While searching for more DVDs from one of my favorite television shows on the Sci-Fi Channel, I came across these DVDs from the U.K. I thought perhaps they would be on the same level as that show, especially after a little research showed that the writer of this show, Ian Cashmore, had been critical of the similarly named show airing in the U.S.

At the name, however, is where any similarities end, and I don’t mean that in a good way.

Each of the three episodes contained on this DVD consists primarily of people telling their stories of ghostly encounters. It wouldn’t be so bad if at least the stories were told in a way that excited or scared me, but they aren’t. They are simply recited in a matter-of-fact way.

No one goes in and tries to prove or disprove any of the happenings. There’s no looking to see if there’s a perfectly normal explanation for some of the phenomena they report. The cameras go into the places where the ghostly encounters occur and the narrator reports on evidence that backs up the claim, either filling in blanks to their story of something that occurred and might explain why the spirit is there or the history. While some of it might be quite interesting, it’s definitely not that compelling.

The promotional blurb talks about bone-chilling accounts of ghostly encounters…. If there were any, I missed them.


Castle Leslie

A castle in Ireland is reported to have 18 ghosts. Local residents tell the stories of strange occurrences in the castle and on the grounds. Members of the Leslie family, who can trace their roots back to Attila the Hun, also speak of the happenings at their castle.

Ghosthunters at Work

This takes a look at the work that some of the paranormal investigators who appear in the program do. It shows how they decipher the reports of hauntings and compare it to the known history. The narrator also talks about how people react to paranormal experiences.

There is a fairly interesting sequence here where an art teacher tells some pretty good stories about a haunting at his pottery studio in a college.


The Phantom Fisherman

Taking place in Plymouth, England, residents of the town describe their ghostly encounters with fishermen and other people who seem to have once lived in the area.


I’d only recommend this to people who are interested in ghost stories in the U.K. It’s not typical of the haunting shows we’ve gotten used to over the past few years. While I might not like Most Haunted, it at least is entertaining. The U.S. version of Ghost Hunters at least takes a critical look at people’s claims and attempts to shed some light on the story. This is neither.