Assume Nothing - 2. The Unseen Operators

2. The Unseen Operators

Download 2. The Unseen Operators

The story of Dr William Jackson Crawford, an engineer and teacher, who carried out a series of strange experiments with a teenage medium and her family before his untimely death on the shores of Belfast lough in 1920.

Dr Crawford’s findings were extraordinary and widely published – but was it all a hoax?

Episode 2 – The Unseen Operators

Dr Crawford invites a visitor to attend a séance with Kathleen and her family, known as the Goligher Circle. Sir William Barrett, a highly respected physicist and parapsychologist, is astonished when a wooden table appears to float into the air.

Meanwhile, nearly one hundred years later – Reggie Chamberlain King’s plans to give a lecture about Dr Crawford and Kathleen Goligher are disrupted when a protest is announced.

Readings by

Dave Fleming
Lucy McConnell
Mark Claney
Stephen Beggs

Produced by Conor McKay
Editor Andy Martin
A BBC Northern Ireland production

Published on Saturday, 9th May 2026.

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