Frequently aired on the Discovery Channel, Discovery Civilizations, and Discovery Science, the first two seasons explored contemporary research in the area of field parapsychology, largely by asking prominent researchers to explain and outline their best evidential cases, and interviewing witness while placing the cases in the context of parapsychology.
Notable researchers regularly featured on the programme include professors Archie Roy, David Fontana and Peter Fenwick.[1]
John Parker investigates Jay's Grave and Graham Wyley goes to Taw Cottage on Dartmoor.
16 June 1996
2.5 (11)
The Possession
Exploring if voodoo possession really can be substantiated and investigating if strange rituals in Mississippi hold the clues to this wide-reaching and insidious form of attack. Same as episode 4.1 (21), "The Possession".
These eight episodes were first screened between Sunday 8 December 1996 and Sunday 26 January 1997 (each episode was also repeated on the Wednesday night following the Sunday transmission).
Episode
Title
Detail
First Broadcast
3.1 (13)
Spirits of the Civil War
Many modern visitors to a battlefield have reported encounters with seventeenth century soldiers. Same as episode 4.2 (22), "The Spirits of Marston Moor".
8 December 1996
3.2 (14)
The Phantom Schoolmaster
A Victorian school burned down, and in recent years there have been reports of strange happenings a nearby photographic studio. A seance leads to the discovery of a ghostly schoolmaster long since departed. Episode includes interview with Colin Wilson. It subsequently came to light that the case for "finding" the supposed schoolmaster in the official census of 1841 was based on fraudulently altered documentation. (see Ian Cashmore)
15 December 1996
3.3 (15)
Castle Leslie
Castle Leslie is set on a lakeside in southern Ireland. Over the years there have been many unexplained incidents of ghostly activity with long-dead relatives.
22 December 1996
3.4 (16)
The Phantom Fisherman
This episode follows an extraordinary trail of clues that eventually leads to the identification of a troubled spirit of an eighteenth-century fisherman.
29 December 1996
3.5 (17)
Echoes from beyond the grave
On a lonely windswept country lane, a motorcyclist met his death. But lives on?
5 January 1997
3.6 (18)
The Priest and the Professor
A Catholic priest and a professor of psychology try to grapple with the complex problems of apparent possession by a ghostly spirit ... resulting in an exorcism.
The paranormal events experienced by some people who believe they have encountered King Arthur.
19 January 1997
3.8 (20)
The Case of the Gorton Poltergeist
A look behind the scenes of one of the UK's most startling poltergeist cases.
26 January 1997
Series 4 (1997)
The following eight episodes were first screened between Sunday 2 February 1997 and Sunday 23 March 1997 (each episode was also repeated on the Wednesday night following the Sunday transmission).
Episode
Title
Detail
First Broadcast
4.1 (21)
The Possession
A psychic looks into the mystery of a woman's physical possession by a ghostly spirit. Same as episode 2.5 (11), "The Possession".
Follows exorcists as they are called in to restore normality to a haunted farmhouse in the Welsh valleys. They may appear tranquil, but frightening paranormal events can occur beneath the calm.
16 February 1997
4.4 (24)
Spectres of the Severn
The River Severn is one of Britain's greatest rivers. The high concentration of local haunted dwellings has a fascinating explanation that challenges the common theory and understanding of the strange activity. CJ Romer and Dr. Serena Roney-Dougal.
Experts investigate mysterious and ghostly encounters. Featuring a look into the tale of a drowned boy whose restless spirit haunts the area of Wicklow in Ireland, where he spent his short life.
A new road in Yorkshire runs across land once occupied by a monastery and there are frequent reports of shadowy figures.
9 March 1997
4.7 (27)
Across the Great Divide
An investigation into the evidence of the human mind after death.
16 March 1997
4.8 (28)
Battlefield of the Somme
During the Battle of the Somme, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed. A disturbing atmosphere still hangs over the battlefield, which is visited in this programme by medium Peter Bowers.
