People who have experienced a brush with ghostly apparitions share their spooky tales on new Facebook page The Ghosts of Sheppey
Published: 06:00, 31 October 2020
Have you seen the ghostly guardian of the cemetery? Has a spook literally pulled your leg? Have you given a lift to a phantom hitch-hiker?
Settle down for a bumpy night thanks to a new Facebook page called The Ghosts of Sheppey.
Why travel to Pluckley, reputed to be the most haunted village in Britain, when you can be scared witless by some strange goings-on on Kent's own haunted isle this Halloween?
The creator of the page, who insists on remaining anonymous, says he set it up as a "novelty" but now admits he has been surprised with both the quantity and quality of the stories, many untold before, he has received.
He said: "I have always been interested in ghost stories. I don’t necessarily believe in them in the conventional sense but many people say they have seen ghosts and, for me, this is where my interest is.
"Some say ghosts are the disembodied spirits of the dead, roaming our mortal world looking for answers, vengeance or simply a way out.
"Others are convinced there is a scientific explanation which is beyond our current understanding.
"Whatever you think, there is something about ghost stories that both fascinates and scares us. People have been reporting hauntings for as long as time itself."
Settle down, pull the bed covers up tight, and read on...
Harty Ferry Ghostly Hitch-hiker
In 2016, I was studying art and decided to go to Harty church to make some sketches.
It was summer and after sketching in the afternoon I set off for the short drive to my home in Minster as the sun began to set.
I was alone. A few minutes into my journey my car radio started to play up. A weird, low voice in a different language started coming through the speaker. I assumed it was interference from a local CB or radio station and turned the radio off.
But the voice continued. It was definitely coming through the speakers and made me a little unnerved. When I looked in the rear view mirror I saw a face looking right back at me from the back seat.
He was white-skinned but with very dark hair smartly slicked over. He was just grinning at me with the widest of smiles. He mouthed something but no words came out.
"I don’t necessarily believe in ghosts and had often smiled at others who told similar stories but after this incident I now have a much more open mind."
I screamed, slammed on the brakes and ran away leaving the driver's door open. I was hysterical and in tears and called my dad. I had no intention of going back to my car so began walking home. It was now almost fully dark.
Luckily, my dad soon picked me up and I tried to tell him what had happened. He thought someone had sneaked into my car while I was at the church but I know this wasn’t true as I was always so careful to check things like that.
We got to my abandoned car but no one was there. My dad suggested we drive along the road to see if we could find the man but we drew a blank.
I don’t necessarily believe in ghosts and had often smiled at others who told similar stories but after this incident I now have a much more open mind.
CB, Minster.
Sheerness Tap-dancing Ghost
I live in a small terraced house in Marine Town with my partner. We have lived here for five years. Every so often we hear the clear sound of shoes walking across the hardwood floor in the front room.
It is always from the front door to the kitchen at the back. As silly as it sounds, the footsteps sound like clogs or tap dance shoes. My partner's parents stayed over a few years ago and without us ever mentioning it to them they commented that they heard the footsteps in the same way.
I must stress that this is a loud noise which can stop any conversation. It is not merely a faint hush. We have become used to it and I think I would miss it if it ever stopped.
Anon, Marine Town.
Beach Phantom Fisherman
I am a retired police officer now living in Scotland. I was stationed in Sheerness from 1980 until 1985. One December in 1984 I was working the night shift. It was a bitterly cold night.
I was sent by the station Inspector to patrol Sheerness seafront as we had information that criminals from Essex were using a small boat to bring drugs onto the Island.
I walked from the funfair (now Tesco) to Barton's Point and back. I must have completed this route three times when I needed a comfort break so began making my way back to the station.
As I approached the Neptune Jetty I noticed a lone fisherman standing at the end looking out to sea. I approached and asked him if he had caught anything but he just continued to stand and stare. It occurred to me he be suffering a mental breakdown so I stepped back to call for assistance.
"He walked towards the large thick wall and to my absolute amazement just walked through it."
At that point the man turned quite suddenly and started to walk towards me at a brisk rate. I stepped aside to see where he was going but he didn’t react to me all all, as if I was not there.
The thing I remember most about him, even to this day, was his large grey, sad eyes just staring ahead. He walked towards the large thick wall and to my absolute amazement just walked through it. I stood staring in disbelief.
I checked for a hidden door. I was hoping to find something to explain what I had just seen. When I arrived at the station I must have looked in shock as my Sergeant called for the police doctor to come from Sittingbourne to examine me.
My Inspector said he believed me but told me not to mention it in my pocket book. I never went back to the jetty area and have no desire to do so again.
Retired PC.
Minster Hospital Ghost Under The Bed
I live in a modern flat built on the site of the old Sheppey General Hospital (formerly the Island's poor house) in Wards Hill, Minster. In May of this year I had a really terrible night's sleep. The same dream woke me three or four times.
I dreamt I was lying in my bed but could feel two hands clasped around my ankles. They were trying to pull me down the bed. Each time I woke up and then went back to sleep. Eventually I gave up and got up to watch TV.
In the morning my partner asked why I was up so early and I explained I couldn’t sleep but I didn't mention the dream. He said he hadn't slept well either and said he kept having a dream that someone was trying to pull him out of bed by the feet. It hasn't happened again, thankfully, but I thought it was a very odd coincidence.
Anon, Wards Hill
Halfway Cemetery Guardian
It was in the 1980s when I was around five years old. I was walking through Halfway Cemetery (towards the Halfway Road end) with my mum after visiting a relative's grave.
As we walked I kept feeling a sense of being followed. I looked round and saw an old gentleman wearing brown pinstripe trousers, braces, white shirt, bowler hat and smoking a pipe walking behind us. He was gaining on us but then vanished. My mum said she couldn't see anyone and explained that he had probably bent down to tend to a grave
Roll on to the mid-1990s and while visiting an aunt she started to tell my mum and I about the ghost story of an old man who sits on the wall of the cemetery swinging his legs, smoking his pipe, wearing his brown pinstripe trousers, braces and a bowler hat, apparently waiting for his wife.
As you can imagine, my mum and I looked at each other in amazement both remembering that day I'd seen the old gentleman following us 10 years previously. I still look out for that man every time I drive past Halfway Cemetery.
Do you have any ghost stories to share? Email news@thekmgroup.co.uk
Read more spooky stories from the Facebook page here.
Read more: All the latest Sheppey stories
More by this author
John Nurden