1975: Meet THE GHOST HUNTERS | Classic BBC Documentaries | BBC Archive

Hugh Burnett meets some people who have dedicated their lives to trying to track down ghosts, and interviews some people who claim to have seen them.

At a wiltshire pub, he finds parapsychologist Benson Herbert and his two assistants, who are investigating the building for poltergeists, using a negative-ion pistol, an infrared detector and an electrostatic polarity indicator.

In Sussex, Hugh speaks to Andrew Green, who admits to being on the wrong track, most of the time. Mr Green suspects that ghost sightings are telepathic contact with magnetic rays, caused by emotional events of the past. Mr Green has been investigating ghost sightings for 30 years, and though he believes in ghosts, he can't see any connection between ghosts and life after death.

In Hampstead, retired Naval Commander John Cutton - a member of the Society of Psychical Research - has spent years trying to photograph ghosts using bespoke equipment that triggers cameras if the air moves or the temperature drops. Thus far, he has had no success.

In Bath, Hugh speaks to Mrs Royal and her husband Ken. Mrs Royal is a ghost enthusiast who runs tours of Bath's most haunted places, while Ken has no particular interest in the subject - but has something of a knack for seeing ghosts.

In Yorkshire, Reverend Griffiths - the rector of Bolton Abbey - has seen the spirit of an Augustine priest that is said to haunt the abbey. Reverend Griffiths sees a difference between ghosts and spirits, he believes that spirits are heavenly bodies who still have work to do on Earth. Hugh quizzes him on some of the inconsistencies in this line of thinking - if these are heavenly bodies, why do they appear wearing clothes?

Finally, Hugh visits Peter Underwood - the president of the Ghost Club in England - at the site of Borley rectory, which from 1863 to 1935 was considered to be the most haunted place in the UK. Mr Underwood recounts some of the testimony of eyewitnesses, including several of the former rectors. Since the rectory burned down, sightings of ghosts have been reported in the nearby church.

Mr Croom-Hollingsworth is a construction worker, who saw the famous nun in the grounds of Borley Church, and was inspired to investigate the church. He and a small team have since made recordings in the church. Hugh and Peter Underwood explore the church, and listen to the recordings.


The Ghost Hunters was originally broadcast on BBC One, 4 December 1975.





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