This week we are babbling about The Stone Tape (1972).
The Stone Tape is what happens when the BBC in the early ’70s says “Let’s make a horror film, but also let’s make it aggressively beige and full of men wearing turtle-necks and shouting about science.” And honestly, it’s delightful. That is, if you ignore the casual misogyny and the not-so-casual racism.
We reluctantly follow a team of cutting‑edge researchers, well, cutting‑edge for 1972, meaning they have clipboards, enormous computers that go beep and absolutely no concept of workplace safety or women's rights. They move into a spooky old mansion and naturally, the room they choose for their experiments is the one that screams at people.
The haunting itself is wonderfully British. No blood, no gore, just a ghost who seems so deeply annoyed that a bunch of engineers have turned her tragic death into a tech startup, that she responds by replaying her demise on loop. Like the world’s saddest Betamax tape.
The film’s real charm is how seriously everyone takes the idea that rocks are recording emotional energy. The characters treat this theory with the same reverence one might reserve for Newton’s laws or the correct brewing time for tea. By the end, you’re half convinced your garden patio is storing centuries of disappointment from previous homeowners. Which, to be fair, it is,
And then there’s the final act, where the film goes from “haunted house mystery” to “existential cosmic meltdown!” in about twelve seconds. And we haven’t even mentioned Chuffy the horse. Chuffy the horse. If you enjoy retro horror, scientific overconfidence, washing machines and the aesthetic of a 1970s office supply catalogue, The Stone Tape is a treasure. Happy haunting, or recording, depending on your stone type. Tape. Type.
Time Babble Series Six, Episode One is waiting for you now on your favourite podcast service. If you can’t find it, please write in to the usual address.
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