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| Is this the ghost of a 1950`s nurse or a nun? |
Source: ThanetExtra
An artist has asked Thanet Extra readers to help him solve a spooky mystery.
Malcolm Baker contacted us after a spotting a figure dressed in white on a photo he took of Kingsgate Castle in Broadstairs.
The figure is standing looking out to sea, close to chalets below the castle in Kingsgate Bay Road, on a day when Mr Baker insists there were very few people around.
He is convinced the figure is that of a nurse in 1950s uniform, carrying a tray, although there have been reports of a ghostly nun, also dressed in white, on the beach below.
Mr Baker said: “There might be a totally innocent explanation, but it was very strange.
“It was a really horrible cold and wet day in December 2010, and I went to take the photos as I wanted to paint a picture of the castle.
“I made a note of the fact that there was no-one around at all because of the weather.
“I took three photos in very quick succession and the figure only appears in one.
“If it had been someone standing outside the chalets, especially dressed in bright white clothing at that time of year, I am in no doubt I would have noticed, even if it was briefly.
“I didn’t see anyone at the time, it was only recently when I got the photos out to start on the painting again.
“There is a fence near the chalets but it appears that the figure is further forward.”
The Thanet Extra asked a professional photographer to verify the image, and she confirmed that the three photos were taken less than two minutes apart.
Coincidentally, musician Dan Smith from Margate contacted the Thanet Extra in October last year to ask if we had heard any rumours about ghosts in the area.
He had been on the beach shortly after sunrise, writing a song.
When he looked up, he saw a nun dressed in white approximately 200 yards away.
Before he had chance to tell the friend he was with, the nun disappeared. A BBC drama, Whistle And I’ll Come To You, which featured John Hurt being haunted by a figure in white, was filmed at the beach in October 2010 and screened over Christmas that year, but neither of these sightings coincide with the filming dates.
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| The original photograph showing a figure near the cliff |
Kingsgate Castle on the cliffs above Kingsgate Bay, Broadstairs, Kent was built for Lord Holland (Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland) in the 1760s. The name Kingsgate is related to an incidental landing of Charles II on 30 June 1683 ("gate" referring to a cliff-gap) though other English monarchs have also used this cove, such as George II in 1748. The building was later the residence of John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury.
The building has now been converted into 31 flats. (Source: Wikipedia)
I'm afraid the answer to the ghostly appearance is probably a lot simpler to answer than you think. My son who lives over the road used to frequent these chalets most days wearing a white hoodie at the time, which he used to wear over his head. He used to kick a football round by the chalets. We saw this article in the Thanet Extra at the time and replied to it, but never heard no more. For us the mystery is solved.
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