Any building as old as this one is likely to get a reputation for being haunted. Once one of the most notorious examples of its kind, things have been quiet recently, but the Red Monk is as likely to be seen as he ever was. Robertsbridge was the site of an early Cistercian monastery, and the Abbey was given a charter in 1176, and the name, "Robertsbridge", seems to be derived from an early Abbot, Robert de Martin, who had a bridge built over the river.
Who the Red Monk was isn't known, and the last sighting was in 1972, but much more recently rattlings, bangings and shaking bottles and other strange activity has been put down to poltergeists, although investigations have proved nothing either way. At least one investigator has suggested the phenomena may have a more prosaic source in the quality and quantity of the real ale being consumed.
Parties of ghost hunters regularly stay overnight, hoping for a glimpse of the supernatural.
Robertsbridge itself has several reported ghosts, including a phantom cyclist who pedals away down the road outside the pub in the dusk, without lights, and a belted-burberry-clad young woman who runs in front of evening traffic on the neighbouring A21 bypass. She is no stranger to the local coppers who have to deal with distraught motorists who think they've run someone down, but can't find the body.
But the Red Monk is the oldest.
Here's a story to thrill. And if you need to re-start your heart or let the hairs on the back of your neck relax again...