Strange tales of four hauntings and a fake funeral

Ray Shayler, steward of Scotney Castle, says some people have claimed the castle is haunted by ghosts

Spine-chilling stories of an alleged poisoner, a jilted bride, and a murderer who faked his own death fascinate visitors to a 12th Century castle.

Ray Shayler, a guide at Scotney Castle, near Lamberhurst in Kent, said one of the most well-known ghostly tales is of Arthur Darrell, a smuggler and owner of the castle during the 1700s.

Mr Shayler said one day Arthur was chased by an exciseman up to the castle, before they fought and Arthur killed him before dumping his body in the moat.

"The story goes that from time to time, the excise man rises from the water, walks to a door that no longer exists and silently knocks on the door before vanishing," he said.

To escape authorities, Arthur concocted an elaborate plan to save himself, Mr Shayler said, and faked his own death.

A funeral service was held for him at Lamberhurst Church in 1720, Mr Shayler said.

"During the service as the coffin was going into the church, a man in a black coat tapped an onlooker, to say 'they think they are burying me' and then he disappeared," he added.

In 1920, when workmen were moving coffins in the crypt, Mr Shayler said, they realised one of them "did not sound right".

He said: "They opened the lid, to discover it was full of rocks. So he was really not there.

"We believe he went abroad and died there."

Whisperings and footsteps

Visitors to the castle have also claimed they have heard the eerie whisperings and footsteps of Walter de Scoteni, who owned the castle in the 1200s, Mr Shayler said.

One day, de Scoteni accompanied Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, and his brothers and cousin to a parliament in Oxford, he explained.

On the way back, it was alleged de Scoteni poisoned de Clare and his brother, William. He was later found guilty and hanged.

It is said his ghost walks the castle, Mr Shayler said.

Furthermore, in the early 1900s, Mr Shayler said a young woman, who worked at the castle, had been jilted by her fiance.

She was found drowned in the moat, with some believing she had cast herself from the tower.

"The coroner concluded she was murdered and she was given a Christian funeral," Mr Shayler said.

Some visitors claim they have seen her walking around the castle in a white shift dress.

Mr Shayler also told of his own ghostly encounter at a remote farmhouse in Wales.

"I was in a church youth club. One night we set up a communion service and lit the candles," he said.

He said as they said "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost," the candles went out.

When they re-started the service, the candles went out again.

Mr Shayler said he later discovered that in the 1700s, a man had killed his father with an axe in the parlour.

"The chair in which the father was killed was still in the parlour, and still had the axe marks," he added.