The Enfield Poltergeist: How director of Apple TV’s new docudrama used the Hodgson sisters and 200 hours of tapes
More than 200 hours of audio tapes provide the best “evidence” for the Enfield poltergeist there is.
Screams and bangs; interviews with those who said they had just experienced the supernatural; the voice of a 72-year-old man purportedly coming out of an 11-year-old girl called Janet.
They form the basis of a four-part docuseries exploring a phenomenon that gripped the north London suburb of Enfield – and the rest of the country – in the 1970s.
Not that director Jerry Rothwell is setting out to prove or disprove any theories with The Enfield Poltergeist. He wants to keep audiences in the space between knowing and not knowing, he told Sky News.
“It’s about how do we know what’s real and what might be beyond our perceptions, beyond our senses?”
Janet, played by Olivia Booth-Ford, appeared to be the focus of the poltergeist. Pic: Apple TV+
Set in a reconstruction of the semi-detached council house where the Hodgson family was seemingly plagued by the paranormal for 18 months, the series weaves together audio recordings with contemporary interviews and photos from the time.
Paranormal investigator Maurice Grosse from the Society for Psychical Research was sent to investigate, spending months at the family home between 1977 and 1979. The audio he recorded there is central to the series. As well as interviewing people, he would leave the tape running for long periods.
“What you get out is a sense of the context of family life that’s going on. Sometimes you’ll hear a noise, a scream, a bang or a rap and people’s response to it,” Rothwell said.
But the origin of those noises is “incredibly ambiguous”.
“I don’t think there’s many incidents where we see the paranormal cause of something, what we see is the effects of this on people.
“If we see a kettle fall over, we catch it in the last inches of its flight rather than see how it started – which I think is consistent with people’s experience of the paranormal.”
Grosse (played by Ettridge) was sent to investigate the paranormal activities at the council house in Enfield. Pic: Apple TV+
Witnessing the unexplainable
Former Daily Mirror photographer Graham Morris was one of the first people at the Enfield home after the Hodgsons’ neighbours called the newspaper about the strange events.
“Up to 18 months I spent on and off in that house and saw so, so much happen, from the first night being hit by that Lego brick,” he told Sky News.
He said as soon as 11-year-old Janet entered the house, loose objects such as marbles and Lego pieces started to “whiz around the room” – with one of them hitting him above the eye and leaving a lump that lasted days.
From his vantage point through the camera lens, he could see nobody had thrown it, he said.
It was “unexplainable” he said – but he knew it was “true”.
“So, so much happened. It would have been impossible for the girls or any member of the family to have done it. It’s just too much. It was constant, it was relentless.”
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One of Mr Morris’s photos was used by the paranormal investigators as evidence of the supernatural; they said it showed Janet levitating.
The image of Janet “flying across the room” was taken in the dark, with Mr Morris operating the camera remotely from downstairs, primed to press the button at any noise.
“They [the paranormal investigators] are the experts. If they want to say she’s levitating, fine.
“I was there as a photographer. I’m not there to say what’s happening – I’ve got my own theories – but as a pure layman, I just left it to the experts.”
So as one of the few witnesses still alive, what is Mr Morris’ theory?
“I don’t believe in ghosts, I don’t believe that’s what it was.
“I believe that there was something that as yet we don’t know about, some sort of force that was centered on Janet.”
Janet was trying to relate to her family, who “for various reasons, weren’t that communicative”, he said.
“She must have found it so, so frustrating that for some reason this energy is being let off and things are happening – kinetic energy, so things are moving.”
Janet and Margaret’s bedroom was the centre of much of the paranormal activity. Pic: Apple TV+
Interviewing the Hodgson sisters
In the new Apple TV documentary, merging recreation with reality went as far as the set, which featured items from the Hodgson family home including pots and pans, a stack of Jackie magazines – and even some Lego.
They were provided by the Hodgson sisters, Janet and Margaret, who were 11 and 13 when the strange happenings started.
Both are interviewed in the series. Rothwell said he wanted to put them back at the heart of the story.
“For me, it is primarily their story and it was absolutely crucial to involve them in that because I think otherwise… you are making them public property without much control.
“These events at the time were very traumatic and have in many ways shaped the direction of their lives.
“Firstly, because of the events themselves, but also because of people’s fascination with those events and the ways in which that fascination, you know, fixes who they are.”
Christopher Ettridge as paranormal investigator Maurice Grosse. Pic: Apple TV+
Marrying past and present
Actors in the series also lip sync the recordings from the audio tapes – a skill that was easier for the younger TikTok generation to master than the older cast members, Rothwell said.
“You’re taking away one of the tools that an actor has in their armoury, which is how they deliver a line.”
A lot of the actors said the key was “finding the way the person breathed – and as soon as you got that, you could lip sync”.
The tapes also became something of a director in their own right, Rothwell said.
“The more we listened to the tapes, the more you’d realise about what it was telling you about things that were going on in the room.
“We’d be shooting a scene and we suddenly realised there’s no way that person can be in that position, they have to be over there.”
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The Enfield poltergeist has sometimes taken on something of a life of its own. It was front-page news in the 1970s – not always portrayed in ways the Hodgson family agreed with – and has spawned multiple documentaries as well as inspiring The Conjuring 2.
What is sometimes forgotten in retellings – and what Rothwell wanted to get back to – is that this is a real family, and their story.
“It was important to honour people’s experience,” he said. “You know, people are absolutely saying they have had these experiences, they’ve seen this, they’ve heard this – and I wasn’t there, so who am I to argue with it?
“This is essentially a working-class family with few resources who are beset by middle-class ghost hunters or physicists or academics, and whose house sort of came out of their control.”
The Enfield Poltergeist is available on Apple TV+ from 27 October.
Entertainment
New Universal theme park set to open in UK – with promise of ‘billions’ of pounds for the economy
A deal for a new Universal theme park in Bedfordshire has been confirmed, which Rachel Reeves says will bring “billions” to the economy and create thousands of jobs.
It will be the first Universal-branded theme park and resort in Europe and is set to open in 2031, when it is expected to become the UK’s most popular visitor attraction.
The government said it will bring an estimated £50bn into the British economy and will create about 28,000 jobs – nearly 20,000 during the construction phase, and 8,000 more in hospitality and the creative industries when it opens.
A 500-room hotel and a retail and entertainment complex is planned alongside the theme park, which will be built on a former brickworks.
Universal, which is owned by Sky News’ US parent company Comcast, expects the 476-acre site just south of Bedford to generate nearly £50bn for the economy by 2055, with 8.5m visitors in its first year.
The plan remains subject to a formal planning decision process from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Universal has committed to working with local colleges and universities to train students for hospitality jobs.
There are Universal theme parks in Florida (pictured), California, Japan, Beijing and Singapore. Pic: AP
Among some of the famous Universal films are Wicked, Minions, Oppenheimer, Bridget Jones, Fast and the Furious, and Jurassic World.
There are five Universal theme parks already: Orlando in Florida, Hollywood, Japan, Beijing, and Singapore.
The new Universal theme park will be just south of Bedford
Speaking to Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the deal was “huge”.
“This is not just about numbers on the spreadsheet,” she said.
“This is about good jobs. It’s about growth. It’s about raising people’s living standards and putting money in people’s pockets. And it’s a massive vote of confidence in the United Kingdom.”
Welcoming the timing of the announcement, Ms Nandy added: “This deal comes off the back of one of the most tumultuous few weeks in global markets that I think anyone can remember within living memory.”
She said the fact that the government had been able to show it kept a “cool head” and “we don’t take knee-jerk decisions in response to global events” was one of the reasons it was able to announce the deal.
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The proposals to transform the site, a former brickworks, remain subject to a formal planning decision process
The government has said about 80% of employees at the theme park are expected to come from local areas, and it will support the “Oxford-Cambridge corridor” revived by the chancellor in January after the Conservatives scrapped plans for an Abingdon-Milton Keynes train link in 2021.
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It will also commit to a “major investment” in infrastructure around the Universal site to ensure it is well-connected and easily accessible.
The announcement comes days after the government approved an expansion of nearby Luton Airport.
Mike Cavanagh, President of Comcast Corporation, said: “We could not be more excited to take this very important step in our plan to create and deliver an incredible Universal theme park and resort in the heart of the United Kingdom, which complements our growing US-based parks business by expanding our global footprint to Europe.
“We appreciate the leadership and support of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Minister for Investment Poppy Gustafsson, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and their teams, as we work together to create and deliver a fantastic new landmark destination.”
Entertainment
BAFTA Games Awards: Astro Bot tops leaderboard – with psychological horror close behind
Astro Bot was the big winner at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards, taking home five prizes, including the coveted best game.
The 3D platformer, which was launched to critical acclaim in September to mark PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, was nominated for eight gongs, while Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, led with 11 nods.
But in the end, the critics – some of whom had dubbed Astro Bot a “perfect game” – were right as it dominated the awards at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, hosted by comedian Phil Wang for the second year running.
Astro Bot. Pic: Team Asobi
Nicolas Doucet with his five awards for Astro Bot. Pic: PA
BAFTAs for audio achievement, game design, animation, and best family game completed the set for developers Team Asobi, who designed multiple galaxies and dozens of levels for the titular Astro to journey through, retrieving spaceship parts and rescuing lost robots.
“We’re a team based in Japan, but we have over 12 nationalities. We really mix it up and get ideas from everyone,” Nicolas Doucet, president of Team Asobi, told Sky News.
“We do a lot of jokes in the game, but the joke has a different meaning depending on where you are in the world. So it’s really, really nice to go around and ask everyone ‘is that joke fine in your country?’ And then together we come to a kind of universal playfulness.”
Among the gongs for Astro Bot was the best game award. Pic: BAFTA
It’s a very different atmosphere than that generated by British psychological horror Still Wakes The Deep, which won three awards for best new intellectual property and best supporting and leading roles.
Compared to John Carpenter’s 1980 sci-fi horror The Thing but on a Scottish oil rig, the game sees players take on the role of an electrician trapped on a damaged facility while being pursued by monsters.
Still Wakes The Deep. Pic: Sumo Digital Limited
Developer The Chinese Room has been praised for using home-grown talent to voice the characters, including comedian and actress Karen Dunbar, who picked up best performer in a supporting role for voicing Finlay.
“I’ve been nominated for quite a few BAFTAs in my time in Scotland, and I’ve never won one,” said Dunbar.
“It was such a great category, so many great performances. When they shouted my name, I think I started clapping for someone else!”
Read more: See full list of winners
Still Wakes The Deep star Karen Dunbar won best performer in a supporting role. Pic: BAFTA
Meanwhile, best multiplayer game went to Helldivers II – a satirical, sci-fi shooter that sees players fight bugs, aliens and robots with the gumption and gullibility of the characters in Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers.
It has gained a cult following since launching in February 2024 with so much initial interest it created server problems.
“Games for me are about connecting people and forging those bonds of friendship and the multiplayer award is exactly what it stands for,” said Johan Pilestedt, chief executive of Arrowhead Game Studios.
Helldivers II. Pic: Arrowhead/Sony
From outer space to a fictional Yorkshire town called Barnsworth. Thank Goodness You’re Here! – a cartoonish, comedy platformer – won Best British Game. Like Still Wakes The Deep, it has won praise for the authenticity of its actors and setting.
“I think it’s been a real privilege to be able to represent Barnsley on the silver screen,” said Will Todd, who is from the town and one of two game designers behind the project.
Thank Goodness You’re Here! Pic: Coal Supper/Panic Inc
Co-creator James Carbutt added: “Me and Will wrote everything in our tone of voice, quite literally. The further along development we got, the more we lent into it. I think the voices from different parts of the UK and different voices in gaming are super important, and hopefully we’re one of them.”
By the time the BAFTAs wrapped up, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was only handed one of the 11 BAFTAs it was nominated for, technical achievement.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Pic: Ninja Theory
But developers Ninja Theory are already adding this year’s win to a tally of five BAFTAs they were awarded for the first game in the series, which created a protagonist with psychosis by drawing on clinical neuroscience and the experiences of people living with the condition.
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