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Phantom spotted as Blue Bell Hill ghost story turned into spooky film by Rochester actress

00:01, 24 October 2013

updated: 16:14, 15 October 2019

A film is being made about the ghost of Blue Bell Hill
A film is being made about the ghost of Blue Bell Hill

If you have been spooked by a ghostly figure near Blue Bell Hill, then you are not alone.

But this time, at least, the phantom was probably being played by an actress as part of a new film based on spooky goings-on in the area.

Rochester actress Sonya Roseman, 33, is directing the screenplay - called Blue Bell Hill - which is being shot near the Lower Bell Pub in Aylesford.

The film is based on the true story of a bride-to-be killed following a crash on the A229 in November 1965 on the eve of her wedding day.

Susan Browne and two friends were returning home from her hen night when their Ford Cortina spun out of control and collided with a Jaguar travelling in the opposite direction.

The 22-year-old had been due to marry her fiance, RAF technician Brian Wetton, the following day.

She and friend Judith Lingham died in hospital several days later while Patricia Ferguson was killed instantly.

The former Upper Bell Inn in Blue Bell Hill village
The former Upper Bell Inn in Blue Bell Hill village

The film follows fictional student Anne as she researches the history of the apparitions of Blue Bell Hill for a university project – and finds there might be a ghostly explanation for the unexplained crashes.

It is based on a decades-old myth about a phantom woman, said to hitch a lift from passing drivers - near what was the Upper Bell Inn - and then disappear.

Judith Lingham died after a crash on the A229
Judith Lingham died after a crash on the A229

The film also contains scenes based on reports of a young woman appearing suddenly in the road at night.

Terrified they have hit her, drivers claim to have got out to investigate, only to find no trace of a body.

Sonya said: "I felt so strongly that I made a film about the hill, which has taken five years all in all. This film is based on a true ghost story of the area.

"Accident blackspot Blue Bell Hill is steeped in paranormal activity, ghostly sightings and an enormously high rate of ill-fated car crashes."

The film first attracted attention when the casting advert appeared in September, advertising for a "very sexy" 20 to 30-year-old, with "possibly fake breasts i.e. Pam Anderson/Dolly Parton!" as well a car crash victim, who would have "some dialogue but not a whole lot".

The film, which is not yet scheduled for release, will be dedicated to "those who have lost their lives on that treacherous hill".

Appearances of the ghost of Blue Bell Hill date back to the 1930s.

Click for more spooky stories around Kent

Bob Vandepeer had a terrifying experience in 1962 when he picked up a girl on the hill – then later turned round to discover his hitchhiker had vanished into thin air.

In 1971, James Skene was driving home from work when a girl in her early 20s suddenly appeared in front of his car on the dual carriageway.

He gave her a lift to Chatham, but when she got out she disappeared.

The tragic 1965 report of the crash
The tragic 1965 report of the crash

Joseph Chester and Tracy Boon both reported seeing a young woman wearing nothing but a nightgown on separate occasions in 1968 and 1999.


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