Haunted School, The

1 9 8 6 (Australia/France)
8 x 30 minute episodes

This eight-part Australian series revolved around Fanny Crowe (All Creatures Great and Small star Carol Drinkwater), a young English governess struggling to establish a new school in the wilds of Australia in 1863 with a bequest from the well-meaning but imperious wife of the Bishop of Sydney.

Arriving in the small (fictitious) goldrush settlement of Dungong in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, Fanny discovers the only building available is the Dungong Inn – a burnt-out and dilapidated hotel which the superstitious locals believe is haunted by the ghost of old Amos, a prospector who died there in mysterious circumstances.

The hotel had recently claimed another victim, Maria Blackburn, a mother of three young children.

Fanny pays no heed to the superstition in the village and goes ahead with having the hotel rebuilt. Only two people are on her side – handsome young blacksmith Joseph McCormack (James Laurie) and the Reverend Dalton (Duncan Wass).

Initially, none of the local children will go to the school because they believe the building is still haunted. Eventually, a few do start attending, and the drama builds.

A co-production of ABC-TV and the French TV organisation Revcom, the series was based on a story written by Carol Drinkwater. Episodes were shot over ten weeks on location at Belrose in Sydney and the ABC studios at Frenchs Forest.

Fanny Crowe
Carol Drinkwater
Joseph McCormack
James Laurie
Henry Blackburn
Michael Beecher
Patrick McCormick
Emil Minty
Richard Blackburn
Grant Navin
Vanessa
Beth Buchanan
Clarissa
Leigh Nicholls
Magpie
Mouche Phillips
Lil Boyd
Lynne Porteous
Charlie Boyd
Mervyn Drake
Jeremiah
Harry Lawrence
Reverend Dalton
Duncan Wass
Mrs Tippery
Jennifer West
Henry Blackburn
Vic Hawkins

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