The ancient stone walls of Dover Castle have witnessed many strange and horrific events and the fortress is said to be the home of a number of phantoms from times gone by.
Some have even been the subject of TV programmes and there is amateur footage available of the internet..
Meridian broadcast footage of a massive pair of doors being shaken by some unseen force and medium Derek Acorah claimed to have seen one of the castle’s most famous ghosts – that of a headless drummer boy – and helped the spirit “find rest”.
Dover Castle is one of the most haunted buildings in England with the main tower, the walls and the tunnels in the cliffs all having had sightings of strange apparitions or unexplained noises reported.
Around the stairwell the figure of a woman has been seen wearing a long red dress and sobbing while the “lower half” of a man has also been spotted in the area now called the King’s Bedroom.
In the same vicinity the sound of a door creaking opening and closing has been heard – although the door no longer exists.
But possibly the most famous ghost in the old building and its surroundings is that of the drummer boy, whose tale features prominently in the walks.
He has been popularly named as Sean Flynn who died at the age of 15 – but his headless ghosts is said to beat a drum as it stalks the walls of the castle.
According to legend, he arrived late one night with his drum and a large sum of money with which to pay the garrison. Two men heard about his mission and decided to rob him.
They lay in wait for him and attacked, one decapitating him with a knife or sword.
Reports of drumming noises and even sighting came from the area where the murder was alleged to have taken place and Acorah investigated as part of the Most Haunted TV show.
The spirit medium said he received a message that Sean missed his mother and added that he helped the restless ghost to find peace.
Writer Neil Arnold has studied ghosts all across Kent.
He said: “I think a lot of stories get passed down through the years and become part of folklore, so they are impossible to verify.
“And Dover has its fair share. I have heard a story about a man who was killed in the Hellfire Corner tunnels during the Second World War setting up amplifier equipment, then, years later, a figure was seen working on some sort of device which then passed straight through a visitor.
“A ghostly doctor has been reported in the old hospital and strange shadows have been seen in the former operating theatre. A soldier in a helmet and carrying a pike is another sighting as is a ghost sliding through the grass which possibly had an animal like form.
“People in Second World War uniforms have been reported on several occasions, especially in the tunnels which were used in wartime. But of course re-enactors frequently act out scenes from the castle’s history and there are historical holographic displays for visitors as well. Witnesses can be very unreliable – but Dover does have some interesting stories.”
