THE BATTERSEA POLTERGEIST Podcast Being Adapted Into a Series by Blumhouse
Blumhouse Television and Michael Seitzman’s Maniac Productions picked up the rights to BBC Radio 4’s podcast The Battersea Poltergeist. They will be developing it as a scripted series and a companion unscripted series that will be titled Blumhouse’s Ghost Story.
The podcast that the series is based on was written and presented by Danny Robins, and it features the voices of Dafne Keen (Logan) and Toby Jones (The Dark Crystal). The podcast documents the “strange events focused around Shirley Hitchings in 1956 that were investigated over a 12-year period, the longest documented poltergeist haunting in history.”
They’ve also secured Hitchings’ life rights, as well as the rights to her and James Clark’s book, The Poltergeist Prince of London: The Remarkable True Story of the Battersea Poltergeist.
Chris McCumber, Blumhouse Television president said in a statement, “From our first listen to Danny’s captivating podcast, we were hooked and could easily envision how to bring the story to life – in both scripted and unscripted formats – for television viewers. We’re grateful to Michael Seitzman for identifying the project early on, and championing it so aggressively.”
Robins added, “It’s been an amazing journey making the podcast for the BBC and now I couldn’t have hoped for a better partner than Blumhouse, a leader in the genre, when looking to further develop it. I’m thrilled to work with them and Michael to bring the series to life visually. Ghost stories don’t get stranger or scarier than this.”
Executive producer Michael Seitzman went on to say, “Once you listen to the gripping and terrifying true story of Shirley Hitchings, it’s easy to understand why Danny’s podcast inspired two-page spreads in every newspaper in the UK. It was exactly what we’d been looking for to launch our new ongoing series based on true hauntings. As he did with his podcast, Danny Robins will have viewers sleeping with the lights on after they watch his show!”
I’m not familiar with the podcast, but I’ll definitely be listening to it now! Sounds like the kind of story I’d enjoy and I’m sure that Blumhouse will do that story justice when developing it as a series.
Source: Deadline