saturday night, they'll all just start flashing. It's quite weird."

Weird perhaps, but the staff there still welcome Captain Lucas for a pint, although some say he drinks over the road at the Five Pointed Star.

Either one is a plausible regular haunt, as both pubs are an easy walk, or float, away from his grave at St Mary's churchyard.

Who's scared at The Scared Crow?

A looming figure with a pint, the sound of a heavy boot thumping the bar? It could just be one of the regulars, but are there more ethereal beings present in this Victorian pub?

Chef Fabio Moro says a number of former employees have thought so...

He recalled: "One night Neil who used to live upstairs thought he heard someone making a coffee and he came down but there was no-one there. He went back up and locked the door because he was so scared."

Another time a barmaid saw an apparition at the bar and described them to a regular, who had a photo of the old landlord who died at the pub.

Landlady Tina Beadle takes up the story.

"She saw someone standing at the bar and went really white," said Tina. "Jim asked her to explain what she looked like. She said he had a white shirt and described everything he was wearing. He went home and brought a photo back and it was exactly what she's seen, she didn't even know him, so that was really weird. That's one of the creepiest ones."

Has Tina ever felt anything spooky herself? "All the time," she says. "It's around that corner there, and it's around November time when the guy died here, it always feels freezing, although it could be something to do with the wind going down the chimney."

Another time a man walking outside reported seeing a figure in the upper floor window, behind which is only unoccupied loft space, and one time a regular even reported seeing a figure in white behind Tina.

"He didn't believe in ghosts or anything like that. He thought it was a load of nonsense," she added. "He sat there and just said 'I'm going, I've got to get out of here and he just ran to the door'.

"The next day I said I need to know what happened last night and he said there was someone sitting on the barstool behind me and he said they were as clear as anything, just sitting there."

When knights not so boldly rode up Offham Road

Further up Offham Road from the Scared Crow, author Margaret Gadd reported she once saw a knight on horseback galloping off the road and up a bridle path, one July evening in 1995.

And she's not the only one. In the 1930s, tailor Harold Woolston reported seeing a horse with a knight on its back gallop past him near Offham Road, and at the turn of the 19th Century three knights were seen riding along a bridle path near Offham.

They were believed to be the ghosts of the knights who murdered Thomas A'Beckett, and legend has it they sought shelter at West Malling Abbey the evening after the murder.

Although the nuns took them in to provide food and lodging, a great rushing wind is said to have turned over their table as the knights sat down to eat – and they bravely fled in terror.

Terror at the Tower

Probably the most terrifying and oldest of West Malling's ghosts – so do not read on if you intend to walk past St Leonard's Tower at any point in the near future.

Built between 1077 and 1108 by Bishop Gundulf, this ancient structure is a Norman keep standing off St Leonard's Street on the way out of the village and is one of West Malling's oldest and most imposing structures.

An old legend tells of a beckoning figure leaning out of a window of the tower, bringing disaster on whoever it looks at. A number of stories tell how brave revellers have attempted to test out the story after a night out at nearby pubs, only to fall foul of the beckoning phantom.

The lost jewels of The Joiners

According to one story, a 19th Century Joiners Arms landlord, Thomas Abery, was one of the lucky ones to escape St Leonard's Tower unharmed.

As the legend goes he ventured up to the tower, having been promised by an Italian lodger that an apparition would appear at midnight and guide him to a casket of jewels. Abery followed the instructions, and a phantom reportedly appeared, but he ran off scared before the jewels were revealed.

Is it Abery's ghost that still haunts the Joiners, throwing candles around in frustration at having missed out on the treasure?

"I've always had an eerie feeling here," says barmaid Natalie Manser. "I was sitting at the back bar cashing up one time, and it was just me and my daughter. The next minute the candle flew out of the holder in the front bar and landed (in the front bar). It scared the poop out of me."

A helpful guest at the Hungry Guest

Centuries ago, a fireplace in the building occupied by the Hungry Guest once belonged to West Malling Abbey, and is thought to be connected to the ghost of a monk.

The building was formerly occupied by Mackenzies wine bar, and in 1998 one manager reported seeing a draped figure walk across a room in the bar.

That same year the owner's son – according to Mrs Gadd – knocked over a bucket in the kitchen, but before the contents could spill a hand "appeared from nowhere and prevented it from tipping".

An undercover boss returns

Now occupied by clothes shops Dressed by Dee and Soles with Heart, the building on the corner of Swan Street and the High Street was the home of outdoor shop Baldock's for many years.

As one story has it, an assistant at the shop once noticed an elderly gentleman at the far end of the counter, and asked the manager if she should serve him.

The manager, however, couldn't see anyone at the counter, and when they sat down to discuss it later the assistant provided a full description of the gentleman – including his pinstripe jacket and dark trousers.

When they later told the story to the shop's owner, Mr Baldock, he provided a photo of the first Mr Baldock, who founded the shop, which matched the description of the ghost.

Twitchy at the Twitch Inn

This 18th Century Manor House is thought to be home to a number of ghosts, including a former owner Miss Savage, who has been seen at a bay window and turns to face anyone entering what is now a a dining room, and an Edwardian lady known as the Merry Widow of Mereworth.

The manor was also an officer's billet for the RAF in the Second World War and its cellar was converted into the renowned 'Twitch Inn' – so called because it was often frequented by pilots suffering from post traumatic stress. The ghost of one of them has reportedly been seen on several occasions.

Maybe it's the beer talking

There are a number of tales related to Abbey Brewery Cottage cottage, which stands opposite the Abbey, next to the former Brewery Tap pub. Margaret Gadd wrote of how she had a conversation with builders when the old Brewery was being converted into flats in the 1990s.

They recounted how one of the men went to the portable toilet, which had been placed next to the Brewery Tap.

"Once inside he felt the whole cabin move," writes Margaret. "And when he tried to get out the door seemed to be stuck.

"After quite some time his colleagues came looking for him and hear his shouts of distress when they got nearer. The whole cabin had been moved around so the doorway faced the wall of the Brewery Tap."

Needless to say, the builders swore it was nothing to do with them, leaving us with the inevitable conclusion that is was all down to yet another West Malling ghost.

A bedtime story

Margaret Gadd tells of a 1920s' council house in Norman Road haunted by a little girl in a Victorian dress, who is always seen by children in bedroom – sometimes even pulling bedclothes from them. And she's not the only one to tell the tale.

"I do remember the story of the bedclothes being pulled off the kids," said Kerry Truckle, who grew up in West Malling. "It was a house near the cherry orchards.

"When I was about 14, 15, 16 there was a family that lived there with three younger children that were my sisters' age, and my sisters used to go over and stay for the night, and all sorts of thing used to happen and they used to say it was really haunted."

Frank's Restaurant and Mussel Bar

Formerly The Bakery, this medieval hall is also thought to be built on the site of ancient abbey buildings. The cellar was apparently an old town jail, and the building was previously home to monks. The ghost of a monk has allegedly been seen sitting at a writing desk upstairs.

Lost in music

Legend has it that in medieval times a tunnel was uncovered near the abbey and the townsfolk sent a fiddler down, as you do, so they could trace the sound of his playing and work out where the tunnel went.

As the story goes, he headed off in the direction of the North Downs but his playing stopped a mile or so away, near Ryarsh, and he was never seen again. Subsequent legend has it that his playing could be heard on dark nights near a wooded place that became known as Fiddler's Copse – although the exact location of this wood remains unknown.

With that we bring our count of West Malling ghosts to 13 – unlucky for some, so they say, but more so for Pluckley, whose famous 'dozen ghosts' are now well and truly trumped and outnumbered.

And before Pluckley tries to dig up any more old spooks, they can rest assured West Malling has plenty more lurking behind its ancient walls – probably because its got more of those walls, because it's technically a town.

Or is it? West Malling's "village hall" and "village green" might suggest otherwise but let's not stray to that debate – it might raise more vengeful spectres than all Kent's villages and towns combined.