7 years before The Blair Witch Project, this BBC Halloween "hoax" frightened the crap out of a generation of children -- myself included. The show was a supposed live paranormal investigation into a North London poltergeist, led by Sarah Greene and Craig Charles, presented by Michael Parkinson and Mike Smith back in a BBC studio.
The show gave viewers the sort of spooky investigation now commonplace on TV shows like Most Haunted, but what quickly became apparent watching Ghostwatch was how seriously frightening things became. You got a lot more than "orbs" and Derek Acorah pulling faces here, as the investigation escalated and the resident poltergeist "Pipes" scratched and possessed a little girl...
Ghostwatch’s plausibility was increased by callers insisting ghostly forms could be seen in photos and offering first-hand anecdotes about the previous occupant of the haunted house -- who had died and was eaten by cats! The presence of serious-minded Michael Parkinson as the host was also a convincer that this was a real programme… that had stumbled onto genuine supernatural events.
This 90-minute special was originally conceived by Stephen Volk to be a 6-part drama, with only the final episode being acted as a "live show", but producer Ruth Baumgarten doubted the concept could sustain that, so had Volk condense his idea into a one-off "live special" as a Halloween treat. Or trick, depending on how you look at it!
The BBC were initially wary of broadcasting Ghostwatch, for fear of inciting panic in the public. To combat any misunderstanding, they added a "writer" credit to the opening titles and published actor credits in that week’s Radio Times, but the show still caused minor panic across the UK. A hot-line number on the show actually told callers "this programme is fictitious" if you rang it.
After broadcast, the BBC was besieged with phone calls from frightened viewers and tabloids later reported some teenaged viewers had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder! Another article insinuated that a teenager committed suicide after watching the show, while another claimed an elderly man died of a heart attack whilst viewing!
These days, some conspiracy theories even claim that Ghostwatch was real, but the BBC pretended it was faked because they had killed Sarah Greene! I'm sure she's safe, though -- unless IMDb is lying.
Ghostwatch was immediately banned from repeated broadcast and industry insiders have commented that the BBC is unlikely to attempt a similar "hoax", or stunt, ever again. It took 10 years for Ghostwatch to get a video release, finally appearing on DVD in 2002. It has still never been repeated, not even on a minority digital channel.
Viewed these days, the show is certainly an intriguing forerunner to Blair Witch Project and Most Haunted, but knowing it’s not real destroys much of its ability to scare. But trust me, back in ‘92, not many kids got a good night’s sleep that Halloween!
Clips & Links
BBC Clip
Screenonline Clip
An Interview with creator/writer Stephen Volk
