'THE NIGHT THEY TERRIFIED THE WHOLE COUNTRY'

Not strictly speaking a supernatural tale by any means, but fascinating because of its role in the rise of British horror. In 1954 the BBC screened a live performance of Nigel Kneale's adaptation of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. The reaction was spectacular. Here you can see clips of Kneale and his collaborator, Rudolf Cartier, talk about the show, along with the stars. Peter Cushing nails it by saying the story would have had much less impact if it had been set in a foreign country.