Ghostwatch

October 31, 1992 BBC1 made history with its splendid horror mockumentary / TV movie Ghostwatch which is, in my opinion, still one of the scariest broadcasts to date (excluding Material Girl for slightly different reasons). I still have vivid memories of watching this together with my grandparents, or parts of it at least from behind a cushion.

Ghostwatch is a live documentary that attempts to uncover the truth behind “The most haunted house in Britain”. The BBC naturally sends its top investigators to the scene who expect a light-hearted scare or two and probably to uncover a hoax. The British public settles down and decides that this is going to be a bit of fun. But ninety minutes later, the BBC and the country had changed.

Using actual horrifying footage from the house, its unwanted guest and interviews with the family and neighbors, the BBC was able to convince 11.5 million viewers that not only do ghosts actually exist but that one of the nation’s most loved presenters (Sarah Green, who I worshipped every Saturday morning during Going Live) had met her untimely demise.

In a nutshell Britain was shocked, appalled and horrified and TV has never been this good since, until True Blood that is. Using very simple yet surprisingly realistic (for 1992’s standards at least) techniques, they were able to create a ghoulishly good atmosphere with one hell of a backstory and aided by tremendous supporting cast of BBC favs.

Even before The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity, mockumentary filmmaking had reached an unequivocal high that was sadly missed by everyone outside of the UK who wasn’t coincidently watching at the time seeing as this broadcast was banned for almost ten years, proving once again that it shook Britain to the core.

It may seem a bit fake and contrived now, but the story is great and the ending still freaks me out after all those years. It’s just a shame that this highly controversial and groundbreaking TV classic should be forgotten. Luckily, there's always Google Video.