Wyrd TV

Why did British television in the ‘long 1970s’ prove such a fertile ground for programming that explored the occult, the supernatural and the darkness that threads its way through British folk culture? Diane Rodgers’ innovative and broad-ranging study traces the pre-history, flourishing and after life of ‘wyrd TV’ on British screens from 1968 to 1984, delving into the fascinating intersection of folklore, folk horror and screen representation. She traces the roots of this phenomenon in classic folkloric texts that had an influence across popular culture, from the Beatles’ ‘Sgt Pepper’ LP to the children’s TV show Bagpuss, and examines its profound impact on subsequent generations of TV and film-makers.Rodgers charts folk horror, hauntology and dystopian narratives in programming aimed at both adults and children, documentary and drama, news, chat shows and public information films, and sets out the concept of ‘mass-mediated ostentation