Assume Nothing, The Séance Experiments, 5. The Descendants

Assume Nothing

The Séance Experiments

5. The Descendants

16 May 2026

13 minutes

Available for over a year

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 5 – The Descendants

Reggie is back on the road to Bangor to meet Kathleen Goligher’s grand daughter. What more can she tell him about her Grandmother’s life as a spiritualist and medium, and how does she feel about Dr Crawford’s unusual experiments?

Meanwhile – Dr Crawford’s great granddaughter Clare reveals the engineer did not have a good reputation in their family history.

Written and presented by Reggie Chamberlain King

Readings by

Dave Fleming

Lucy McConnell

Mark Claney

Stephen Beggs

Produced by Conor McKay

Editor Andy Martin

A BBC Northern Ireland production