SPIRIT OF THE ROAD

Even strolling down the street in Pluckley, you’re not safe from spooks. At Frith Corner, known as ‘Fright Corner’, a highwayman called Robert du Bois used to lurk behind a tree, waiting to rob passers-by. Eventually, a group of locals turned on him and stabbed him through his middle, pinning him to the tree with the sword. This didn’t kill him, so they chopped off his head.

Terrified witnesses claim to have seen the ghost of the actual tree, with the highwayman still pinned to it by one or more swords. One witness spotted ‘a figure in a long black coat with the collar right up’ and riding boots. He added, ‘[The ghost] went across the road, through the hedge and I just ran.’ The ghostly highwayman has been known to jump out at people, just as he used to with his victims when he was alive, and sometimes reenacts his last battle with his enemies.