The Paranormal Peep Show - Messages Through Time and Space with Neil Ward and Ben Emlyn-Jones

June 18, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In 1984, a couple renovating a 16th-century cottage in the English village of Doddleston began receiving strange, archaic messages on their BBC Micro computer—a standalone machine with no internet connection. The messages were signed “LW” and written in a mix of riddles and Early Modern English. The communicator claimed to be a man named Lucas (later revealed as Thomas Harden), living in the same cottage in the 16th century. He said he was using a “box of lights” given to him by a mysterious figure from the year 2109. Over the next 18 months, the messages multiplied, poltergeist activity erupted in the cottage, and a third party—2109—began interfering, editing Lucas’s words and issuing cryptic warnings. The case, documented in Ken Webster’s book The Vertical Plane, remains unexplained.

The Doddleston Messages: A Time-Spanning Communication

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What you'll learn

1 (02:08) **Introduction to the Talk and the Doddleston Messages** - Neil Ward and Ben Emlyn-Jones kick off their presentation at the "Changing Times" event in Burgess Hill.
2 (05:39) **The Doddleston Case Begins: Ken Webster & the BBC Micro** - The story originates from the book *The Vertical Plane* by Ken Webster, involving a BBC Microcomputer in a cottage in Doddleston, Cheshire.
3 (17:41) **First Mysterious Messages on the Computer** - A strange message, signed "LW," appears on the BBC Micro after the residents return from the pub.
4 (20:34) **Deciphering the Messages with an English Teacher** - Ken Webster brings the printed messages to his colleague, Peter Trinder, the head of English at his school.
5 (25:18) **The Third Party: The Entity from 2109** - Lucas reveals he received his "box of lights" from a man who emerged from his fireplace in a green light, a man from the year 2109.
6 (30:31) **The SPR Investigation and Its Failure** - The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) sends investigators, but the activity ceases in their presence.
7 (33:33) **The Sheriff, Imprisonment, and a Rescue** - The local 16th-century sheriff, Thomas Fowlhurst, arrests Lucas for witchcraft to seize his "box of lights."

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Show Notes

The Dodleston Messages/ SETI and UFOs. Two part presentation at Changing Times May 2026. The Paranormal Peep Show head to Cyprus Hall, Burgess Hil in West Sussex in May 2026 to present to the Changing Times group two talks. The Dodleston Messages by Neil Ward, concerning communications from the 16th Century via a BBC Computer which happened in 1985. Followed by Seti and UFOs by Ben Emlyn-Jones , exploring how science attempts to search for ET via Radio Telescopes, whilst overlooking the fact that ETs might actually already be here.

Changing Times is an alternative group that meets four times a year, guided by Andy Thomas, the alternative presenter and writer . We are grateful to Andy and the group for inviting us to give our presentations. Apologies for some of the poor lower quality audio due to us being on location with limited rescourses. I have tried to lift some of the levels a bit where the audience asks questions.

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