The Stone Tape (Directed by Peter Sasdy) 1972

Nothing really beats the power of a British television ghost story. 'The Stone Tape' was a relatively complex festive chiller starring Jane Asher, Michael Bryant et al, and written by Nigel Kneale - the king of British suspense. The term 'stone tape' is often used by paranormal investigators to describe an alleged residual haunting, an anomaly which somehow embeds itself into an atmosphere only to be played back unintentionally by certain witnesses - i.e. a phantom coach and horses seen on a route it would have taken many years ago. In this spine-tingler - which combines atmospheric sci-fi and eerie ghost story - we meet a team of researchers, headed by Peter Brock (Bryant) who are part of an electronics company who are using an old Victorian mansion as their headquarters. When the team arrive at the creaky house they find that one of the rooms hasn't been refurbished by the builders amid rumours that strange things have been going on, leading the construction team to down tools. When the electronics team investigate they are suddenly intrigued by the sound of a woman running and then a terrible scream. Then, one of the team, a woman named Jill Greeley (Asher) experiences a ghostly encounter - a spectral woman running up a flight of stairs and then plummeting to her death.

It seems that what Jill has witnessed did in fact take place in the Victorian era, leading the researchers to become embroiled in the mystery of how this 'stone tape' has come about and the esoteric qualities behind its existence. 'The Stone Tape' is one of those atmospheric television movies that combines the cold unnature of 'Quatermass' with a more modern stirring of M.R. James. It's typical of its time but as gripping as it is dated. Again, the strong cast enables this 90 minute film to consume the viewer with its dank haunting and leads us to a chilling climax. There is something so authentic and creepy about 'The Stone Tape and like a majority of films and dramas of this era, they have yet to be bettered, but more appreciated by those who grew up with such realistic horrors.