BBC Sounds, 12 April 2023

“So everybody else who experienced this is dead?”

How’s that for an opening line, eh? James, our witness this week, ended up in a house in Stratford upon Avon with his parents and his cousin – none of whom are still on this mortal coil, and he’s only in his early 40s… There’s something wrong with this picture.

The house number has been changed to protect the innocent as Danny explains “we’ll call it 67.” Bangs on windows, and footsteps “scrambling” up the stairs lend weight, as Evelyn Hollow explains, to the case for more than one stage of poltergeist activity and escalating phenomena.

Interestingly, Chris French expands on the psychology of being alone. We’re “more likely to pick up on subtle stimuli… more vulnerable,” and this certainly makes sense. But for the phenomena to continue when James and his Mum are together in a room? And for them to experience the same thing? That’s got to push the boundaries of mundane explanation, surely.

No spoilers for the insidiously creepy mirror story, but I dare you to listen without either a shiver down your spine or nightmares. But it gets much worse.

There’s a cliffhanger ending because this case is too big for one episode – how much more can James and his Mum endure?

Verdict: A nailbiter of a second case – thank goodness there’s only a week between episodes!  8/10

Claire Smith