In Englands Most Haunted Village, Halloween Means Screams and Skeptics

Whether or not you believe in the phantom coach and horses, the screaming man, the “watercress lady” engulfed in flames or the legend of the highwayman killed at “fright corner,” it’s hard to ignore ghost stories in Pluckley, England.In this quaint, ancient settlement of around 1,000 souls, 50 miles southeast of London, at least a dozen otherworldly spirits are said to occupy St.Nicholas Church, its graveyard, Pluckley’s pubs and other buildings.

If that’s not enough, the “screaming woods” — supposedly the source of terrifying nocturnal shrieks — are nearby.A small industry has blossomed around the supernatural, but some in the village wish the ghost hunters who descend on Pluckley in large numbers around Halloween would find other haunts.“We’ve had 2,000 people arriving in the village — there would be hundreds on every corner where there is supposed to be a ghost, and they would trash the churchyard, light fires,” said James Buss, owner of the Dering Arms, one of Pluckley’s pubs (haunted, of course).When a train arrives on Halloween at the nearby rail station, Mr.Buss will sometimes turn off the lights, lock the doors and pretend the Dering Arms is closed until the crowd heads farther up the road, toward the sign that urges drivers to “slow down or you will upset our ghosts.”...