THE TEMPEST

27 Feb 1980 / BBC2.

Writer: William Shakespeare / Director: John Gorrie / Producer: Cedric Messina.

Shakespeare's classic tale of magic and power, set on a desert island.

Starring Michael Hordern (as Prospero), Pippa Guard (as Miranda), Warren Clarke (as Caliban).

The Tempest (BFI screenonline)

HAMLET

25 May 1980 / BBC2.

Writer: William Shakespeare / Director: Rodney Bennett / Producer: Cedric Messina.

Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark is driven to revenge by the ghost of his murdered father.

Starring Derek Jacobi (as Hamlet), Patrick Stewart (as Claudius), Eric Porter (as Polonius), Lalla Ward (as Ophelia).

Hamlet (BFI screenonline)

THE CURSE OF KING TUTANKHAMUN'S TOMB

1980 / ITV.

Writer: Herb Meadow (based on the novel by Barry Wynne).

Period supernatural drama. The uncovering of King Tutankhamun's tomb by an archaeological team unleashes an ancient curse.

With Robin Ellis, Raymond Burr, Angharad Rees.

Memorable UK TV.

HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR

13 Sep - 6 Dec 1980 (13 eps) / ITV.

Exec. Producers: Brian Lawrence, David Reid

An anthology of supernatural and horror stories. The supernatural episodes were:

(1)   Witching Time.
(4)   Growing Pains.
(5)   The House that Bled to death.
(6)   Charlie Boy.
(8)   Children of the full moon.
(10) Guardian of the abyss.

Hammer House of Horror (WIKI).

SPINE CHILLERS

17 Nov - 19 Dec 1980 (19 x 10 min eps) / BBC.

Producer: Angela Beeching.

A series of readings of various classic ghost and horror stories aimed at older children:

1.    The Red Room (HG Wells).
2.    More Spinned Against (John Wyndham).
3.    The Music On The Hill (Saki).
4.    The Mezzotint (MR James).
5.    The Treasure In The Forest (HG Wells).
6.    The Devil's Ape (Barnard Stacey).
7.    Srendi-Vashtar (Saki).
8.    A School Story (MR James).
9.    In The Avu Observatory (HG Wells).
10.  The Running Companion (Philippa Pearce).
11.  The Penance (Saki).
12.  The Well (WW Jacobs).
13.  The Stolen Bacillus (HG Wells).
14.  A Sin Of Omission (R Chetwynd-Hayes).
15.  Gabriel-Ernest (Saki).
16.  The Diary Of Mr. Poynter (MR James).
17.  The Flowering Of The Strange Orchid (HG Wells).
18.  The Hounds Of Fate (Saki).
19.  Jerry Bundler (WW Jacobs).

Narrators: Freddie Jones, John Woodvine, Jonathan Pryce, Michael Bryant.

THE CRUCIBLE

12 April 1981 / BBC2.

Writer: Arthur Miller / Director: Don Taylor / Producer: Louis Marks.

Dramatisation of the Salem Witch trials.

With: Eric Porter, Daniel Massey, Sarah Sutton, Dennis Quilley, Peter Vaughan.

Memorable UK TV.

ECHOES OF LOUISA

1981 (6 eps) / ITV ( ATV).

Ghostly children's drama series. While exploring the grounds of a historic country house, a girl witnesses events that took place over a century before.

With: Amanda Kirkby, Jeremy Nicholas, Lucinda Bateson.

MISS MORRISON'S GHOSTS

1981 / ITV (Anglia).

Writer: Ian Curteis / Director: John Bruce.

Edwardian period drama. Two female academics think they may have seen the ghost of Marie-Antoinette on a trip to Versailles.

With: Hannah Gordon, Wendy Hiller.

Comment: This drama is based on the claims of two English women, both Oxford University academics, who visited Versailles on the afternoon of 10 August 1901. After passing through a gate, they appeared to step back in time to the court of Louis XVI and encountered several people dressed in period costume - they also saw landscape features and buildings as they would have been more than a century before. They told their story in a book, "An Adventure" by C. A. E. Moberley & E. F. Jourdain (London, Macmillan, 1913).

DARK TOWERS

22 Sep 1981 (10 mins) / BBC1 ("Look and Read").

Short ghost drama aimed at schoolchildren.

K-9 AND COMPANY

28 Dec 1981 / BBC1.

Writer: Terence Dudley / Director: John Black

Sarah Jane Smith (formerly Dr Who's assistant) and robot dog K-9 investigate a coven of witches.

With: Elisabeth Sladen.

K9 and Company (TV Tome).

A COTSWOLD DEATH

12 Jan 1982 / BBC ("Play for Today").

Writer & Director: Tony Bicat.

A Police Inspector investigates the murder of an Arab Sheik who was also the local "Lord of the manor". The plot features clairvoyance.

With: Ian Richardson, Brian Cox, Daphne Heard, Timothy Spall.

WEST COUNTRY TALES

1 Feb - 8 Mar 1982 and 12 May - 30 Jun 1983 / BBC2.

Producer: Kevin Crooks.

An anthology of dramas based on real-life experiences of the supernatural (all submitted by viewers). The episodes were:

Series 1:
(1) The Visitor. (2) The Poacher. (3) The Beast. (4) The Breakdown. (5) Miss Constantine. (6) The Sabbatical. (7) Waiting for Simon. (8) The White bird of laughter.

Series 2:
(1) With love Belinda. (2) The wit to woo. (3) Tell it to the marines. (4) Ring a ring a rosy. (5) Sarah. (6) The little Bounder. (7) The Healer.

Episode Guide - West Country Tales (series 1).

Eofftv Guide to West Country Tales.

I HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE

24 May 1982 / BBC1 ("Play of the Month").

Writer: J B Priestley / Director: James Ormerod / Director: Louis Marks.

Period drama set in the 1930s. At a Yorkshire inn, a German doctor, who claims to be able to see into the future, advises an unhappy couple on how to change their destiny.

With: Anthony Valentine, James Griffiths, Herbert Lom, Lorna Heilbron, Leslie Sands, Diana Rayworth.

DEATH IN THE MORNING (TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED)

11 Jun 1982 / ITV (Anglia).

Writer: John Gorrie (story by Zia Gruger) / Director: John Gorrie.

Karen marries a rich landowner, Sir Ian Masterson, and moves into his large country house. But she senses an evil spirit that wishes to harm her.

With: Cherie Lunghi, Moray Watson, Carol Drinkwater.

Tales of the Unexpected - TV Tome guide.

THE HAUNTING OF CASSIE PALMER

1982 (6 eps) / ITV.

Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy (based on a story by Vivien Alcock).

Children's drama series. A young psychic girl, Cassie, does battle with a malevolent spirit.

With: Helen Probyn, Elizabeth Spriggs, Geoffrey Rose.

Memorable UK TV.

GHOST IN THE WATER

31 Dec 1982 / BBC2.

Writer: Geoffrey Case / Director: Penny Rye.

A supernatural drama for children. A young girl, Tess Willetts, encounters the ghost of a woman who drowned in 1860, apparently having committed suicide after her lover was killed in a mining accident. The ghost has returned to set the record straight; It was not suicide, but a terrible accident as she tried to retrieve her ring from the water.

With: Judith Allchurch, Ian Stevens, Jane Freeman, Dave Mitty, Joanna James.

A PATTERN OF ROSES

1983 ? (75 mins) / Channel 4.

Writer: Joy Whitby (Adapted from the novel of the same name by K M Peyton) / Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark.

A young man, convalescing after a serious illness, sees ghosts from the Edwardian past and recieves a warning.

With: Suzanna Hamilton, Stuart Mackenzie, Helena Bonham Carter (as the ghost Netty).

DRAMARAMA: SPOOKY

14 Apr 1983 - 13 Jun 1983 (7 pts) / ITV.

Children's supernatural drama series - the prequel to the long-running "Dramarama" anthology series. Episodes:

1. War Games With Caroline.
2. The Exorcism of Amy.
3. The Danny Roberts Show.
4. The Ghostly Earl.
5. In a Dark, Dark Box...
6. The Restless Ghost.
7. The Keeper.

Dramarama: Spooky (EOFFTV)

DRAMARAMA

1983 - 1989 / ITV.

Long running children's drama anthology series which sometimes featured plays with a supernatural theme including:

Stabs (2 July 1984)

Silver ( 1 July 1985 - scroll down page).

Ghost Story (19 Jun 1989 ).

Doppleganger.

For more details see:

Dramarama (IMDB)

Dramarama (TV Cream).

SHADES OF DARKNESS

27 May - 8 July 1983 and 21 Jun & 27 Sep 1986 (9 eps) / ITV (Granada).

Producer: June Wyndham-Davies.

An anthology of dramas exploring the supernatural:

(1) The Lady's Maid's Bell.
(2) The Intercessor.
(3) Feet Foremost.
(4) Afterword.
(5) The Maze.
(6) Seaton's Aunt.
(7) Bewitched
(8) The Demon Lover.
(9) The Last Seance (see below).

Shades of Darkness (DVD talk).

Bewitched - review and photos (scroll down the page).

THE DARK SIDE OF THE SUN

13 Sep to 18 Oct 1983 (6 eps) / BBC.

Writer: Michael J Bird, Producer: Vere Lorrimer, Director: David Askey.

After the death of her husband on the Isle of Rhodes, Anne Tierney uncovers an occult society headed by the powerful and sinister aristocrat Raoul Lavalliere.

With: Patrick Mower, Emily Richard, Peter Egan, Michael Sheard.

Full series details at the Michael J Bird tribute site.

MACBETH

17 Oct 1983 / BBC2.

Writer: William Shakespeare / Director: Jack Gold / Producer: Shaun Sutton.

Macbeth is driven to murder his rivals following a prediction from three witches. But he is haunted by the ghost of one of his victims.

Starring Nicol Williamson (as Macbeth), Jane Laportaire (as ladt Macbeth).

Macbeth (BFI screenonline)

CHOCKY

9 Jan - 13 Feb 1984 (rpt 31 Dec 1984) (6 x 30 min eps) / ITV (Thames).

Writer: Anthony Read (based on the novel by John Wyndham).

Young Mathew Gore is able to communicate telepathically with an alien being called Chocky. As a result his intelligence increases and he acquires new talents and abilities, much to the surprise of family and friends. But events take a sinister turn when a ruthless businessman seeks to exploit Chocky's power.

There were 2 sequels - CHOCKY's CHILDREN (1985) and CHOCKY's CHALLENGE (1986).

With: Anthony Ellams, James Hazeldine, Carol Drinkwater.

Chocky - The Little Gems Guide.

HAMMER HOUSE OF MYSTERY AND SUSPENSE

1984 - 1986 (13 eps) / ITV.

Exec. Producers: Brian Lawrence, Roy Skeggs.

The sequel to the Hammer House of Horror series. The supernatural episodes were:

(4)   A Distant Scream.
(6)   In possession.
(11) And the walls came tumbling down.
(13) Tennis Court.

Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense.

CHOCKY'S CHILDREN

7 Jan - 11 Feb 1985 (6 x 30 min eps) / ITV (Thames).

Writer: Anthony Read (based on the book "Chocky" by John Wyndham).

Young Mathew goes to stay with his aunt in the country. There he meets a girl called Albertine, who is telepathic and also able to communicate with Chocky. But they both face danger from those wishing to exploit Chocky for selfish ends.

With: Andrew Elams, James Hazeldine, Carol Drinkwater, Annabel Worrell.

BERGERAC - WHAT DREAMS MAY COME TRUE

25 Oct 1985 / BBC1.

Writer: Brian Finch / Director: Ben Bolt.

Detective Sgt. Jim Bergerac investigates a fatal road accident which appears to have a supernatural connection.

Starring: John Nettles etc.

Full details at TV Tome Guide.

EDGE OF DARKNESS

4 Nov - 9 Dec 1985 (6 x 60 min eps) / BBC2 (rpt. BBC1).

Writer: Troy Kennedy Martin / Director: Martin Campbell.

Award-winning "eco-thriller". Detective Ronald Creaven investigates the murder of his daughter - a committed anti-nuclear campaigner - in the process uncovering shocking truths at the heart of our society.

With: Bob Peck, Joanne Whalley, Joe Don Baker.

Comment: Creaven appears to be helped in his investigations by the ghostly presence of his dead daughter, although it is equally possible that the "ghost" is a dramatic device to explicate Creaven's own internal dialogue. Either way, he appears to stumble across some clues by "supersensory" means.

Edge of Darkness (BBC site).

DAEMON

1986 / Channel 4 (Children's Film Unit).

Director: Colin Finbow

A ghost story. Inexplicable events convince a boy that he is possessed by a demon. But it turns out that the incidents in question are really due the spirit of a child who was burned to death in Victorian times.

With Susannah York.

Children's Film Unit.

HAUNTERS OF THE DEEP

2 Sep 1986 (60 mins) / BBC2 (Childrens' Film and TV Foundation).

Writers: Andrew Bogle, Tony Attard, Terry Barbour / Director: Andrew Bogle.

A large American company wants to reopen an old Cornish tin mine. But local people warn against it as it is still haunted by the ghosts of miners who died in accidents there in the past.

With: Gary Simmons, Amy Taylor, Andrew Keir, Bob Sherman.

WORLDS BEYOND

Sep 1986 - Dec 1988 (13 eps) / ITV.

Writers: Brian Clemens etc / Producer: Alan Radnor / Directors: John Jacobs, Sue Butterworth, Chris Menaul, John Cooper, Adrian Cooper, Robert Fuest, Bob McIntosh.

Major supernatural anthology drama series based on real-life stories taken from the archives of the "Society for Psychical Research". An accompanying book by Ian Wilson (Weidenfield & Nicholson, 1986) detailed the factual background of the cases. Episode list:

(1) The Haunted Garden, (2) Serenade for Dead Lovers, (3) The Barrington Case, (4) Captain Randolph, (5) The Black Tomb, (6) Home, (7) Voice of the Gallows, (8) The Eye of Yemanja, (9) Guardian of the Past, (10) Suffer Little Children, (11) Undying Love, (12) Reflections of Evil, (13) Oliver's Ghost.

Starring: Judy Bowker, John Nettleton, Warren Clarke, Connie Booth, James Hazeldine, Terence Alexander, Denholm Elliott etc.

Worlds Beyond (BFI database).

THE LAST SEANCE

27 Sep 1986 / ITV - Granada ("Shades of Darkness").

Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy (based on the story by Agatha Christie).

Period supernatural drama.

With: Jeanne Moreau, Anthony Higgins, Norma West.

CHOCKY'S CHALLENGE

29 Sep - 1 Nov 1986 (6 x 30 min eps) / ITV (Thames).

Writer: Anthony Read / Director: Bob Blagdon.

The benevolent telepathic alien intelligence, Chocky, contacts more children and reveals that they are to create a machine capable of harnessing cosmic energy.

With: Anthony Elams, James Hazeldine, Annabel Worrell.

CLASSIC GHOST STORIES

25-30 Dec 1986 / 5 eps. / BBC2.

Producer: Angela Beeching

An anthology of narrated M.R James ghost stories featuring dramatised incidents:

(1) The Mezzotint. (2) The Ash Tree. (3) The Wailing Well (4) Oh whistle and I'll come to you my lad. (5) The Rose Garden.

Narrator: Robert Powell.

BERGERAC - FIRES IN THE FALL

26 Dec 1986 / BBC1.

Writer: Chris Boucher / Director: Tom Clegg.

A Clairvoyant claims to have contacted the spirit of a young girl who was killed in an arson attack 20 years previously. Soon the child's grave is desecrated and and the arson attacks start up again. Jim Bergerac investigates.

Starring: John Nettles.

Full episode / cast details at: Bergerac - TV Tome guide.

SHADOW OF THE STONE

26 July - 30 Aug 1987 (6 eps) / ITV (Scotland).

Director & Producer; Leonard White / Writer: Catherine Lucy Czerkawska.

Supernatural drama about a girl, Elizabeth, who finds she has a link with a girl from the 17th century who was tried for witchcraft.

With: Shirley Henderson, Alan Cumming.

NIGHT VOICES

1987 (6 eps) / ITV.

An anthology of supernatural and horror stories :

(1) Hand in Glove. (2) Succubus (see detailed entries below).

HAND IN GLOVE

1987 / ITV ("Night Voices").

Writer & Director: Peter Duffell.

A young woman recieves a premonition of her lover's death.

With: Nicola Pagett, Clive Francis, Helen Cherry, Trevor Howard.

Memorable UK TV.

SUCCUBUS

1987 / ITV ("Night Voices").

Writers: Bob Baker, Dave Martin.

A case of attempted spirit possession.

With: Barry Foster, Lynsey Baxter.

Memorable UK TV.

THE GEMINI FACTOR

1987 (6 eps) / ITV (Thames).

Writer: Paula Milne.

Children's drama. Two twins, a boy and a girl, are separated at birth. After being reunited in their teens they find themselves able to share each other's experiences telepathically.

With: Louisa Haig, Charles Creed Miles.

The Gemini factor

THE WATCH HOUSE

7 - 21 Dec 1988 (3 x 25 mins) / BBC1.

Writer William Corlett (based on the book by Robert Westall) / Director: Ian Keill / Producer: Brenda Ennis.

Childrens' supernatural drama series. Anne, a teenager, spends the summer with her mother's old nanny in a house by the sea. There she encounters a ghostly presence connected with a nearby former lifeboat "Watch House".

With: Diana Morrison as ANNE, Sheri Shepstone as PRUDIE, James Garbutt as ARTHUR.

The Watch House (EOFFTV).

TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN

4 Jan - 8 Feb 1989 (7 eps) / BBC1.

Writer: Julia Jones (based on a novel by Philippa Pearce) / Director: Christine Secombe.

Children's drama. Whenever the clock strikes thirteen a beautiful garden magically appears outside the house in which Tom, a young boy, is staying. By stepping into the garden he is able to travel back in time and appear as a ghost to the former inhabitants of the house.

With: Jeremy Rampling, Caroline Waldren etc.

The Chestnut Guide - Tom's Midnight Garden (lots of photos).

THE DARK ANGEL

4 Jan to 18 Jan 1989 (3 eps) / BBC2.

Writer: Don McPherson (based on the novel by Sheridan Lefanu).

Period drama serial. A young girl is sent to stay at the old mansion of her Uncle Silas. There she is intimidated by a tyrannical governess and haunted by premonitions of death.

With: Peter O'Toole, Jane Lapotaire, Tim Woodward, Beatie Edney.

Memorable UK TV.

UNEXPLAINED LAUGHTER

25 April 1989 / BBC1 ("Play on One").

Writer: Alun Owen (based on a story by Alice Thomas Ellis) / Director: Gareth Davies.

Black comedy drama. Two women go to stay at a remote Welsh holiday cottage which turns out to be haunted. They can hear echoing laughter around the house at all hours of the day and night.

With: Diana Rigg, Elaine Page.

GOVAN GHOST STORY

1989 / BBC1 ("Play on One").

Writer: Bryan Elsley / Director: David Hayman. / Music composed and performed by the Blue Nile.

A redundant ex-shipworker hears ghostly noises and bangs from the flat next door which is haunted by the spirit of a battered child. This causes him to reflect on his own life.

With Tom Watson.

THE SNOW SPIDER

1989 / ITV (HTV).

Writer: Julia Jones (based on the novel by Jenny Nimmo / Producer & Director: Pennant Roberts.

Children's mystical fantasy drama series. Gwyn is a young lad who lives with his family on a remote Welsh hill farm. On his birthday he is given several unusual gifts by his grandmother and discovers how to use them to acquire the powers of magic that his ancestors once had.

With: Ossian Roberts, Sian Phillips, Sharon Morgan, Robert Blythe, Rosslyn Killick, Gareth Pritchard.

The Snow Spider - Little Gems guide.

GHOST STORY

19 June 1989 / ITV - Granada (Dramarama).

Children's supernatural drama.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK  

24 Dec 1989 (rpt. Xmas 1994 on Channel 4) / ITV (Central).

Writer: Nigel Kneale (based on a short story by Susan Hill) / Director: Herbert Wise.

Supernatural period drama. 1920's solicitor Arthur Kidd is sent to a remote, deserted country house to take an inventory of contents. There he encounters a ghostly woman in black.

With: Adrian Rawlins, Bernard Rawlins, Bernard Hepton, David Daker, Pauline Moran.