Strange Experiences

Strange Experiences is a British fantasy, horror TV series starring Peter Williams as a storyteller who talks about the strange things that have happened during his life. The series aired on ITV from 24 September 1955 to 15 June 1962. The series also included performances from Peter Sallis, Michael Shepley, Theodore Bikel, John Wood, Elspet Gray, Hugh Latimer, Josephine Griffin, Arthur Howard, and Ian Whittaker.

Plot

A storyteller named Peter talks about the strange events that have happened during his daily life routine such as uncanny, supernatural or otherwise "strange" goings-on happening across every place he has visited in England.

Cast

Peter Williams as Peter the Storyteller
Peter Sallis as Squishy Taylor, Chippy Criggs, The Burglar
Theodore Bikel as Man
John Wood as Man
Elspet Gray as Querella
Josephine Griffin as Women
Arthur Howard as Man
Ian Whittaker as Dora's Son
Anna Turner as Women
Frederick Treves as Man
Michael Balfour as Man
David Oxley as Man

Episodes

The series ran for a total of 29 episodes that aired on ITV, Associated Television from 24 September 1955 to 15 June 1962. All the episodes of this series survive. 22 of the episodes are available to watch at the British Film Institute and additionally selected episodes are available to view on YouTube.

Title

Original airdate

Production

Before the series premiered two of the episodes from the series were shown in the 1955 TV movie/TV play Fcb TV Show No.1. The episodes "Safe and Sound" and "The Knife Thrower" were shown in the TV movie/TV play to give some idea of how an evening's viewing might appear on the forthcoming I.T.A. channel in London. Both of the episodes where eventually given a separate release on television by themselves for the series Strange Experiences.

Critic reviews

The series itself received very positive ratings and reviews from critics with one critic calling it a good but strange series.

Home media

The episodes "Grandpa's Portrait" and "Old Silas" were included on a British Film Institute Blu Ray titled Short Sharp Shocks: Volume 3 which was released on 9 October 2023. Another two episodes of the series were also included on another British Film Institute Blu Ray, those being the episodes "Halloween Party" and "The Laughing Clown" where included on a Blu Ray titled Short Sharp Shocks: Volume 4 which was released on October 13, 2025.