Radio 4 podcast produced by Bafflegab Productions, available on BBC Sounds

Fact-checking the phantom followers.

Almost half way through Danny Robins’ cold case poltergeist investigation, it’s time for some fact checking and interactivity as listener questions are answered.

Back to square one to review one of the puzzling physical elements of this case that hasn’t been explained: that key. Shirley gives us more detail, but there’s still no clarity or consensus of expert opinion as to what it is. What makes it creepy is the sense of invasion of space, especially unsettling as it was placed on Shirley’s pillow. Again this strikes me as very sinister, as it’s not just violation of the home, but of the personal space of the youngest, most vulnerable person in it. Nightmare fuel for sure.

Then I feel my Spidey-sceptic senses tingling, but not as you’d expect. The terrifying and loud banging that even the Hitchings’ neighbours were plagued by was caused by underground trains, or drains, or what about Battersea Power Station itself, all that electrical energy? Nope, I’m not buying it. I realise sound is vibration, but for an underground sound over a mile away to reverberate seemingly in the ceiling of one isolated house is a bit of a stretch.

My own increasingly obvious bias aside, it doesn’t detract from the intrigue and excellent listener questions that Danny tackles. I can’t recall a ghost-hunting case, either cold or hot, that has offered the almost real-time interactivity as the series is broadcast and a chance to directly interrogate the experts ourselves, sharing our theories and analysis. It’s not something I thought I needed but now I have it, it’s strangely enjoyable to be able to connect, as in a theatre or cinema, with strangers in a shared experience. I wonder why that’s something I’m missing at the moment?

Verdict: Sceptical of the sceptics, but loving the debate. 9/10

Claire Smith