Ghosthunters
Encyclopedia
Ghosthunters was a British paranormal documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...

 television series that originally aired from 1996 to 1997 on the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...

. The four-season program was produced by Inca Productions of Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 (by producers Sheldon Greenberg and Eddie Babbage), hosted by Ian Cashmore
Ian Cashmore
Ian Cashmore is a British television personality specializing in paranormal phenomena.Cashmore has been involved in investigating the paranormal since the early 1980s...

, and narrated by William Woollard
William Woollard
William Woollard is a British television producer and presenter.-Biography:Educated at a state grammar school in London and at the University of Oxford, he trained as a fighter pilot with the RAF. He worked with an oil company in Borneo and Oman...

. Ian Cashmore also appeared in the promo for the American Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...

 series Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on October 6, 2004, on Syfy . The program features paranormal investigators Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson who investigate places that are reported to be haunted. The two originally worked as plumbers for Roto-Rooter as...

.

Premise

Frequently aired on the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...

, Discovery Civilizations, and Discovery Science
Discovery Science
Discovery science is a scientific methodology which emphasizes analysis of large volumes of experimental data with the goal of finding new patterns or correlations, leading to hypothesis formation and other scientific methodologies.Discovery-based methodologies are often viewed in contrast to...

, the first two seasons explored contemporary research in the area of field parapsychology
Parapsychology
The term parapsychology was coined in or around 1889 by philosopher Max Dessoir, and originates from para meaning "alongside", and psychology. The term was adopted by J.B. Rhine in the 1930s as a replacement for the term psychical research...

, largely by asking prominent researchers to explain and outline their best evidential cases, and interviewing witness while placing the cases in the context of parapsychology
Parapsychology
The term parapsychology was coined in or around 1889 by philosopher Max Dessoir, and originates from para meaning "alongside", and psychology. The term was adopted by J.B. Rhine in the 1930s as a replacement for the term psychical research...

.

Notable researchers regularly featured on the programme include professors Archie Roy
Archie Roy
- Career :Professor Archie Edminston Roy , was educated at Hillhead High School and the University of Glasgow. He is married to Frances with three sons; Dr. Archie W N Roy, Ian Roy and David Roy....

, David Fontana and Peter Fenwick.

Series 1 (1996)

All episodes were first broadcast on Sundays.
Episode Title Detail First
Broadcast
1.1 (1) Legends of the Roman Legionnaires Dr. Patrick Ottaway and Jim Lyons investigate Roman ghost sightings at the Treasurer's House
Treasurer's House
The Treasurer's House is a National Trust-owned property in Martock, Somerset, England.It is a medieval priest's house built from Hamstone during the 13th century, with various extensions and alterations since. The Great Hall was completed in 1293 and there is an even earlier Solar Block with an...

 York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

 and Mersea Island
Mersea Island
Mersea Island is the most easterly inhabited island in the United Kingdom, located marginally off the coast of Essex, England, to the southeast of Colchester. It is situated in the estuary area of the Blackwater and Colne rivers and has an area of around...

, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

.
14 April 1996
1.2 (2) The Mysteries of the George Examines a haunted pub in Preston, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 with paranormal investigator Melanie Warren.
21 April 1996
1.3 (3) The Phantoms of Chingle Hall Jason Karl examines the thirteenth century house in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

 which is one of Britain's most famous allegedly haunted houses.
21 April 1996
1.4 (4) The Men Who Talk to Ghosts An examination of mediumship, concentrating on Eddie Burks
Eddie Burks
Eddie Burks is a retired civil engineer and psychic, he was featured in the fourth episode of the first series of the television documentary series Ghosthunters in the episode entitled "The Men Who Talk to Ghosts."Burks alleged extraordinary psychic powers made news headlines in 1993 when it was...

 and John Parker.
28 April 1996
1.5 (5) The Invisible Intelligence Professor David Fontana
David Fontana
Professor David G. J. Fontana, Ph.D, FBPS was a British academic, psychologist and author. He was Professor of Psychology at the Cardiff University...

 examines the Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

 case of Pete the Poltergeist
Poltergeist
A poltergeist is a paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity. Such manifestation typically includes inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the...

 which was active in the Autumn of 1992.
5 May 1996.
1.6 (6) Holy Ghostbusters The Rev. Tom Willis discusses exorcism
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...

 and the Deliverance Ministry and the Church's work in confronting alleged supernatural happenings.
12 May 1996

Series 2 (1996)

All episodes were first broadcast on Sundays.
Episode Title Detail First
Broadcast
2.1 (7) Ripples in Time Parapsychologist Mary Rose Barrington of the Society for Psychical Research
Society for Psychical Research
The Society for Psychical Research is a non-profit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand "events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal by promoting and supporting important research in this area" and to "examine allegedly paranormal phenomena...

 discusses the Wootton timeslip, and CJ Romer outlines the experience at Thetford Priory
Thetford Priory
Thetford Priory is a Cluniac Priory located at Thetford, Norfolk, England.One of the most important East Anglian monasteries, it was founded in 1103 by Roger Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk and dedicated to Our Lady....

, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

 which provoked his interest in investigating hauntings.
26 May 1996
2.2 (8) The Phantom Pilot Parapsychologist, Professor Archie Roy
Archie Roy
- Career :Professor Archie Edminston Roy , was educated at Hillhead High School and the University of Glasgow. He is married to Frances with three sons; Dr. Archie W N Roy, Ian Roy and David Roy....

 investigates modern tales of post mortem apparitions and crisis apparitions.
2 June 1996
2.3 (9) The Haunted Ballroom John Mitchell presents a story of a haunted ballroom in York and Melanie Warren investigates the Grand Theatre in Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...

, England.
9 June 1996
2.4 (10) Tales from Dartmoor John Parker investigates Jay's Grave
Jay's Grave
Jay's Grave is supposedly the last resting place of a suicide victim who is thought to have died in the late 18th century...

 and Graham Wyley goes to Taw Cottage on Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...

.
16 June 1996.
2.5 (11) The Possession 23 June 1996
2.6 (12) Ghosthunters at Work Looks at The Bell Inn in Thetford
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...

, Norfolk, England with ghosthunter Tony Cornell
Tony Cornell
Anthony Donald Cornell was a prominent figure in the investigations of ghosts and other paranormal activity across the United Kingdom during the later part of the twentieth century...

 of the Society for Psychical Research
Society for Psychical Research
The Society for Psychical Research is a non-profit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand "events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal by promoting and supporting important research in this area" and to "examine allegedly paranormal phenomena...

. Spiritualist Trish Robertson probes the haunting of an art school.
30 June 1996

Series 3 (1996–1997)

These eight episodes were first screened between Sunday 8 December 1996 and Sunday 26 January 1997 (each episode was also repeated on the Wednesday night following the Sunday transmission).
Episode Title Detail First
Broadcast
3.1 (13) Spirits of the Civil War Many modern visitors to a battlefield have reported encounters with seventeenth century soldiers. 8 December 1996
3.2 (14) The Phantom Schoolmaster A Victorian school burned down, and in recent years there have been reports of strange happenings a nearby photographic studio. A seance leads to the discovery of a ghostly schoolmaster long since departed. Episode includes interview with Colin Wilson
Colin Wilson
Colin Henry Wilson is a prolific English writer who first came to prominence as a philosopher and novelist. Wilson has since written widely on true crime, mysticism and other topics. He prefers calling his philosophy new existentialism or phenomenological existentialism.- Early biography:Born and...

. It subsequently came to light that the case for "finding" the supposed schoolmaster in the official census of 1841 was based on fraudulently altered documentation. (see Ian Cashmore
Ian Cashmore
Ian Cashmore is a British television personality specializing in paranormal phenomena.Cashmore has been involved in investigating the paranormal since the early 1980s...

)
15 December 1996
3.3 (15) Castle Leslie Castle Leslie
Castle Leslie
Castle Leslie, home to an Irish branch of Clan Leslie, is located on the 4 km² Castle Leslie Estate adjacent to the village of Glaslough, north-east of Monaghan town in County Monaghan, Ireland.-Architecture:...

 is set on a lakeside in southern Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. Over the years there have been many unexplained incidents of ghostly activity with long-dead relatives.
22 December 1996
3.4 (16) The Phantom Fisherman This episode follows an extraordinary trail of clues that eventually leads to the identification of a troubled spirit of an eighteenth-century fisherman. 29 December 1996
3.5 (17) Echoes from beyond the grave On a lonely windswept country lane, a motorcyclist met his death. But lives on? 5 January 1997
3.6 (18) The Priest and the Professor A Catholic priest and a professor of psychology try to grapple with the complex problems of apparent possession by a ghostly spirit … resulting in an exorcism. 12 January 1997
3.7 (19) The Spirits of Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor is a granite moorland in northeastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and originally dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history....

The paranormal events experienced by some people who believe they have encountered King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...

.
19 January 1997
3.8 (20) The Case of the Gorton Poltergeist A look behind the scenes of one of the UK's most startling poltergeist cases. 26 January 1997

Series 4 (1997)

The following eight episodes were first screened between Sunday 2 February 1997 and Sunday 23 March 1997 (each episode was also repeated on the Wednesday night following the Sunday transmission).
Episode Title Detail First
Broadcast
4.1 (21) The Possession A psychic looks into the mystery of a woman's physical possession by a ghostly spirit. 2 February 1997
4.2 (22) The Spirits of Marston Moor
Battle of Marston Moor
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the First English Civil War of 1642–1646. The combined forces of the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven and the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince...

An investigation into reports of sightings of soldiers long dead. 9 February 1997
4.3 (23) In the Shadow of Snowdonia
Snowdonia
Snowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...

Follows exorcists as they are called in to restore normality to a haunted farmhouse in the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 valleys. They may appear tranquil, but frightening paranormal events can occur beneath the calm.
16 February 1997
4.4 (24) Spectres of the Severn The River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...

 is one of Britain's greatest rivers. The high concentration of local haunted dwellings has a fascinating explanation that challenges the common theory and understanding of the strange activity. CJ Romer and Dr. Serena Roney-Dougal.
23 February 1997
4.5 (25) The Haunting of County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...

Experts investigate mysterious and ghostly encounters. Featuring a look into the tale of a drowned boy whose restless spirit haunts the area of Wicklow
Wicklow
Wicklow) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. Located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island, it has a population of 10,070 according to the 2006 census. The town is situated to the east of the N11 route between Dublin and Wexford. Wicklow is also connected to the rail...

 in Ireland, where he spent his short life.
2 March 1997
4.6 (26) The Haunted Bypass A new road in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 runs across land once occupied by a monastery and there are frequent reports of shadowy figures
Shadow people
Shadow people are supernatural shadow-like humanoid figures that, according to believers, are seen mostly in peripheral vision and move quickly...

.
9 March 1997
4.7 (27) Across the Great Divide An investigation into the evidence of the human mind after death. 16 March 1997
4.8 (28) Battlefield of the Somme During the Battle of the Somme, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed. A disturbing atmosphere still hangs over the battlefield, which is visited in this programme by medium Peter Bowers. 23 March 1997
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