A TV programme that left an indelible mark on viewers for its chilling content was deemed too horrifying for the BBC to rebroadcast.
The one-time mockumentary Ghostwatch, which aired on BBC1 on Halloween night in 1992, caused such a stir that the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC) described it as excessively distressing and graphic, saying it created “a sense of menace”.
Despite this, the show received acclaim for its originality, with presenters like Michael Parkinson and Sarah Greene at the helm, and is credited by some as a precursor to ‘found footage’ horror films such as The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield.
Following Parkinson’s passing last August, there have been fresh calls, as we previously reported, for Ghostwatch to be shown again after more than three decades.
The premise of the show involved a documentary team delving into the paranormal activity of “the most haunted house in Britain”, inspired by the real-life Enfield Poltergeist case in London from 1977 to 1979. Although presented as a drama, Ghostwatch mimicked the format of a conventional BBC documentary, featuring four familiar presenters – Parkinson, Greene, her spouse Mike Smith, and Craig Charles.
It centred around two sisters, Kim and Suzanne Early, tormented by Pipes, a poltergeist in their London residence.
Viewers were invited to phone in with their own ghostly encounters, with a pre-recorded message then clarifying that the show was purely fictional. However, the sheer volume of terrified Brits who called in overwhelmed the five operators, leaving many callers hearing only an engaged tone.
It’s estimated that around 1 million calls were made to the BBC switchboard. Ghostwatch’s writer, Stephen Volk, has since reflected on the show and its impact in today’s digital age.
He previously told the Record: “You couldn’t do what we did nowadays and get away with it. People would know in 30 seconds what was going on.”
During the broadcast, it was revealed that Pipes – named so because the girls’ mum dismissed the noises they heard at home as “just the pipes” – was the spirit of malevolent child abuser Raymond Tunstall. His figure subtly appeared throughout the show, even in the studio, leading the presenters to question its authenticity.
Scratch marks mysteriously appeared on Kim and Suzanne’s faces, objects moved on their own, and eerie sounds could be heard. Greene was pulled into a cupboard by the poltergeist and a chilling wind swept through the studio, causing the lights to go out and sparking widespread panic among the crew.
Parkinson was then seemingly possessed by the voice of Pipes.
After the programme concluded, scared viewers barraged the Beeb with complaints, with an estimated 30,000 people reaching out. One woman claimed it triggered her labour, while another said she was Parkinson’s mother.
Volk reflected to the BBC in 2017: “It was partly that it scared people, but the complaints were actually more that the BBC had made them feel like mugs. People felt the BBC was something they could trust, and the programme had destroyed that trust.”
Following its broadcast, which over 11 million tuned in for, Ghostwatch faced a decade-long ban from screening. Even after this period ended, the programme failed to reappear on British screens.
Yet the most harrowing impact linked to the show involved an 18 year old whose tragic death was attributed to the effects of the programme. Martin Denham, who suffered from learning difficulties, committed suicide, which his parents said was due to being “hypnotised and obsessed” by Ghostwatch.
The regulatory body, now known as Ofcom, did not uphold their complaint. Additionally, claims emerged of two 10 year olds enduring PTSD following the show.
A couple of years post-broadcast, Simons and Silveria detailed in the British Medical Journal some severe consequences one child faced, including a year of nightmares, fear of darkness and ghosts, intrusive thoughts, and panic attacks – all reportedly triggered by viewing the show.
Lesley Manning, the director of Ghostwatch, reflected on the show’s impact in a 2020 interview with The Guardian, saying: “I definitely didn’t set out to cause mass hysteria. But I wasn’t trying to make it look like a conventional BBC movie, either. I thought the fact that it was a drama was obvious: it was trailed as such by the continuity announcer, and it opened with a ‘written by’ credit.”
Volk also commented on the legacy of the programme, which has only been aired once in the UK: “It’s tremendously gratifying to hear people were scared and yet excited by it. To have that effect on other people who then want to do the same is like passing the baton on to those who now want to go on and scare another generation of people.”
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