BBC Radio 4 for BBC Sounds, 20 October 2021

“The blackest black I have ever seen.”

Are you ready to follow the nation’s favourite supernatural Sherlock Holmes – aka Danny Robins – into the darkness?

Full disclosure first of all: if Danny Robins is a self-declared “sceptic who wants to believe”, then I’m a “believer who has never experienced”, meaning my belief in another form of life after death is absolute, but I’m not sure how those ‘beyond the veil’ are able to communicate with us, stuck here on this gloomy mortal coil. I’m a theoretical believer, if you will. Perhaps that’s why I find the subject endlessly fascinating, and I’m by no means alone in that, as testified by the enduring appeal of ghostly goings-on.

Welcome to more of the forensic, ‘cold-case’ style dissection of hauntings a la the enormously successful Battersea Poltergeist. (If you’re reading this without having listened to that, stop immediately and go and catch up).

With the atmospheric music and sound taking us back to the events of Belfast in 1981 as Ken relays a chilling tale for our first case that sounds like he encountered a Dementor’s more sinister uncle, I wouldn’t recommend listening to this as you walk home after dark in the rain. Or maybe do, if that’s your thing… it’ll make you walk faster at any rate.

We have Caroline Watt, a Professor of Parapsychology in the sceptic corner this week, with Peter Laws, an ordained reverend, offering an alternate view. With the presentation of evidence and theories from different schools of thought, we can make up our own minds, and undertake our own research, as we are invited to join in on the ghost hunt. There is no judgement, no ridicule of the encounters being reported, no vilification of the ‘other side’ as we can so often (and sometimes tragically) witness in these times we live in. There are just facts, witness statements and scientific theories. It’s also interesting to get a theological viewpoint this week. Whichever team you’re on, there will be some challenges and some food for thought.

My take on case 1: too many and varied incidents over an extended period to be able to be easily dismissed. Yeah there’s something evil there. Call a young Priest and an Old Priest…

Verdict: Love a good ghost story? Buckle up for the perfect autumnal bedtime listen. 9/10

Claire Smith