The Kings Head Public House is a misleading building. It stands on a major route across Kent at a village cross roads and with the addition on the side of the current first floor function room above what could easily be taken as stabling for horses this could be mistaken for a Georgian fronted coach house. Even when inside the worn beams and open fire add to this appearance. In fact the current building is Victorian although a building or buildings previously stood on this site. It is believed they may have been inns too although historical accounts are vague other than theatrical performances took place here in the 18th Century.

Inside the building consists of a front public bar and rear restaurant areas divided by an open bar facing both rooms on the ground floor along with stair access to the private rooms above the main building and another to the function room which is above the ground floor kitchen in the annex.

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Aim:

To investigate reports of paranormal activity at The Kings Head public house.

Background:

There are very few reports available in any sources known to the Ghost Connections Team. However it has been stated by staff that the kitchen fryers were prone to switching themselves on after having been turned off at the mains and that glasses have been reported to have fallen by themselves from shelves around the bars. The second of these reports only came to the teams attention on the night of the investigation so no plans were made to investigate this report. Simon, the landlord, had invited the team out of interest and not through any substantiated reports. In the light of these reports the team decided to investigate for themselves if the Kings Head is subject to any of the alleged phenomena.

Apparatus:

Video camera-
Sony DCR HC-24E with night vision and Sony HVL-IRM IR light
Sony DCR-HC30E with night vision and Sony HVL- IRM IR light
Samsung VP-D351 with night vision and Sony HVL-IRM IR light

Digital Camera-
Fuji 4900 Finepix
Fuji Fine Pix S5500
Nikon Coolpix 3100

Voice recorder -
Olympus VN-2100PC
Olympus DM20

Team:

Kim
Paddy
Dave

Guests:

Anna
Rob

Method:

Using visual and scientific methods combined with spiritual information investigate the background to alleged paranormal phenomena at this venue.

Investigation:

Due to the opening times of the public house this was a late night start and the team had previously visited an outdoor location and arrived early at The Kings Head to warm up prior to the investigation. Thankfully the log fire was on and Simon greeted us and left us to set up and run through what we intended to do leaving Anna and Rob to accompany us for the night.

A quick walk around established that the function room was not heated and on this night was substantially colder than the rest of the building. It was decided that this would be our first stop.

Whilst setting the equipment up downstairs some distinct loud clicking sounds were heard from the top of the stairs to the function room. Initial investigation indicated this may have been the escutcheon plate fitted to the mortise locks on the door at the top of the stairs. Whilst having planned to investigate the function room first this only fueled our interest.

We set up camera's and recorders in the function room and sat in various positions around the large room. It took us some time to get used to the sounds from the kitchen below but eventually these were all accounted for. The passing traffic could be heard distinctly and the lights from it formed obvious patterns against the curtains which we drew to keep as much light out as possible. There was a red IR alarm light above the door which would pick up upon Paddy's movement although we could not see his movements with the naked eye in the darkness.

During the session here Rob would comment on a draft as though something was moving against his legs. There were no discernible drafts in this area. Paddy, sat with his back to the bar, senses a presence in or around the bar area.

Kim felt tingles down her back which progress to intense coldness and her right ear feels burning hot. She then experiences a stabbing pain above her right kidney.

Kim then experiences a headache in the area of her forehead.

During this time Dave has been asking questions for any spirit answers and inviting activity. He pauses during this and Paddy asks that the questions continue.

Simon is heard to leave the office part way through this vigil. The office is located off the staircase and he would later recount how he went downstairs to the pub and then up to the private rooms and to be. He states he was in bed when he heard us leave the function room.

A further noise would be heard near the stairs after Simon left us. It sounds like something falling upon something else. No cause was found.

After over an hour we left the function room and took a break by the fire to warm up before moving on.

It was decided that the next area to investigate would be the rear bar / restaurant area. The team and guests sat around a table in this area to conduct a vigil by way of séance. Three video cameras and two voice recorders would be used to record the proceedings.

It was noted that in the upper area of the restaurant there was a cat flap which led to outside. During the first session the resident cat would be heard to come in through the flap which was found to account for a couple of noises. He was seen to walk through the area and eventually settle on a chair that was within the teams view. No one else would be present in this area and there were no other animals in the premises. All outside doors were locked. There were various items of pub machinery located within the centre of the bar area for which the noises would be ascertained and noted. These would be discounted from any noises noted during the session.

Kim feels extremely cold during this and drained of energy.

Dave would feel his right arm raising from the table and pressure on his elbow from this movement. Kim, who was holding Dave's right hand, when asked about this, would not notice the movement on her left arm.

Both Anna and Rob would comment on feeling that their backs were colder than their fronts.

Dave feels a draft across his left wrist. Paddy (to Dave's left) cannot state if this was his breath or not.

After asking for some indication of presence a small noise is heard from an area off the of the raised area behind the team.

A faint sound of two voices is likened by Dave to 'two blokes having a conversation'. The direction given for this is also that given by Paddy as a cold sensation.

At this point the cat is seen and is known to be in. This discounts a couple of previous sounds believed to be the cat flap.

Anna comments that her shoulder hurts.

A temporary break is called after 50 minutes due to the team and guests feeling stiff and needing some exercise. After this short break the séance continued in the same location.

When we re-started the cat would remain on a chair behind the team and be visible to all. Any further noises could be investigated.

Paddy comments on a short pin prick type sensation between his shoulder blades.

Opening the invite to join the team to spirit Dave mentions those who have given information before.

A sound is heard from the area of the door to the ladies toilet which is likened to being like someone sitting on a leather sofa which is in the bar area by the toilet door. Paddy investigates this as the team continue.

Kim also comments on seeing a figure at this point in that area.

Having sat on the sofa Paddy returns to the table.

Another noise is heard from the same direction.

A bang is heard behind the bar area. This is not reproduced on request.

Dave feels as though his hair is being touched at the back of his head.

Further movement is heard from the area of the bar again.

A tap noise is heard from behind Kim. This is not repeated on request.

Rob comments that he has tears coming from his eyes.

At the conclusion of the séance it is established that the cat is still in the same position as it was at the start.

The investigation then concludes.

The physical sensations felt by all in the function room cannot being explained. It was noted that the room was not heated and would have naturally felt colder than the rest of the building although whether this may have created the phenomena sensed is doubtful. The phenomena remains unexplained.

The séance in the rear restaurant produced sensations and noises-

The cause of the raising of Dave's arm is not identifiable although the involuntary movement cannot be ruled out with any certainty. It is unlikely though that this would last for so long a time or cause the rotational effect featured on the elbow joint contacting the table.

The sensations of cold backs commented on by Anna and Rob are frequently felt amongst the team in such circumstances. We believe they are likely to be accountable by the fact that we are facing each other closely and therefore heat transfer occurs to each other and the ambient temperature seems less.

There were no natural drafts felt within the building and as such the draft felt by Dave is not explained although it may well have been Paddy's breath. This cannot be discounted.

The noise for the raised area behind the team may have been the cat eating as its food bowl is located in the general area this came from.

The voices heard by Dave did not feature on any recordings made and cannot be substantiated although it is known that no one else was in the area at the time. It is of interest that Paddy comments on a cold spot at the time in the same direction. The connection between the two observations is interesting and unexplainable as the two phenomena are unlikely to be caused by the same natural source.

Anna's shoulder pain is not explainable. Neither is the prickly sensation felt by Paddy later.

The sounds from the area of the sofa were unexplained. We attempted to re-create them by moving the sofa and sitting on it. It did not make any sound. There were no movable objects in this area and the nearby door to the ladies made no sound when opened. It is also of interest that Kim reports seeing a figure in this area at the same time. The illumination of this area by way of light coming in through a gap in the curtains was also explored and no similar effect could be created. The occurrence of these two effects together remains unexplained as does the fact that the same sound was heard again later.

The noise from the bar area could not be located. It was not a noise that had been occurring with regularity and although not occurring upon request immediately did recur later. Repetition of this noise in a short period yet not occurring at all within the rest of the one and a half hours we were in this area is worthy of note.

It is unknown what caused the sensation on Dave's head. The footage clearly shows that there were no features nearby that would have touched him during this time and it was of too long a period that a passing insect could not be responsible.

The noise from behind Kim only occurred once during the period spent in this area. Due to its sound it came from within the room and nothing was movable within this area to create it. It is interesting that it occurred upon request.

Robs tearfulness was commented on although no cause was found. When the session ended it was clear that tears had run down his face during the preceding few minutes.

During our stay a certain amount of information was forthcoming to the team of a clairvoyant nature. As Ghost Connections conducts scientifically based investigations we do not publish such observations, however, this information is held on a separate database and may prove interesting when compared to other peoples experiences. Should you wish to discuss this information please email us enquiries@ghostconnections.com

Having said the above it is considered worthy of mention that part of the information forthcoming related to a person from an address two doors up from the public house. What was not known at the time and later came to light was that Rob was staying at the premises which is two doors up from the King Head! No conclusions have been drawn from this fact which may be entirely coincidental.

Camcorder footage, still photographs and voice recorders were later examined and nothing of note was found.

Initially Simon was in the office. It is thought that initial noises can be attributed to him cashing up although the fact that similar noises occurred afterwards are unexplained.

The location of the cat has been verified and there were no other persons present downstairs with us. In this regard any other noises commented upon above cannot be explained as naturally occurring within the building.

Drafts and sensations of temperature or physical feelings are hard to explain although the timings of some of these with other events makes them worthy of note.

For a building that had little to offer in the way of reported paranormal activity there were unexplained events during our investigation.

We feel that The Kings Head is worthy of further attention at a future date.