Life gets in the way of your plans, but there is always time for Ghosts!
To bookend October, I started with a fake TV Special on Halloween that was made in 2012. Let's properly end the month with the far-more-infamous one from 1992 that *actually* traumatized people.
In 1992, BBC-1 ran Ghostwatch as a Halloween Special. The Station insisted that it have Opening Credits for a Writer, so nobody would get *too* scared and think this was real. Given the deluge of calls and complaints, it seems that people just missed that- likely by tuning in a few minutes late since they were watching *google search* reruns of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The Special is a 'Documentary' Investigation into a Haunted House. They have everyone on board- a Presenter, an In-The-Field Reporter, a Skeptic, an Expert and...the guy from Red Dwarf. Can they get proof of what is supposedly-happening?
To find out why 1,000,000 called in to to the Studio after this ran its one and only Broadcast, read on...
A lovely little home on Foxhill Drive is experiencing some weird phenomena.
Let's send in TV Personalities to help them. Why not?
Long before your
Blair Witches and
Paranormal Activity Films, you'd get this harrowing footage of strange banging, objects being knocked around and children scared in their own room.
We are also shown Photos that supposedly prove that weird things were going on.
Sure is a good thing that someone was calm enough to get a clear shot.
*Below is the real Enfield Haunting Bedroom that inspired this Special*
Our Lady-in-the-Field is in the House with the Family as things escalate.
It all seems normal at first, but then it slowly, but surely gets worse to be in there.
Back in the Studio, Mr. Parkinson- who is/was a real Presenter- is continually-skeptical, especially after one moment gives him good reason.
In spite of his comments, the incidents increase in frequency and ferocity.
Callers talk about seeing a figure in the curtains. The girls call him 'Pipes,' due to the sounds 'he' makes always coming from there.
In a clever bit, they alternate between takes with no obvious figure and ones like this all of the time. They just love to mess with you.
Things build and build as 'Pipes' seems to get more daring and the effect of the Show seems to be spreading, based on the callers.
Why was there never a second Ghostwatch? To find out, watch it now. It's around, so find it!
A classic bit of sneaky, but fun TV- back when you could do that. Could something like this work in 2022? Would you believe that, for instance, NBC News was doing this? In the Internet Age, this seems impossible, if not very, VERY hard to do. The most we can get now is the occasional surprise Movie Announcement- like Blair Witch or The Cloverfield Paradox.
With that said, this is quite enjoyable and well-done. They really make it feel like a TV Special that isn't a hoax. To accomplish this, they shot all of the stuff at the House weeks earlier and the stuff in-Studio was live. I can't imagine how much practice they needed to get that right! The effect is seamless, as I didn't notice any difference myself.
Given the limitations of the time, they do some really great work. CGI was barely a thing in Movies at this point, so a BBC-1 Special sure isn't going to use it. That gives this a very fun, old-school feel. They cheat a couple of times, to be fair, but it is still quite great.
It's hard to watch this in 2022 and put yourself in the mindset of a Viewer who didn't realize that this was fake and saw it for the first time. With that caveat, Ghostwatch is a very effective Special that even manages to include an 'Ugly American' in the form of this skeptic, who is just the worst.
A Special that lives up to its reputation. It makes for a great Halloween viewing, but is also good any other night of the year.
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