Ghost Stories

Jill Halfpenny,Martin Freeman,Alex Lawther,Paul Whitehouse

For his TV show "Psychic Cheats," skeptic of the supernatural Professor Philip Goodman publicly debunks celebrity psychic Mark Van Rhys during a live stage show. Afterward, Philip narrates about the influence of Charles Cameron, a psychologist who also made a career out of disproving paranormal claims until he disappeared under mysterious circumstances.Philip receives an unexpected package containing an audiocassette from Charles Cameron, who summons Philip to the trailer where he now lives. Philip meets the aged psychologist. Charles confesses that he was an arrogant academic for dismissing paranormal possibilities and calls Philip a conceited coward for doing the same. Charles presents Philip with three case files and challenges Philip to prove they aren't authentic instances of supernatural activity. Philip sees a strange presence standing behind Charles when he leaves.Case 1 - Tony Matthews - Philip interviews Tony Matthews, a former night watchman whose daughter Marnie was hospitalized with locked-in syndrome. Tony tells Philip about a terrifying night spent as a security guard in a former asylum. The power went out, forcing Tony to explore the seemingly haunted building. Tony ended up encountering a ghoulish girl in a yellow dress who hugged him and called him "dada."Philip follows up on Tony's recollection by visiting Tony's parish priest Father Richard Emery. Father Emery tells Philip that after Tony's frightful encounter, Tony visited his catatonic daughter in the hospital. Doctors observed that when Marnie heard her father's voice, her heart skipped a beat. Emery's words inspire Philip to visit his own invalid father.Case 2 - Simon Rifkind - Philip next visits teenager Simon Rifkind. Upon entering the Rifkind house, Philip observes Simon's parents seemingly entranced in the kitchen. On his way up to Simon's room, Philip notices a photograph that features a hooded figure. Philip also thinks he sees another presence upstairs, but Simon assures him they are alone.Simon recounts how he was driving his parents' car without a license along a dark country road alone. Distracted by repeated calls from his upset mother and father, Simon hit something that turned out to be a strange creature.Simon drove away in fright, but became stranded when the car mysteriously lost power. While waiting for roadside assistance to arrive, an unseen creature stalked around the car. When it growled the word "stay" at him, Simon fled into the forest where he was grabbed by a tree creature.Philip visits the site of Simon's supposed encounter. Upon returning to his car, Philip briefly sees a ghostly vision of himself reflected in the car's window.Case 3 - Mike Priddle - Philip walks in remote countryside with Mike Priddle, who collects a shotgun from a locked hunter's shed. Mike tells Philip about encountering paranormal phenomena in his home while his pregnant wife Maria was in the hospital.Midway through Mike's tale, Philip briefly sees the hooded figure from Simon's photograph on the horizon.Mike tells Philip about a second night alone in his home during which a poltergeist took shape underneath a sheet in a crib. Mike then confronted a monstrous vision of his wife who claimed the real Maria had died. Following the encounter, Mike received word from the hospital that his wife died during childbirth when their beastly baby split her in two.After recounting his tale, Mike suddenly blows off his own head with the shotgun.Philip returns to Charles Cameron to confront him about everything having been a hoax. To Philip's astonishment, Charles tears off his own face, revealing the appearance of Mike Priddle underneath. Mike tells Philip "the brain sees what it wants to see" before ripping a tear in reality and escorting Philip outside through the portal.Mike takes Philip to a tunnel by a stream where the hooded figure still stalks Philip. Mike vanishes. Philip relives a flashback of two boys bullying him at the location as a child.A mentally handicapped boy named Desmond Callahan, who is teased with the nickname 'Kojak,' is revealed to be the hooded figure when he inadvertently interrupts. While Philip does nothing, the two bullies convince Kojak he can join their gang by finding a number on a wall deep in the dark tunnel. The bullies force the frightened boy to remain in the tunnel even after he expresses his desire to leave. Kojak ends up dying from an asthma attack brought on by panic.Mike returns to confront adult Philip over his passive role in allowing Desi to die. Philip makes excuses for his guilt.A crib suddenly appears. Mike feeds cat food to his beastly baby before walking away cradling the unseen creature.A ghoulish vision of Kojak bursts from the crib to attack Philip. Kojak rips Philip's clothes to reveal he is wearing a hospital gown underneath. Kojak tears reality just as Mike did earlier and escorts Philip down a corridor to a hospital bed. Kojak lies on top of Philip until Philip falls into a coma from his terror.It is revealed that Philip has been catatonic in a hospital bed since a failed suicide attempt. Mike Priddle and Simon Rifkind are shown to be the doctors evaluating Philip's condition while Tony Matthews is the custodian who cleans his room.