Diane Rodgers- Generation Hexed

Television in the 1970s was bursting at the seams with weirdness, eeriness, supernatural folklore and contemporary legend. The effect of 'wyrd' programming on those who grew up with it should not be underestimated in terms of its influence on Generation X, (which Bob Fischer aptly terms the 'haunted' generation) who I refer to here as Generation Hexed. The importance and value of children's television has been an area traditionally overlooked, which modern scholars aim to redress not only in relation to screen studies but also with reference to folklore studies and wider social and cultural implications. This paper considers why supernatural folklore was so prevalent in 1970s media, why it emerged then, and how it has been represented on screen. Using Children of the Stones as a case study example of "the scariest programme ever made for children", I look at how television has horrified children and the ways in which such programming impacts upon generations of audiences far beyond the reach of television itself.