I'm Richard Sugg, author of 13 books and former Lecturer at Durham University. I'm currently writing a new book, We Need to Talk About Ghosts. This is inspired by two things. One is my own extraordinary journey from the death of my father in 1989, to that of my mother in 2021. When my father died very suddenly at age 62 I was just 19. Nothing could convince me that he had not simply gone, forever. But in 2013, purely by chance, I stumbled on poltergeists whilst researching vampire folklore. Now, when I began to talk to people about poltergeists, they began telling me their personal poltergeist stories. I soon became very keen on talking about poltergeists. The more I talked, the more I learned. So the second thing is that ghosts and poltergeists are everywhere. Ask, and you will be told. One of your friends probably has a story which they are afraid to tell you.

It took me quite a lot longer to realise that we need to talk about ghosts: that most poltergeists are ghosts. Nowadays I collect new ghost stories from complete strangers every week. By 2021 I had heard countless ghost stories from every type of witness. And a week after she died that January, my mother came back to say goodbye.

Please let me know your story if you have one. This episode also examines a classic poltergeist case from Windsor in 1841 - one which would seem impossible to hoax. Thanks for listening - and welcome to the Secret University.