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Now we’re talking REAL fear! This programme saw broadcast laws changed and caused a mass panic across the Uk, both public and in the press, including the ONLY case of post traumatic stress directly attributed to a TV programme. The broadcast was also blamed for a couple of teen suicides and even unrest reported in certain areas by religious nutcases who believed the entire country was being haunted. “Ghostwatch” is Britain’s answer to Orson Welles classic “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast in America. It worked on so many levels and still holds up to repeat viewings.

To the uninitiated, “Ghostwatch” had very little pre-publicity, billing itself as an investigation into a poltergeist incident at a council estate where a little girl was the centre of a series of bizarre, even violent episodes. Its first masterstroke was casting Michael Parkinson as the host, a trusted face of realism and respected broadcaster for years, he added an authenticity nobody else could. It also cast Sarah Green, a wanabee reporter known by millions as the face of Saturday kids TV show “Going Live”, at the scene of the haunting and her husband Mike Smith, also a well known face, in the studio to give an emotional attachment to proceedings as they descend into chaos. The finest piece of casting though was Craig Charles, Dave Lister from comedy show “Red Dwarf”, as the comic relief, the joker, the light entertainment who’s clever asides to the ridiculousness of what was happening whilst he thought he was off-air, added more credence to the show.

The show was perfectly paced, the first half of it was dull, a few calls about shapes that weren’t there, some red herring ‘strange noises’, crank calls and Craig Charles jumping out of the kitchen cupboard (right), all adding to the realism once more. It was just what you’d expect to happen if it was real, not much! There was even an attempt by the girl to fake an incident that gave the resident sceptic the chance for a smug ‘I told you so’ to the parapsychologist. It wasn’t until the second half when the scary stuff began, but why did it work when it became so ridiculous towards the end?

Firstly the BBC scheduled it to start five minutes before ITV’s “Blind Date”, Saturday’s top performing show, finished so the “this isn’t real” message was missed by a good chunk of the audience. Secondly, it was screened on Halloween night that happened to fall on a Saturday night, before many people had bought the TV listings that revealed a cast list. Thirdly, half way through there was a “People who’ve tuned in to watch ?, we’re sorry but we’re going to stick with events here”, making it feel even more like a live show and fourth, nothing like this had EVER been done before. This was years before “Most Haunted”, “Big Brother” and the rest of the reality TV shows that now use the same techniques employed here (infra red, multi-camera views, mundane chatter, lengthy passages of time with little going on, phone lines, etc…) had even been conceived. It also had a believable and increasingly disturbing storyline.

As the show gathers pace we find out pregnant dogs had been killed and their unborn killed, children had gone missing and the house had a mysterious past that involved a psychologically disturbed man being sub-let a room at the time of a series of the aforementioned disappearances. None of this came up in the shows ‘research’ because none of it was officially reported, it all added to the panic and sense that something was happening. It was too much for some people who believed it was real and switched it off before the overcooked ending that saw TV cameras explode and Michael Parkinson possessed reciting a children’s nursery rhyme.

What most people don’t know is what was left out of the show. The makers wanted to add a high pitched sound that would make dogs bark and cats hiss, they wanted a line included that would have given the impression the ghost was using the show as a nationwide séance to enter people’s homes, it was also meant to be the culmination of a six part documentary that would have told the back story as if documenting real events. The reaction was one of terror, it was meant to be a whole lot more about audience participation.

We’re unlikely ever to see anything like this again, we’re too self-aware now and TV guides blow all the plots and secrets before we see the programmes. I’m just pleased I was of the right age, state of mind and gullibility to appreciate this finely crafted show as it was meant to be experienced.