Uncanny BBC2

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

I don't believe in ghosts. But this is BBC2, not Channel 5 or the usual channels which run this type of crap. So I'm watching. Anyone else?

yeah, didn't he teach English? Makes you wonder....

Oxford theology students. Probably already believing in an after life so not looking for scientific explanation.

Why doesn't Danny ask the questions that are in my head? eg the tape player that he described as working on its own even afte they pulled the plug out. I wanted to know if the tape was actually going round. Or if they tried to press stop or rewind or turn the volume right down. Or take the tape out. Cos surely a rational person would just do that? I had a stereo "ghetto blaster" thing around the same time. It had a main adapter AND a battery back up. So if it was unplugged from the mains it would still work from the battery. Those are the sort of questions I would want to ask about those specific situations desribed in the programme and he never asked them. Just sat round in a pub talking to supposed experts and describing events as "deeply unnerving" all the time.

I have to say I think the timing of these just before Halloween wasn't a coincidence. I also read something earlier today that they're going to broadcast Ghostwatch again for the first time since it was first aired and caused all that furore. Also not a coincidence, I don't think.

Yeah, he misses some really obvious questions (that a better "sceptic expert" than the one they've got would pick up instantly, imo). As you say, theology students are not like maths or physics, students, say. They are mostly from religious families, and predisposed towards the spiritual, even if not the same spiritual as believers in ghosts. Toddy's becoming a monk is quite a serious and unusual religious commitment, for instance. Their knowing so many religious people is unusual. It bugs me when they don't ask the really obvious stuff but pretend they're being vigorous.

Why didn't Danny ask if the male "voice" that the student heard at the end of her bed could have been Toddy? What was the relationship between them all? Why doesn't Toddy remember this dramatic event of his 'speaking in a different voice' even though it would have completely freaked everyone out at the time and would have been talked about, surely? Why doesn't Toddy remember the tape deck drama, and could it have been him who switched on the one at the top of the stairs? Could one of them or a religious acquaintance be "testing" their faith in God? Why on earth would a priest doing an exorcism randomly miss out one room?

I really liked the soundwaves demonstration though.

I wish he’d got Professor Richard Wiseman. Absolute king of the sceptics imo.

Yes, Richard Wiseman is brilliant and ideal for this kind of thing. (I seem to remember he did experiments at Hampton Court and other places which could show something similar to the infrasound effect though he thought it might be something magnetic iirc, and he did a lot of other work with Derren Brown, didn't he?) But much too good at debunking, I would think. They definitely want us to believe, rather it being genuinely even-handed.

I guess if people start rumors that a place is haunted or odd goings on , then your more likely to feel spooked. It's not really rocket science and been done to dupe people into believing all kind of things.
I did believe Heather last night , but not Toddy
Only based on his general attitude to to it all though, which is maybe a bit unfair

They were far too vague about the moving cake tin. I wanted to know whether it slid across the table or whether it moved through the air. The former could be explained. And the couple who lived in the house afterwards, surely the most likely explanation is that their son coincidentally had night terrors.

I really enjoyed them all. Can't take it too seriously but it's interesting and entertaining and Danny seems to be having a wonderful time - Love his enthusiasm.

I don't know many viable options the producers have to choose from but seems daft to pick stories where you can't access the houses involved - it's a pretty fundamental part of a proper investigation. Seeing the house in ep2 was good but a lot more could have been made of it. I appreciate the current occupants might not want that but then they shouldn't have picked those cases. I understand it must be hard to get decent witnesses, an interesting story, some historical plausibility and full access to the scene altogether in one story, though!

Still, loved it for what it was and am looking forward to the podcast follow up and the new episodes.

I do love anything out of the ordinary and I've enjoyed this series,
I hope the bbc make more

I was surprised nobody mentioned that voices carry through walls in terraced houses. We used to be able to hear voices, next door’s telly - even the loo flushing!

Indeed - I often used to think someone had run up our stairs and it was someone next door running up theirs.

I think in episode 3 the housemates were all religious and too ready to believe it was an eeevil presence, there was definitely some group hysteria going on.

I lived in a couple of creepy houses at university but I was far more worried about dodgy gas appliances, dodgy men hanging about and burglars than ghosts.

It’s not inconceivable that sounds of non paranormal origin could sound like mumbling voices, especially if you are in a nervous and creeped out state of mind anyway. OTOH they did say that the voices stopped the moment they entered the kitchen.

The scariest thing about this episode is that you can go to Oxford and end up as a school librarian. The early 90s was truly a magical time to be a teenager, no student loan and a full grant and you could piss about getting an amazing degree from the best university in the country for no discernible reason whatsoever.

(And what’s more this qualifies you as a credible witness in Kieran’s eyes 😒)

Only if you think the only point of education is the money it can make you. Describing studying for a degree at Oxford as "pissing about" tells us you don't value education though.

Ok me and my two degrees from Russell Group Universities will slowly sidle off. Must work harder to value education.

Its a waste of a degree.

Plus Kieran listed that she was a credible witness because she had a good degree, from a sound university, and had a sensible job. I disagree that these three things make her believable.

Do we know what kind of librarian she was?
Surely you all , with your competing degrees must remember that a good knowledgeable librarian does more than just stamp the back of the books with a return date?
Also, perhaps she loves being around books. How peaceful would that be?

.

Have just caught up with episode 2. It struck me that the Believer expert would be more credible if they didn't just believe everything. I'm Team Sceptic so I know I'm obviously going to say that 🤣 But even a believer has to acknowledge that some people's accounts are going to be distorted by retelling and misremembering.

I was struck by the fact after the event she had counselling and the upshot was to have no further contact with Toddy.(Ordered by her father and/ or counsellor, can’t recall which.) How did they manage that? Theology couldn’t have been a huge course back in the early 1990s. How confusing for Toddy to be cut off by a friend. The the move into a monastery after the hysterical of their second year and potentially isolated (have no idea, he may have had loads of other pals) final year with course mates avoiding him, makes more sense. Poor man and poor her.

I did wonder if this means he would say that, for example, a single parent on benefits who left school at 16, would be less believable if they were describing paranormal experiences.

I was wondering whether a hefty dose of hysteria/Catholic guilt/hormones might have played a part.

Not gonna lie, I was shipping Toddy and the librarian (Heather?) by the end 😃

Did I miss why the third student (Deborah?) was never tracked down or interviewed?

She was found but refused

Ah, must’ve missed that. Thanks @Ladybughouse

@Snooks1971 it was right at the beginning, easy to miss.