On October 31, 1992, BBC 1 televised a live Halloween program called “Ghostwatch”. The program was billed as a documentary and concerned the investigation of paranormal activity in the home of the Early family. The home was the residence of divorced mother, Pamela Early (Brid Brennan) and her two daughters, Suzanne (Michelle Wesson) and Kim (Cherise Wesson). The house, on Foxhill Drive in Northolt, is said to be the most haunted house in London. The family came to call the believed poltergeist “Pipes” since Pamela, trying to sooth her daughters’ fears, attributed the noises and knockings to the pipes in the walls.
The investigative crew mainly consisted of Michael Parkinson in the studio, as the shows presenter, Sarah Greene, the reporter at the Early home, Craig Charles, interviewing people on the street and Dr. Lin Pascoe (Gillian Bevan), in the studio with Michael helping to analyze the activities going on at the home. As part of the program, the viewing audience was invited to call in to tell their stories about encounters with ghosts. The reporter at the phone bank is Mike Smith.
The sad and evil history of the house is discussed, and more information comes in as a former social worker relays the story of Raymond Tunstall, a pedophile who once rented a room in the house. At one point bumping noises are heard. The team investigates and finds that the sounds were being created by the oldest daughter, Suzanne. When she is confronted, she breaks down. Not long after that Suzanne begins speaking in an otherworldly voice and develops scratches on her face. Not long after that, activity in the house begins to get violent and the camera feed from the house to the studio is cut off.
“Ghostwatch” was released in 1992 and was directed by Lesley Manning. It is a British horror mockumentary created and written by Stephen Volk. The beginning of the film does state that it is a fake program, however, much like the “War of the Worlds” UFO radio program scare in 1938, done by Orson Welles, many people who tuned into the program after it started thought it was real.
The film starts out rather plain and uneventful. Knowing that it was fake made it seem a little silly at first. Eventually the poltergeist activity picks up and so does the creep factor. I ended up enjoying it.
The phone number flashing on the screen for viewers to call was the standard BBC call-in number, 081-811-8181. People who called were told that it was a fake show; however, the phone lines were jammed with people trying to call in. The fact that the phones were constantly busy added to the authentic feel of the program.
The plot of the film was supposedly based on a real story from the 70’s that took place in North London, known as the “Enfield Poltergeist”. The film is reported to be the first television program cited in the British Medical Journal as being the cause of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in children. The actor who played “Pipes” was Keith Ferrari. The poltergeist “Pipes” can actually be seen in the film thirteen different times.