The Haunting

The Haunting

1969 - United Kingdom

 Children can sometimes have an instinct for situations that are beyond the grasp of their young minds. Twelve-year old Cathy (Christine Rees) somehow knows that the trouble with her father, Rolf (John Thaw) is more complex than the deep and natural grief he feels-and which she too has felt-over the death of her mother. 

It is 10 months now since the fatal car accident, and Rolf is not getting over it. He has withdrawn from all social contacts and has wrapped himself in a cocoon of memories that imprison his mind in the past. Cathy's teacher, Kate (Suzanne Neve), to whom she tries to explain her home situation, is an old friend who has her own reasons for staying away since the tragedy. But Kate can't resist the child's plea - especially as she believes that some, at least, of Rolf's memories of his wife and his marriage are rooted more in illusion than in reality. 

The Haunting by Ian Curteis was a one-off play presented as part of ITV's Saturday Night Theatre on 28 June 1969.   

Published on April 3rd, 2020. Written by Based on original TV Times article and adapted for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

The Dustbinmen

The Dustbinmen were led by their foreman, the foul-mouthed, beret-wearing Cheese and Egg, and accompanying him on the Corporation Cleansing Department dust cart were an equally obnoxious crew of work-shy, housewife-lusting individuals.

Also released in 1969

Counterstrike

An alien 'agent', Simon King, sent to Earth by an intergalactic council posing as a journalist in order to unmask refugees from a dying planet, who wanted to take over the world.

Also released in 1969

Home to Roost

Generation gap comedy series by Eric Chappell

Also starring John Thaw

Ten British Shows - The Best of British

We asked two writers to choose 5 ‘must see’ British television shows - here are the ten that deserve a place in Television Heaven...

Also starring John Thaw

Drake's Venture

Swashbuckling adventure on the high seas starring John Thaw as Sir Francis Drake during his circumnavigation of the world in the sixteenth century, and the growing alienation between himself and his life-long friend Thomas Doughty

Also starring John Thaw

Redcap

John Thaw starred as a Military Police Officer who investigated troops accused of crimes ranging from murder to desertion.

Also starring John Thaw

Dennis Waterman

Set partly on a building site, a boy (15-year old Dennis Waterman) and a girl (16-year old Judith Geeson) meet secretly in a partly-built block of flats each day after the builders leave.

Also starring John Thaw

Inheritance

Drama starring John Thaw which revolved around the fortunes of the Oldroyds of Annotsfield, a Yorkshire mill-owning family, through five generations.

Also starring John Thaw

Goodnight Mister Tom

A troubled, abused child is evacuated to the countryside at the outbreak of the Second World War to live with a reclusive and grumpy old man. Both the victims of tragic circumstances, they soon develop a close bond

Also starring John Thaw