This is not Hitchcock’s Psycho. Scary enough to give you a frisson or two, Ghost Stories, written by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, co-creator of Derren Brown’s television and stage shows, makes for an entertaining if not terrifying night. Introduced as a lecture illustrated by fascinating slides of photos claiming to exhibit the supernatural, any horror is initially kept in check by the pseudo-science of the lecturer, Professor Goodman (an engaging Dan Tetsell) who claims that we see what we want to see. He aims to debunk the ghost stories that follow: a watchman in a deserted warehouse, a teenager whose car has broken down in a lonely forest and a father in a nursery prepared for a newborn and claims that the ‘ghosts’ arise from our own guilty consciences.
an entertaining if not terrifying night
Howling winds greet the audience on entering, later torchlight or car lights sweeping a dark stage, all ramp up the tension. Expect loud noises to make you jump and each episode containing unexpected ‘things’ - no spoilers - which appear, the only question is what and when. However, the rambling text fails to engage our sympathy with the characters, despite the actors putting their all into it. Each episode gets darker but it is Goodman’s own experience, in particular a traumatic incident in his childhood, which is truly disturbing. This is probably because it’s left to the audience’s imagination. You might have nightmares from this incident alone but to be honest, the trailer is the most scary part of this show.
