A quiet Kent village with a pub, a church and — allegedly — sixteen ghosts holds the title of Britain's most haunted place. Pluckley has long topped paranormal lists, and it's far from alone. A new round-up of the UK's eeriest towns makes a solid case that a ghost-hunting weekend is one of the more entertaining ways to see the country's older corners.

The appetite is real. Global spending on ghost tourism reportedly hit $2.9 billion (roughly £2.2 billion) in 2025, and a YouGov survey found 38 per cent of Brits think ghosts might exist — a fifth are even open to the idea of chatting with them. Towns with the right mix of medieval walls, dodgy history and a decent haunted pub are cashing in.

In Pluckley itself, the ghosts are spread across familiar village landmarks: St Nicholas's Church, Dicky Buss's Lane and The Black Horse Inn all have their own resident spirits, according to local legend. It's a pretty spot by daylight — rolling Kent countryside, thatched cottages — which only adds to the after-dark appeal.

Elsewhere on the list, Canterbury draws ghost hunters to its ancient cathedral, where the murdered 12th-century Archbishop Thomas Becket is said to still make appearances, and the olde-worlde pubs nearby each carry their own grim tale. In Cornwall, Bodmin offers a different kind of haunting: unexplained slamming sounds echo through the old jail, and the neighbouring moor is famously home to the Beast of Bodmin, Britain's best-known big-cat mystery. Over in North Wales, the walled medieval town of Conwy trades in full castle atmosphere — hooded monks are said to drift through the battlements, which is either a reason to visit or to book somewhere with good locks.

The appeal for travellers is obvious: these are compact, historic places you can pair with a proper pub dinner, a daytime walk and an evening ghost tour. Most of the towns named sit within easy reach of larger cities — Canterbury is an hour from London by train, Conwy is a short hop from Llandudno, and Pluckley has its own mainline station. Ghost tours typically run a few pounds to £20 a head, and the storytelling is usually better than the scares. Whether or not you believe in any of it, you'll come away knowing a lot more local history than the average weekend visitor.