Ghostwatch

Halloween 1992: the BBC broadcast a real documentary in which a team of celebrity presenters go to "Britain's most haunted house" to check out if any ghosts can be found. Via link-up, Michael Parkinson commentates on the events from the studio. It all looks like it is going to be a big bore, until weird little things start to happen. Slowly but surely it begins to become clear that the BBC are going to unearth the biggest ghost story of all-time.

Amazingly, this TV movie from 1992 had an entire nation believing that it was all for real. Not since Orson Welles terrified America with his rendition of War of the Worlds (convincing half the country that they were being invaded by Martians) has there been anything like this. I remember seeing this as an impressionable teenager and it kept me awake for almost two weeks afterwards. So convincing was it that the BBC have vowed never to screen it again in the wake of complaints of children having nightmares and one (unconfirmed) suggestion that a kid committed suicide because the show scared him so deeply. This makes the top 5 horror films of all-time, even though it is technically not even a film at all. Ghostwatch is a legendary show and anyone who saw it "live" will talk about it, somewhat nervously, to their dying day!

An excellent piece of television, very well written and structured. The format follows a supposed live TV paranormal investigation into an ordinary house somewhere in England which has been experiencing some apparently terrifying goings on. All I can say is that the script for this is brilliant in getting in all the tiny little details which make it look like a real and sometimes less than perfect production. Several people in the film who are not actors all do a superb job. The way in which the scares are done in this and the actual story that unfolds are all very skilfully done. This remains for me one the smartest and most brilliant pieces of TV drama/horror that's been done.

Quite simply, the most frightening television programme ever broadcast, 'Ghost Watch' pushed the edges of 'acceptability' so far that we'll probably never get the chance to see it again.

The one and only time this has been shown, anywhere in the world, I believe, was on Halloween 1992. The UK listings magazine 'Radio Times' printed it's cast, crew and writer- yet it was promoted as a 'documentary'. And the British public, suitably suckered, fell for the joke in their millions.

In much the same way that Orson Welles' 'War of the Worlds' and latterly 'The Blair Witch Project' caused audiences to question their sense of reality, so 'Ghost Watch', for one wonderful October night, made screaming believers of us all. The conceit is simple- TV heavyweight Michael Parkinson hosts an evening of programmes purporting to investigate the supernatural. There are mediums in the studio, debate, and most importantly, a 'live' investigation into one of Britain's "most haunted" houses.

The casting is intelligent and spot-on; Parkinson adds gravitas, and the 'light-entertainment' faces of Sarah Greene, Craig Charles and Mike Smith just-about convince you that whatever happens, it's going to be treated in a nice, family-orientated, jokey manner. Just what you'd expect from Auntie Beeb.

And then it begins.

Writer Stephen Volk uses every gruelling modern horror cliche in the book- possessions, telekenesis, speaking-in-tongues, self-flagellation, child-abuse, things *almost* seen, satanic animals, suicide, - but, robbed of their comfortable 'Poltergeist'/'Amityville Horror' contexts, and placed into what was until a few minutes ago an edgy, but amusing 'documentary', they take on whole new levels of terror. And 'Ghost Watch' is very, very scary.

I really don't want to ruin this for anyone who hasn't seen it- but suffice to say Expect The Unexpected. Moments of extreme horror are slipped in, almost subliminally, and the cumulative effect is of a long, terrifying journey to a place you really don't want to go.

Of course the ending is silly- it has to be, to relieve the tension, and allow viewers to relax. It was, after all, a drama, a play, a "hoax" if you like. A horror film. And the best one of the 'nineties, if I were forced to make my choice.

Due to the sheer number of complaints, and the suicide of a viewer, the BBC effectively banned it from further screenings, and refused to release it on video. Further, as far as I know, they have not offered it for sale abroad.

The only way any of us are going to see it's like again, is to rely on those who recorded it at the time of broadcast, seven years ago- or hope that some enterprising foreign station buys the rights, and remakes it.

It's a terrible, terrible shame that something as powerful and clever as this should go unseen.

Steev

I recently watched "WNUF Halloween Special", a horror film that is obviously inspired by this film, because it is VERY similar, except for a few little details here and there. I must say that Ghostwatch does it much better. I only wish I could have been sitting in front of a TV in 1993 watching this and not knowing it was fake. It seems like it would have been very convincing back then.

Ghostwatch is a film that is made in what is similar to the "found footage" style of films. It is essentially made to look like a TV special where they investigate a haunted house, and things get very crazy. It's full of many creepy and subtle spooky scenes, and it really creates that scary vibe that a lot of films are missing. What is most unique about this film is its idea of television and how it is incorporated into the haunting. It adds another layer of creepy, and perhaps even is saying something about television and how it is incorporated into peoples everyday lives and can even be a big part of them.

In the end, I would say this is a must see for horror fans. It's spooky and should be seen alone for the fact that it has a place in history as a TV movie that seemed so real that it tricked thousands of people into believing it's content.

Ostensibly a night in a "real" haunted house filmed live on Halloween night that tricked many people who were unaware it was fiction while they were watching it (even though it had writing and acting credits).

There's a lot of fun to be had here. It feels real enough, though if you know to look for it it can feel a bit staged. Some of the best bits involve the studio which has a real "paranormal expert" on hand to explain the goings-ons. The scares are very Paranormal Activity lite, but considering the time and the fact that it was a TV movie one can see how it would have an impact.

As a piece of history this spooky flick is indelible and worth celebrating, as a piece of art it's merely good enough.