Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Pub ghost could be Gilbert, the prawn cocktail crisp thief
Camera clips of strange goings on at a village pub have put the frighteners on staff and regulars.
Bosses at the Tyler’s Kiln in Tyler Hill say motion sensors have captured things moving in the dead of night, sparking claims the pub is haunted.
Staff have also reported shadows passing doors, glasses flying off shelves and lights turning on mysteriously.
Such is the number of incidents that a local paranormal group wants to carry out an investigation at the pub in Hackington Road.
Owner Allister Collins put together the video using clips from the pub’s CCTV over a two-month period from August 4.
In it, chairs are mysteriously pulled out, saloon doors swing open and a garden umbrella opens unaided.
Mr Collins says he has been overwhelmed by the interest in the footage, which he says is unedited, since he posted it on Facebook.
“It has been quite surprising just how much reaction there has been,” he said.
“I’d always heard stories about the pub being haunted, and staff are always talking of hearing footsteps when no one else is around.
“There’s also a cold spot immediately in front of the bar, even with full heating on. Customers regularly move from that spot due to the lower temperature.”
Pub cleaner Amanda Gilbert has experienced more of the haunted happenings than other staff members.
She said: “I can hear the saloon swing-gates swing when I am cleaning the front of the pub, and when I go to have a look they are still swinging slightly, but no one else is in. One time I walked past the drinks storage cupboard and it was shut with the lights off, but when I came back the cupboard door had opened and the lights were on.
“The electricians checked the CCTV because they didn’t believe me, but it just showed weird distortion and the light coming on.
“Sometimes I hear someone walking around upstairs. There are very heavy footsteps, but there is never anybody up there.
“Leaflet holders also disappear from the snug and then reappear, and when I’m cleaning the toilets downstairs shadows go past the door.
“I’ve always said there’s something creepy about it.”
The ghost of a local mechanic has been suggested as one likely suspect, but Suzanne Sherwood, whose parents used to run the pub when it was the Ivy House, thinks she knows who is to blame.
“That’ll be Gilbert,” she said. “My mum and dad used to live there and run the Ivy House many moons ago and Gilbert, a former landlord made his presence felt. Prawn cocktail crisp bags disappeared regularly.”