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The other day I saw a news story about Richard Browning, a jet pack inventor who broke (shattered) his own Guinness Book speed record. He calls himself “Jetman.” (Naturally. What else would call yourself?)
That’s really something to see by the way. Here’s a YouTube of it in case you missed it:
Jetman’s feat reminded me about an alleged Guinness record I wanted to verify: Most Haunted Village.
I stumbled across it after someone forwarded me a YouTube link to Insta360’s “Most Haunted Village in Britain.” I think the 360 degree viewing experience impressed them, but something else immediately caught my attention.
Guinness Most Haunted Places?
The video claimed that in 1989 the Guinness Book of World Records awarded Pluckley “Most Haunted Village in Britain.”
“Guinness has a category like that?” I wondered. Followed by a few other thoughts, namely:
- Is there a most haunted equivalent in the U.S.?
- Wait, how could they make a determination like that? I thought they only judged quantifiable data?
- How legit are Guinness records really then?
- Is this going to turn out to be like the Department of Congress Haunted Places list?
I didn’t have time to look into the most haunted village claim then, so I noted it under “Stories for Further Investigation.”
I’ve since had a chance to look into it a little bit. Here’s what I’ve found so far.
No Such Category
If you Google “Guinness most haunted village” a Wikipedia entry for Pluckley pops up.
Haunting. Pluckley had an entry in the 1989 Guinness Book of Records for being “the most haunted village in Britain”, with 12 different ghosts reported; the category is no longer in use by Guinness, and a visiting Daily Telegraph journalist in 2008 cast doubt on the veracity of the claims.
Further Investigation Required
Did Guinness ever have such a category? I don’t know. But I’m on a mission to find out.
The first thing I can do is see if there’s any such listing in the 1989 Guinness Book of World Records. Thanks to Amazon, I’ve ordered a used copy.
The second thing is to reach out to Guinness. I used the form on their Contact Us page to inquire if there ever was such a category.
This is a bit of a developing story, but you know I’ll keep you posted about what I find.
The Video
Even though it may not contain totally accurate information, if you enjoy watching “most haunted” places type videos, it’s a pretty decent one. And there is the 360 degree aspect that lets you explore a little more.
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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Good luck on your quest. It’d be hard for Guinness to verify, so I doubt it. If Guinness relied just on the most reported ghost sightings, then there could be a super haunted location that’s never reported about because it’s got a small population or is remote (no Internet or whatever). Interesting post!
See? You raise even more interesting points. I’m sure I’m going to prove this is another case of the spreading of misinformation. Why it matters so much to me, I don’t know. It’s not going to change anything. It’s just once I get on something…I can’t let it go! lol