Paranormal: The Girl, the Ghost & the Gravestone

A fairly interesting investigation of a case involving a supposed haunted Welsh rural house over 20 years ago.

The style is actually refreshingly fun and relaxed with a radio 1 presenter heading it up. There's a fun element too of her being able to phone up a university academic for help when stuck. There's a bit of an insight into how a journalist works, doing some door knocking or going back through the local newspaper archives. The weakest element is probably the padding where we have to watch her hanging out in a pub or listening to random young people tell their ghost stories. The lowest point is watching a group of obese mediums in a pub make a spectacle of themselves, no pun intended.

There's a bit too much scary dramatic music while shots of fairly mundane stuff is shown, as though it was trying to be the Conjuring or something rather than a documentary.

We get to meet a fair number of species along with several family members who seem quite convinced.

Episodes 1 and 2 are probably the strongest introducing it all, meeting family members and delving deeper into the investigation. Episode 3 though starts to run out of steam.

A psychological explanation is offered but its hard to know and that's more or less how it ends with her frustratingly on the fence. The presenter though does the role well at times empathetic, curious and having the odd little joke too.

At the heart of the case is one unusual item, a gravestone which seems rather out of place not in a churchyard. This almost becomes the real story for me in this investigation, who was this young woman and what may have actually happened to her?

Well, you should expect a degree of wackiness, when you decide to see a Welsh ghost story, but this one is on a whole different level. It starts off like your usual Beeb documentary, but soon it becomes a parody of one. We meet a gallery of oddball characters spouting nonsense, admitting that they are superstitious, but claiming that they are very sceptical. Flower petals are switched with dead insects to some very dramatic music, words appear on walls. People have impression that other people are around. People with Down syndrome are called very intelligent. It all feels like a 6th grader homework for Halloween. But it's just the worst spent money in the history of BBC. The original series Ghosts was such fun - original, well scripted, funny dialogs, good acting. Here, apart from the pleasantly sounding lilt of the presenter's voice, there're no redeeming features.

To be honest, the first one grabbed me, but the treatment of this family by a young production team and a girl more interested in her own image and air time than in helping this mystery be solved was awful. It was not reviewed completely scientifically, or with any respect for the family's feelings, they must have been horrified. A number of possible leads were ignored, disrupted by utter silliness & shots of her down the pub with mates or uttering 'Most Haunted' type nonsense in a yurt, not even in the alleged haunted house. Though she struck at the notion that some of it could have been mischief that got out of hand, the son (with learning disabilities) was not considered in a rather offhand, ignorant kind of way as if he'd not have been capable. In fact, it wasn't reviewed thoroughly to start with originally and it's all rather too late now. A much more objective treatment was required, but as the family relationships and dynamics at the time can't be examined now, it would have been better certainly for them, if this matter had not been dredged up in such a puerile fashion. The media are not to be trusted in such delicate matters & this proved that. I wish them peace and happiness & to be able to put it all behind themselves, particularly after these idiots' input. Some things are just not meant to be explained.

The only haunting thing about this series is the complete lack of any attempt at journalistic credibility, critical thinking and objectivity. Even if you don't sit in the 'ghosts don't exist camp' like me, you're going to struggle to see anything in here that can't easily be explained with a little common sense. The production of this is the most compelling evidence that there was absolutely no story; over edited to make the mundane spooky...cue haunting music and a shot of an open farm gate...what?! It was so clearly such utter drivel, that the production would have been better off switching up and making this a comedy. The family at the heart of this present as fragile, highly strung, a little neurotic, and I can well imagine, easily influenced by each other. Perhaps that dynamic would have made a more compelling subject for a documentary. The only "evidence" of said haunting is the families own accounts and testimony...hardly objective or reliable. Cue the ouija board and haunted monk (ffs really) and I conceded and turned off. Utter b0ll0cks. Save yourself an hour of your life you'll never get back.

Remember this is entertainment not scientific study. Other reviewers on here seem to be assuming that they will be provided with some answer whereas the purpose of the programme is to pique the curiosity. Sian does a good job and has a nice presence. Some stuff is a bit formulaic and gratuitous but (probably quite rightly) the makers are creating something for viewers with not much more than passing curiosity. As such this is little more than an entertaining ghost story though I found Nicolette's testimony compelling. She clearly believes that she has experienced something. Today science is being brave enough to confront paranormal matters involving consciousness, soul and afterlife bit of you want the serious approach you should look elsewhere. This is aimed at level 1 viewers who are looking for a superficial view and as such it's OK.