The Ghostman of Skye

Every now and then a paranormal documentary comes along that totally gives me the creeps. It’s rare, since most of the documentaries out there that deal with the paranormal are horribly directed and produced. The documentaries that are subtle and include firsthand testimonies are those that have the elegance of simplicity and storytelling that sends shivers down my spine.

The Ghostman of Skye is just that. Set in the eerie, fog covered terrain of Scotland, Donald Angus Maclean sets out to document the island’s ghost stories. As the stories unravel, the fog clears up just a bit, allowing us a glimpse of Mr. Maclean’s own personal story.

The Isle of Skye is a place marked out not just by its rugged Scottish beauty, but also by an extraordinarily high number of reports of ghost experiences. Local crofters, churchmen and policemen are among the myriad witnesses who claim to have seen a ghostchild, a headless woman, a strange light, or the island’s most famous phantom – a ghost car that approaches before evaporating into the night.

With the memory of his deceased wife Nina still fresh in his mind, former missionary Donald Angus Maclean has set himself up as a collector of the island’s ghost stories. As he investigates the strange and sometimes sinister tales, it’s revealed that he too is haunted – not by visions of disappearing cars or headless women, but by the memory of his dead wife.