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Ghosts of Kent: Authentic ghost stories from the Garden of England
Peter Underwood is President of the Ghost Club, and for nearly forty years he has been involved in scientific psychical research, with detailed investigations into all kinds of manifestation that might be supernatural or paranormal in origin, including spiritualism, ESP, telepathy, hauntings and other occult phenomena. He has been described by objective observers as 'a veteran psychical researcher ... representing the middle-ground between scepticism and uncritical belief'. Widely known through his lecturing and broadcasting, Peter Underwood is the author of more than twenty books, including the Dictionary of the Supernatural, This Haunted Isle and his autobiography, No Common Task.
- GenresNonfictionHorror
128 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1984
7 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Peter Underwood
92 books16 followers(1923/2014): Author, broadcaster, historian of the occult; investigator of the paranormal.
Born in Letchworth in Hertfordshire, Underwood wrote prolifically on ghosts and haunted places within the United Kingdom, and was a leading expert on ‘the most haunted house in England’, Borley Rectory.
An early formative experience came at the age of nine, on the day he learnt of his father’s death; that night, he awoke to see an apparition of his father at the foot of the bed.
Around the same time, he was fascinated to learn of a ghost story associated the old house at Rosehall - where his maternal grandparents lived for a time; it contained a bedroom where guests claimed to see the figure of a headless man..
It was at this young age that Underwood's interest in hauntings and psychic matters began to take root.
On January 1942, Underwood was called up for active service with the Suffolk Regiment. After collapsing at a rifle range at Bury St Edmunds, a serious chest ailment was diagnosed. He was discharged, and returned to his employment at the publishing firm J.M. Dent & Sons.
One of his early investigations was the Borley Rectory haunting, where, over a period of years, Underwood traced and personally interviewed almost every living person who had been connected with the mysterious events surrounding the place.
Underwood built upon the legacy of the work of Harry Price, who had investigated Borley before him. Together with Paul Tabori (literary executor of the Price Estate), Underwood was able to publish all his findings in The Ghosts of Borley (1973).
In his autobiography No Common Task (1983), Underwood remarked that ”98% of reported hauntings have a natural and mundane explanation, but it is the other 2% that have interested me for more than forty years”.
Having joined The Ghost Club back in 1947 - at the personal invitation of Harry Price, Underwood was to become its President for over thirty years: from 1960 to 1993.
Underwood was a long-standing member of the Society for Psychical Research and the Savage Club. In 1976, a bust of him was sculpted by Patricia Finch - winner of the Gold Medal for Sculpture in Venice.
In recognition of his more than seventy years of paranormal investigations, Underwood became the Patron of The Ghost Research Foundation (founded in Oxford), which termed him the King of Ghost Hunters.
Born in Letchworth in Hertfordshire, Underwood wrote prolifically on ghosts and haunted places within the United Kingdom, and was a leading expert on ‘the most haunted house in England’, Borley Rectory.
An early formative experience came at the age of nine, on the day he learnt of his father’s death; that night, he awoke to see an apparition of his father at the foot of the bed.
Around the same time, he was fascinated to learn of a ghost story associated the old house at Rosehall - where his maternal grandparents lived for a time; it contained a bedroom where guests claimed to see the figure of a headless man..
It was at this young age that Underwood's interest in hauntings and psychic matters began to take root.
On January 1942, Underwood was called up for active service with the Suffolk Regiment. After collapsing at a rifle range at Bury St Edmunds, a serious chest ailment was diagnosed. He was discharged, and returned to his employment at the publishing firm J.M. Dent & Sons.
One of his early investigations was the Borley Rectory haunting, where, over a period of years, Underwood traced and personally interviewed almost every living person who had been connected with the mysterious events surrounding the place.
Underwood built upon the legacy of the work of Harry Price, who had investigated Borley before him. Together with Paul Tabori (literary executor of the Price Estate), Underwood was able to publish all his findings in The Ghosts of Borley (1973).
In his autobiography No Common Task (1983), Underwood remarked that ”98% of reported hauntings have a natural and mundane explanation, but it is the other 2% that have interested me for more than forty years”.
Having joined The Ghost Club back in 1947 - at the personal invitation of Harry Price, Underwood was to become its President for over thirty years: from 1960 to 1993.
Underwood was a long-standing member of the Society for Psychical Research and the Savage Club. In 1976, a bust of him was sculpted by Patricia Finch - winner of the Gold Medal for Sculpture in Venice.
In recognition of his more than seventy years of paranormal investigations, Underwood became the Patron of The Ghost Research Foundation (founded in Oxford), which termed him the King of Ghost Hunters.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 7, 2018
In fairness I don't think I actually believe in ghosts, and alas, this book doesn't do much to persuade me otherwise. It is full of third hand accounts of the "My grandmother's housemaid saw a ghost in 1887 in the cellar..." type. Some are second hand...but I do not recall the author witnessing a ghost while visiting some of the locations. Very little scrutiny is placed on these accounts and the lack of any photographic evidence increases my scepticism. The mind is a powerful thing and one should not discount the imagination and how highly suggestible people can be. I found my concentration wandering many times whilst trudging through this disappointing book. However, if you simply wish to indulge in a little bit of fantasy that will make you think twice about looking into a mirror after midnight, or assume that every household creak is a potential spirit, then this may be the book for you.
August 13, 2023
As mentioned by other reviews, this book is mostly about ghostly experiences from Kent told by people who've lived there, and also a lot of historical facts often related to the stories.
What I like about this book is that it's unlike a lot of Underwood's other works not that "dry" or just entirely about his research. A lot of the stories happens to have some interesting context and not just "saw a gray translucent shape in the corner of my eye for a moment and it vanished" type of story.
What I like about this book is that it's unlike a lot of Underwood's other works not that "dry" or just entirely about his research. A lot of the stories happens to have some interesting context and not just "saw a gray translucent shape in the corner of my eye for a moment and it vanished" type of story.
June 3, 2019
I was born in Kent and lived there until a few years ago, and must admit to having first hand experiences in two places this book covers Pluckley and Hever.
Among other places covered are Canterbury, Faversham, Deal and Rochester.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the paranormal and to those who want to discover the ghosts of the county I once called home.
Among other places covered are Canterbury, Faversham, Deal and Rochester.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the paranormal and to those who want to discover the ghosts of the county I once called home.
November 21, 2019
Ghosts of Kent
Author: Peter Underwood
Narrator: Hannibal Hills
Listening Time: 6 Hrs. 34 Mins.
I always like to preface any reviews I give with this information.
I am a 68 year old female who has been an avid reader since I was around 10 or 11 years old.
I read primarily for pleasure.
I have a great many interests and do a lot of research for personal pleasure and knowledge as well.
Ancient History, Archeology, Science, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery are some of the interests I have.
Disclaimer: "This Audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost, in exchange for an unbiased honest review."
This review is for the AUDIOBOOK VERSION of Ghosts of Kent
I have an avid interest in Paranormal incidents and history of experiences, (I have experienced unexplained incidents myself), I was looking forward to listening to this audiobook.
I have to say I found it very dry and disappointing. It is a rather clinical accounting of stories and remembered experiences that in many instances; were of course word of mouth, since this area of interest did not have much scientific backing. Like so many things that are not readily explained by Scientific research and 'proofs' that are measurable, this area is usually viewed as "fringe" experiences.
Having said that I will also say this. There is so much more that we don't know, than we do know.
I found it very hard to sit and listen to this audiobook as I found my mind wandering.
I listened to it in several sittings, rather than all at one time like I do most audiobooks that are this short.
Author Peter Underwood is someone whose work I had never had any experience with before and doubt I will ever look into again.
Actually, upon reading of his life experiences from early childhood and on, his life history is much more interesting than this clinical view of an area of mystery and mystic.
Narrator Hannibal Hills was the one bright and good thing about this audiobook. I had listened to his work prior to this and honestly it was a big reason I chose to listen to this audiobook.
His very talented voice acting did not get the full spectrum of use as most of this was indeed rather dry narrating as the writing was. There were times he was able to utilize different voices and made the listening much more lively and enjoyable.
I will be listening to more of his work as I can.
As to who would enjoy this book/audiobook? I think anyone who has a true interest in ghostly happenings and the history of Kent, especially would enjoy it. However it will be a rather plodding story to get through.
Author: Peter Underwood
Narrator: Hannibal Hills
Listening Time: 6 Hrs. 34 Mins.
I always like to preface any reviews I give with this information.
I am a 68 year old female who has been an avid reader since I was around 10 or 11 years old.
I read primarily for pleasure.
I have a great many interests and do a lot of research for personal pleasure and knowledge as well.
Ancient History, Archeology, Science, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery are some of the interests I have.
Disclaimer: "This Audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost, in exchange for an unbiased honest review."
This review is for the AUDIOBOOK VERSION of Ghosts of Kent
I have an avid interest in Paranormal incidents and history of experiences, (I have experienced unexplained incidents myself), I was looking forward to listening to this audiobook.
I have to say I found it very dry and disappointing. It is a rather clinical accounting of stories and remembered experiences that in many instances; were of course word of mouth, since this area of interest did not have much scientific backing. Like so many things that are not readily explained by Scientific research and 'proofs' that are measurable, this area is usually viewed as "fringe" experiences.
Having said that I will also say this. There is so much more that we don't know, than we do know.
I found it very hard to sit and listen to this audiobook as I found my mind wandering.
I listened to it in several sittings, rather than all at one time like I do most audiobooks that are this short.
Author Peter Underwood is someone whose work I had never had any experience with before and doubt I will ever look into again.
Actually, upon reading of his life experiences from early childhood and on, his life history is much more interesting than this clinical view of an area of mystery and mystic.
Narrator Hannibal Hills was the one bright and good thing about this audiobook. I had listened to his work prior to this and honestly it was a big reason I chose to listen to this audiobook.
His very talented voice acting did not get the full spectrum of use as most of this was indeed rather dry narrating as the writing was. There were times he was able to utilize different voices and made the listening much more lively and enjoyable.
I will be listening to more of his work as I can.
As to who would enjoy this book/audiobook? I think anyone who has a true interest in ghostly happenings and the history of Kent, especially would enjoy it. However it will be a rather plodding story to get through.
October 30, 2016
I'm open-minded about this subject and this book didn't do anything to sway me one way or another. When there was a definite 'physical/human' reason behind the events you were told, but obviously all the evidence for psychic reasons is purely word-of-mouth. Interesting to read about the stories behind the 'sightings' and the history of the places mentioned.
May 29, 2020
A list of true stories of the ghosts that inhabit Kent.It was interesting and fun.Hannibal Hills was a wonderful narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'
February 3, 2008
Being a big ghost story buff I really enjoyed reading about the ghosts that are supposed to haunt my county. By all accounts there are quite a few. All true stories.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews