Haunted Palace (1949) User Reviews (2)

One for the spook fans

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 22 July 2016]

HAUNTED PALACE is a documentary short in which a chap by the name of Desmond Shaw, who founded the so-called International Institute for Psychical Research, narrates tales about one of the UK's most famous haunted buildings, Kensington Palace. I admit that I've never heard of Shaw or indeed his institute despite having some basic knowledge of the paranormal, so I took his credentials with a pinch of salt.

This documentary is very much to the point and clocks in at just over half an hour. It doesn't attempt to recreate too many hauntings on a non-existent budget, but it does shoot at Kensington, which is something. The staged recreations are all very tame and more than a little laughable when watched with the modern mindset. Given that the majority of this production consists of old men talking and narrating to the camera, it doesn't make for very gripping viewing and is a little dull despite the short running time.

Interesting

[stephene-31086 · 6/10 · 31 October 2016]

I have just watched this short documentary with a sprinkling of some decent acting thrown in.

The presenter a Shaw Desmond informs us of slightly famous tales of ghostly apparitions based on true stories from mainly famous old English houses such as Hampton Court.

One tale speaks of a Policemen walking the grounds of Hampton Court late at night and hears disembodied voices. He then opens a gate to the gardens to let through a small group of fancy dressed people in Tudor garb; only they are not going to a fancy dress and subsequently disappear in front of the Policemen's eyes.

Rather dated as one would imagine but worth a view but possibly not a second looking.

I now intend to do some research into the piece and Mr Desmond.