GHOSTWATCH: The Halloween Special That Traumatized An Entire Generation
In 1992, the BBC broadcasted one of its most controversial shows. It was one of those shows that could never work if it took place right now, as the internet and Twitter would dissect every aspect of it and remove any semblance of doubt on behalf of the audience. Instead, as it happened on Saturday October 31st of that year, around 11 million people witnessed a ‘live’ haunting that resulted in so much uproar and controversy that the BBC never aired the special again, and even hid its existence for almost twenty years.
It began as a story written by horror writer Steven Volk, that initially pitched the ideal as a 6 part mockumentary series featuring a presenter that would explore haunted houses in Britain, with a final episode broadcasted live to the audience. It eventually was condensed into a one and a half hour television special where everything was supposed to go wrong, giving the illusion that the events the audience was witnessing were real. The way it was crafted, though, made the experience seem almost too real.
Well-known presenters Sarah Greene and her husband, Mike Smith, were chosen to play themselves, giving even more authenticity to the production. Greene led a team of investigators and a camera crew spending the night at a house that terrorised a mother and her two daughters, while Smith manned a bank of phones in the studio where audiences could call in to talk about their own paranormal experiences. Journalist and known sceptic Micheal Parkinson, led the whole production from the studio, where he discussed the events as the evolved alongside a paranormal specialist. Something like this had never been attempted before, considering this happened even before one of the most famous examples of the found-footage genre, The Blair Witch Project.
Producers at the BBC were hesitant to present the program to the audience as something completely real, and decided to take a variety of precautions in order to safeguard the interests of the studio. They included writing credits at the end of the program, had an announcer explain to the audience before the beginning of the show that what they were watching was a work of fiction, and even had a recording that explained this to the viewers if they decided to call the number on the screen. It was also explicitly advertised that the show was not for children. The only place where it wasn’t clearly stated that it was fictional, was during the broadcast of the show itself. But many people tuned into the show late and missed the initial message.
This is how everything began to go horribly wrong.
As the show began to air, around 20 to 30 thousand phonecalls were received, causing the BBC switchboard to be jammed, meaning that the pre-recorded message no longer played for future callers. But the program began as planned, with the investigators going to the house of the family of 3 and talking to them about their paranormal encounters. As the family begins to talk about the terrible noises that seem to come from the walls, phone calls started to come in. Concerned viewers start pointing out what seems to be a mysterious figure lurking in the dark. Throughout the show, more and more people call to point out this dark figure, as the team continues the investigation.
Sarah Green and Mike Smith during the streaming of Ghostwatch (1992)
Slowly the show derails into absolute chaos. Technology issues plague the broadcast, and an ominous caller begins to explain the true story of the figure– a deranged man that escaped from a mental hospital that plagues the house and now the studio itself. The studio then falls into darkness, as the spirit seems to have taken over the body of the presenter himself.
What resulted from the broadcast was disastrous. It seemed that the entire country was outraged that the show deceived them into believing what they were watching was completely real. About half a dozen children that watched the program were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Medical studies carried out a year after its airing reported on the show’s emotional repercussions. The BBC denounced the show, apologised, and never aired it again.
“About half a dozen children that watched the program were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Medical studies carried out a year after its airing reported on the show’s emotional repercussions.”