BBC viewers still traumatised over Halloween skit gone wrong
A documentary-style show reportedly investigating paranormal activity in a family home left viewers so shaken they felt 'scarred for life'
BBC viewers are still traumatised over a terrifying Halloween prank that seriously backfired on the broadcaster.
The 1992 show Ghostwatch still sticks in the minds of viewers over three decades on due to the traumatising effect it had. It masqueraded as a news report on paranormal activity that saw Sir Michael Parkinson and former Blue Peter presenter Sarah Greene investigate spooky disturbances reportedly taking place at one family home.
The investigation detailed several scary moments including footage of a ghost terrorising two children as their mother desperately tried to save them, and a ghost dubbed "Mr Pipes" that travelled through their home via their heating system. Millions of viewers were left seriously rattled by the show as it appeared to be fully legitimate with two trusted hosts fronting it.
The show was depicted as being aired live but had in fact been pre-recorded weeks earlier in order to include all of the required visual effects to trick viewers. Within an hour of the broadcast over 30,000 people contacted the BBC switchboard to complain about Ghostwatch.
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Many viewers claimed that their children had been terrified by the show and the backlash led to to BBC banning Ghostwatch from ever being broadcast on British television again. However, a documentary titled Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains was released on DVD in 2013 and drew attention to the lasting impact the production had.
The documentary was put together over several years between 2007 - 2012 and featured interviews with many of the original cast and crew. Ghostwatch has now found its way onto TikTok with many who grew up in the '90s reliving the trauma they felt when they watched the original broadcast.
Some have even claimed to be "scarred for life" with others admitting they still "wet the bed" thinking of it. Horror writer Stephen Volk had originally planned for Ghostwatch to be a six-episode horror series, but he was then asked to adapt it into a 90-minute one-off special.
He said that they had originally planned to have a discussion air after the show which would "diffuse the tension," but it actually ended abruptly in horrifying scenes, as a broadcast announcer cut straight to Match of the Day. However, he still defends his work saying: "If you are going to tell this horror gag then don’t do it half-heartedly. If you say it’s not true then you pull the teeth out of unsettling drama."
Ghostwatch saw some claim the show had caused cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children. It was also claimed that a young man named Martin Denham who was just 18-years-old and had learning difficulties tragically ended his own life days after the show aired.
He was allegedly shaken by scenes on Ghostwatch which he felt resembled strange occurrences in his own home. His parents lodged a complaint with The Broadcasting Standards Commission who ruled that the show was "excessively distressing and graphic."
The Commission stated: "The BBC had a duty to do more than simply hint at the deception it was practising on the audience. In Ghostwatch there was a deliberate attempt to cultivate a sense of menace."
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