No not a headline from the Herald, but a new book by Martin Easdown and Linda Sage, sounds great! I think it's new anyway, and not yet actually published...
Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths Around Folkestone takes the reader on a sinister journey through the annals of crime in Folkestone, Hythe and the surrounding area. Along the way we meet villains, murderers and victims of many kinds, including cut-throat soldiers, a "baby farmer", a Jack the Ripper imposter, two inexplicable suicides and five individuals who died violent deaths in the "House of Horror". There is no shortage of harrowing and revealing incidents of evil to recount, many of which will be unfamiliar to the reader. Infant murders were once so rife in Folkestone it was termed the "infanticide capital of Kent'". This fascinating book recalls many such grisly events, as well as sad or unsavoury individuals who have darkened this otherwise plasant corner of the Garden of England.
This is part of my website The Folkestone Gerald that I built in a fury of excitement when we first moved here in approximately '04. I'd been a frequent visitor for a while previous to that so I am technically one of those DFLs you get nowadays. The site was a lot more dynamic with a gig calendar and voting for favourite places and things, and I know it was a useful resource for those who were thinking of moving to the area. Now I've moved out of Folkestone again (though just to Hythe) it doesn't get as much love as it used to. Ironic really as The town is now becoming the exciting place we always thought it was about to become. I am not Gerald BTW, the name comes from a pretend paper in an episode of The Day Today or something, the Portsmouth Gerald, and how there is a local newspaper here called the Folkestone Herald. Puns like this are great aren't they? Do get in touch if you have anything to contribute, email anythign @ this domain, or try @folkestone or @pauly on the twitter.