For five years in the 1990s, a farmhouse cellar in Scole, Norfolk, became the site of one of Britain's most extraordinary paranormal investigations. Known as the Scole Experiment, the séances conducted by psychic researchers Sandra and Robin Foy and mediums Diana and Allen Bennett reportedly produced floating tables, mysterious lights, disembodied voices, materialized objects and unexplained images on sealed photographic film—including apparent historical figures and alien-like beings. Researchers from the Society for Psychical Research attended 20 sessions and concluded they had witnessed phenomena they could not explain, while finding no obvious evidence of deception.
But psychic researcher Dr. Melvyn Willin's 1996 visit left him considerably less convinced. After a supposed spirit gave him generic advice about studying music—apparently unaware that he already held multiple music degrees and played several instruments—Willin became suspicious of a darting illuminated object. He grabbed it and said it felt like a rough knitting needle with a light attached before it pulled free from his hands. Organizers accused him of breaking the rules and barred him from returning. The Scole Experiment ended in 1998, leaving behind dramatic claims that supporters considered evidence of another realm, but Willin's experience suggested that even amid seemingly inexplicable phenomena, skepticism remained warranted.