Ghostwatch’s ‘writer’, Stephen Volk, published a follow-up account, titled 31/10. In it, he wrote an alternative depiction about what had happened that night – that Sarah Greene and Susan Early were truly never seen again. That a lookalike had played the children’s TV presenter during her shows in the aftermath. That the surviving members of the Early family were secretively moved abroad. That the BBC studio was sealed off and boarded up. The premise of the thing is pretty sneaky - take a handful of recognizable and respected British news personalities such as Michael Parkinson, Sarah Green, Mike Smith and Craig Charles (all playing themselves), set some of them up in the studio and send a team out to a haunted house to investigate the supposed hauntings that occur there on a regular basis. Broadcast the entire thing over live TV and unleash some extremely frightening imagery onto an unsuspecting and surprisingly gullible populace and voila, you’ve got yourself a bit of a horror classic. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.

Ghostwatch Blu-ray - Zavvi UK Ghostwatch Blu-ray - Zavvi UK

What if Ghostwatch wasn’t a hoax? That those events millions of us witnessed were real? What if Ghostwatch depicted a real-life haunting but the BBC had to cover it up as a drama? A show they were not ashamed of, as the public perception of it was, but, terrified of – of the very real monster it had created. This seems like a fairly non-descript appearance as things go from Raymond Tunstall’s canon, so why is this No. 1 on this list? Starring: Michael Parkinson , Sarah Greene , Mike Smith (XIX) , Craig Charles , Gillian Bevan , Brid Brennan Ghostwatch. What could be considered the best practical joke the BBC ever made on the Great British public. And, much like all ambitious practical jokes, faced unconsidered consequences. A live report on Halloween from what we were told was a haunted semi-detached home, with some of the nation’s most respected faces. There’s children’s TV’s Sarah Greene, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed; her husband, Mike Green manning the phones; Red Dwarf funny man Craig Charles taking a side-eyed cheeky glance at the whole spectacle as roving reporter; and national treasure Michael Parkinson – Parky! – the grandfather of the talk show. Surely he’d be there to hold our collective hand if things get spooky? Right, Michael? Right? The whole thing is very well put together, and it's directed in such a manner that it keeps up at a very fast pace. Casting real life news reporters in prominent roles helps to add to the illusion, as this very much does feel like a live news broadcast from the early nineties. There are all sorts of great moments that foreshadow the conclusion and if you pay close attention to details, you'll be rewarded with some nice little scares in the latter half of the production.This great blu-ray release shows events with more clarity than ever before, whereby previous camera sweeps in the house occasionally caught a dark blurry shape, this time it can be seen that bit more clearly, adding that extra shiver or two down your spine. The disc also includes a new 30th Anniversary feature length documentary titled Do You Believe In Ghosts? that runs for forty-eight minutes in length. This piece features interviews with Sarah Green, Gillian Bevan, Lesley Manning, Jed Shepherd, Robert Savage, and Stephen Volk. They cover where the idea for the movie came from, how it wound up at the BBC, why they decided to make the project look like a live broadcast, choosing the house location for the shoot, how the different newscasters wound up in the project, working with the different actors who played the other parts, what went into directing the project, how the movie does a great job of getting you into the heads of the different characters that populate it, the influence of Ghostwatch, how it was received when first broadcast, the use of night-vision and heat-vision cameras, what went into trying to keep it as realistic as possible and lots more. Parkinson and parapsychologist Dr Lin Pascoe, who has been investigating the haunting at Foxhill Drive, have some fun in the studio with a tape purportedly featuring the voice of Foxhill Drive’s spook, having a netter through the portal of eldest daughter Susan Early. Before the tape finishes and Parkinson sniggers ‘Bizarre!’, Pipes’s shimmering apparition appears over the shoulder of the unsuspecting doc. It’s one of the easiest to spot appearances of Pipes although one that perhaps would have thrown the more cynical viewers off the haunting scent, as the early studio appearance would have had impact of stripping the show of some of its believability. British label 101 Films has officially announced that it will release on Blu-ray Lesley Manning's made-for-TV drama Ghostwatch (1992), starring Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene, Mike Smith (XIX), Craig Charles, and Gillian Bevan. The release will be available for ... This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.

Ghostwatch (Limited Edition) Blu-ray - Zavvi UK

However, with publicity such as a Radio Times article that the cast conducted as though they were about to conduct a real investigation, and those trusted celebrities – who had played the investigation for jovial laughs before the tone terrifyingly shifted mid-show – appeared to truly fear for their lives as strange things rumbled in the Northolt night, millions wondered if a real life haunting was going on. Hundreds of thousands of calls were made to complain or enquire following the broadcast, and school playgrounds the next day were filled with pupils wondering if Parky really had been possessed and if the beloved Sarah Greene really had been captured by a malevolent spirit in the cupboard under the stairs.Further adding weight to its authenticity were the trusted presenters, Sarah Greene, Michael Parkinson, Craig Charles and Mike Smith.

Ghostwatch Blu-ray (Standard Edition) Ghostwatch Blu-ray (Standard Edition)

Sarah Greene and Craig Charles report from a reputedly haunted London home for the outside broadcast, while Michael Parkinson and Mike Smith stay in the warmth and "safety" of a BBC studio. The Early family are allegedly being harassed by the ghost 'Pipes', so named as his banging and crashing were initially attributed to bad plumbing. After a deliberately slow start the tension gradually builds, culminating in a terrifying crescendo. Although entirely fictional, the masterly combination of great scripting, intuitive direction and perfect casting made the supernatural pastiche appear frighteningly real. As kids stayed up late to watch the action with familiar, friendly faces, it was all fun and games – and a bit of tedious tech talk to set the realism scene – until the ghosts appeared. And then the public weren’t sure what they were watching. Sure, what some thought of as unnatural acting, rather than an actual petrified family and neighbourhood, alerted some sceptical viewers to believe this was a drama broadcast as part of the BBC’s Screen One anthology series. Parky wasn't sure about doing this film but his wife told him to get out of his comfort zone...so I guess he did it out of being an obedient husband, lol. Glad he did. If you’re feeling truly brave (and live close enough), there are two events happening. One is this weekend in Sheffield (as part of Celluloid Screams), the other on Friday 28th October at BFI London. These events offer an immersive viewing experience complete with spooky sound effects, smoke, rattling noises, and all kinds of horror. THN attended the first screening at Celluloid Screams this evening, and whilst we’re keeping our lips sealed about the finer details, we can confirm that they are a ton of fun, and perfectly timed for Halloween. For many this Halloween TV special from 1992 has remained ingrained in their memory. Was it real or pure fiction many asked at the time?RT @monopolyevents1 Not long left until our next 4 events, @comconmanc , @comconwales @comconnireland and @comconscotland While never troubling the likes of Freddy or Jason as horror icons, “Pipes” become an iconic ghostly figure in the UK after the screening of Ghostwatch, as it seemed most everyone was talking about it for a long time afterwards. People still split between whether what they had witnessed was real or not, which is testament to the hard work and planning that went into putting everything together in as convincing way as possible. Ghostwatch itself is still as unnerving as ever. As much as one can keep repeating it isn’t real, Manning’s craftwork still has you questioning certain aspects. What really helps sell Ghostwatch is the presenters involved. At the time of broadcast, Sarah Greene was a staple of BBC programming. Working across both kids shows like Going Live and magazine format show Pebble Mill; it made sense that she might be involved in a new programme for the channel. Similarly, the inclusion of Michael Parkinson added credibility to the project. The only slight indicator that something was awry is the addition of Craig Charles. He slightly over-egs his part as the silly cynic, but his segments are short and so audience attention remains on the other two.