Today, a ghostly apparition appeared on the banks of Derwentwater, Lake District to mark the launch of Sky’s brand-new supernatural crime thriller, The Rising.

Appearing in the early hours of the morning, the eerie figure began to rise from beneath the water set against the dramatic backdrop of the mountains. Surrounded by a grey mist, the blue-grey hue of the life-sized figure stunned passers-by who looked on in awe as she appeared to mouth the words “come find me”.

Created using cutting edge technology the visual was, in fact, a hologram depicting lead character Neve Kelly (Clara Rugaard), to launch the brand-new, Sky Original series, The Rising. In the show, set in the lake district, Neve is seen to emerge from a lake as she returns from the afterlife to help those investigating her death to find her killer.

Daniella Hope, local to Derwentwater said: “I woke up to take a walk by the lake as I do most mornings and was stunned to see a ghostly figure coming out of the water. I couldn’t believe my eyes at how real it looked, to the point I was a speechless for the first few moments.

“It’s certainly an interesting way to start the morning and now I’m intrigued to find out about what happened to her.”

Developed by Kaleida, the same team who created the viral Robert Kardashian hologram in 2020, the impressive artwork took two months to create. By using an array of postproduction techniques and a transparent holographic gauze, Kaleida have been able to create a modern-day three dimensional ‘ghost’ that looks real enough to touch.

The hologram was inspired by new research commissioned by Sky today that found that more than two-fifths of Brits (42%) believe in life after death with a further 63% admitting to believing they have been guided through life by a deceased loved one. The top five ‘signs’ Brits think can indicate a spirit include – sensing a presence in the room (27%), household pets / dogs behaving strangely (23%) smelling a particular scent and not knowing the source (22%), feeling someone touch you when no one is (21%), and seeing spiritual symbols such as birds (21%).

A Sky Original, The Rising is an eight-episode series based on the popular Belgian drama Beau Séjour (international distribution rights by LS Distribution – a Mediawan group company) which has been adapted to a contemporary British setting by Sky Studios. The protagonist Neve Kelly, played by Clara Rugaard (I Am Mother), is scared and confused to one day discover that she is dead. In this new plane of existence, she becomes furiously determined to find her killer and get justice, convinced that her killer was someone she knew. The Rising is the first series produced entirely in-house by Sky Studios, Sky’s original programming arm across Europe.

Serena Thompson, Executive Producer at Sky Studios, said: “We wanted to do something to mark the launch of this brand new series, and so we looked at how we could create something which stayed true to the show’s premise. Given that the series takes a fresh, modern look at how the afterlife could interact with the real world, this ghostly figure felt very in keeping with the series’ premise.

“We worked with a tech production partner who used cutting edge technology to create a life-like 3D projection. Recreating a key scene from the series and bringing about a ghost-like presence to The Lake District – the location where it was originally filmed – seemed like a great way to kick off the launch of this brand new series”

All episodes of The Rising are on Sky Max and streaming service NOW from 22nd April.