On October 31, 1992, the BBC aired a 90-minute documentary-style program called Ghostwatch, which was promoted as being broadcast live from “the most haunted house in Britain.” Presenting the show that evening were such trusted BBC personalities as Michael Parkinson and children’s TV host Sarah Greene. This helped lend it some credibility because, in actuality, the whole thing was staged and had been filmed months in advance. Despite that, millions of viewers believed they were watching a real paranormal investigation unfold.
The story revolved around Pamela Early and her two daughters, who were reportedly living with a ghost known as Pipes. The alleged poltergeist was given the nickname due to his habit of banging on their water pipes. As time went on, the family was subjected to more and more terrifying experiences, and Pipes could be spotted lingering in the background during certain scenes. By the end, Pipes “seized control” of the cameras and the folks watching from the TV studio were shown fleeing as the paranormal activity appeared to spread beyond the house.
Ghostwatch ‘Traumatized’ Countless Kids
Ghostwatch was so convincing that the network received upwards of 20,000 calls while the show was on the air. Evidently, many of the 11 million viewers who tuned in were children, who’d been traumatized by the experience. “It was partly that it scared people, but the complaints were actually more that the BBC had made them feel like mugs,” recalled screenwriter Stephen Volk. “People felt the BBC was something they could trust, and the programme had destroyed that trust,” he continued.
The broadcast was even blamed for the suicide of a teenage boy, whose parents said he’d been hearing banging noises in their house like the ones from the show. This allegedly terrified him to the point that he hanged himself five days later. In the boy’s pocket was a note to his mother, saying, “If there [are] ghosts, I will now be one and I will always be with you as one.” An investigation by the Broadcast Standards Commission concluded that the BBC had made a “deliberate attempt to cultivate a sense of menace,” and the network issued an apology.
Ghostwatch was never broadcast on the BBC again and wasn’t released on home video for another decade.
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