BBC1 31 October 1992 - Continuity Before/After Ghostwatch

[@terence2678]

I'm shocked........ that Blackburn were top of the league

[@seanthompson6859]

And Coventry were still in the League. Wow

[@genericaccount2056]

They won the league only a couple of years later

[@skullyjunior3589]

Norwich, QPR, COVENTRY??? Wow

[@AlisonBryen]

Jeez Ally McCoist looked young back then...

[@thetruthistheanswer9668]

Leeds were the first to win the premier , who had eric cantona .cantona left Leeds for man utd for a record sum of 1.3 mill which is peanuts now

[@shmadfinn]

The credits include "ghost: Keith Ferrari." I'm just tickled pink by that! Many people missed it, I guess.

[@superblaster2]

Myself and some friends who were all around the ages of 12 and 14 at the time, watched this at home, and we were absolutely terrified by it! To this day, I still maintain it was one of the BBC's greatest triumphs!!

[@michellevickers2845]

Agreed!

[@TheChipmunk2008]

I utterly disagree, it was when they became dead to me.

[@1978rharris]

@@TheChipmunk2008 your personal dislike of the project proves nothing other than your inability to recognise quality product that induces genuine emotion, in this case: fear. Ghostwatch did what it set out to do and categorically proved that it was, in the vernacular…the dogs bollocks.

[@Loosecrewproductions]

John Kettley is a weather man, a weather man, a weather man, John Kettley is a weather man and so is Michael Fish.

[@IlSqueak]

And sooooo is Ian MacCaskill!! And sooo is Wincey Willis!!! I came here to post the exact same John Kettley comment. 10 YEARS too late

[@AlisonBryen]

@@IlSqueak it's never too late for Kettley related content!

[@indigoviperlondon8838]

@@IlSqueak that was the best song!!! Here in 2021

[@alilindsay4304]

Yep , I'm singing it too 😊

[@80srenaissance67]

Just sung it in my head , May 2024

[@53bunnies]

There's a good reason why so many people fell for it. It was broadcast at 9:25, that means that a lot of people watching other channels would have turned over and started watching at 9:30, thereby missing the introduction and screenone titles.

[@JJ-dm1df]

But there many good reasons why no adult shouldve believed it. Starting with the bad acting by multiple characters and the supposed possession of the host at the end.... I mean c'mon. I could go on but I think that says enough.

[@str4yk1dsw0rldd0minati0n]

J J I recon the main problem was the kids that watched. Even with the ending and proof they were children

[@neilhickman3436]

@@str4yk1dsw0rldd0minati0n I was a child. I wasn't an idiot.

[@str4yk1dsw0rldd0minati0n]

@@neilhickman3436 I'm not saying you were an idiot, I'm saying theres more of a chance of a kid thinking that its real since they're younger like I'm saying 5-10 year olds, they're more likely to believe something like this like at that age I believed a lot of stuff that was obviously bs but even when I was told it's bs I refused to agree its not true, a lot of kids around that age and around that time were probably trying to figure out whats still real and whats still fake

[@michellevickers2845]

@@neilhickman3436 I was 15 and my 16 year old boyfriend and I both fell for it!!! 🤣😬

[@johnfortnitekennedeez]

Even the continuity announcer sounded spooked at the end

[@sg-zd8eb]

Just imagine watching this bulletin feeling nervous, fearful, scared but so damn excited as the interminable minutes ticked down to 9:25pm and the intro and start to Ghostwatch.

[@MEpianist]

Thanks so much for this upload -- I've always dreamed of a TV wayback machine where you could dial in a time and location and see what was on.

[@repo136]

The days when a television programme's end credits could be broadcast uninterrupted without desperate and annoying glimpses into upcoming shows. No WAY could tv ever repeat this kind of shocking drama nowadays. Sadly.

[@datelbunboi2233]

repo136 inside no.9 is calling from the future

[@sillygoose635]

That's not true at all, shut up.

[@tylerl4320]

Inside Number 9: Am I a joke to you?

[@Stu_Kennedy]

Good point, well made.

[@superlegendary]

There's been at least 2 instances of Channel 4 promoting other shows during the ending credits of The Simpsons episode "Mother Simpson"!

[@Spenglenoodle]

The ghastly face of Dr Walpurgis, the distorted end audio and the shaken announcer, subtle things not actually in Ghostwatch but enhance the experience

[@MrGwarpy]

3:58 the way they used to show previews of the days scheduled shows is just pure nostalgia.

[@AyliCarper]

Get your hormones jangling

[@jrp101]

I saw this live when i was 11 and was scared shitless by it but loved it, cant believe the amount of complaints this caused, even i knew it was fake. Plus i stayed up all night to watch the all night 'vault of horror' thing on bbc 2. The days when Halloween would have some decent horror stuff on TV!

[@Magin1985]

I recorded the vault of horror and remember recording Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein. I never so much as watched Ghostwatch because i thought it looked boring as a child.

[@brody5211]

I like your style, have it on dvd now. Great memories

[@nickythehickey]

i know it’s been thirteen years, but the other day i was listening to an interview with the guy that made the ghostwatch documentary and he said that he’s been looking for that post broadcast announcement for years, and that he believes its basically lost media. very neat to get this recommended to me now

[@AlisonBryen]

Interesting...the psychic consultant on this show was Guy Lyon Playfair. He was a member of the Society for Psychical Research that actually worked on the Enfield Poltergeist case that inspired Ghostwatch. Most people know that Maurice Grosse worked on that case, but Lyon-Playfair assisted.

[@coolperson962]

Norwich? Coventry? Leeds? Wimbledon?!? Premier league?!?!?! Damn, this is scary

[@nwahnerevar9398]

Norwich in the Premier League is hardly surprising 😂

[@Stew782]

i was 8 and that image at the end to show of the next programme topped my fear that night... still get goose pimples now and im 28 lol

[@Retrotruffle]

I think one of the reasons why people fell for it was because during the week leading up to this program the bbc kept on showing trailers for this as a 'live' broadcast with no indication of it being a drama.

[@Schnorbs]

Ah, Helen Rollason. Hard to believe she died more than 10 years ago. Thank you for posting.

[@ianbentley7276]

more than 20 now :-(

[@LaMortDeLaMusique]

I vaguely remember back when they used to do those TV schedule things between shows up until the turn of the century. It's a shame they don't do that anymore.

[@danrogers7395]

"Persistent drizzly rain over the West country" I was 16 living at home in the Bristol suburbs. Next night we were all down the park with 10 Lamberts and a bottle of white lighting scaring the girls

[@Ropponmatsu2]

I love the ending with the face leering at you with no announcement....Ah....Doctor Terror's Vault of Horror....

[@TheYellowRobin]

Right at the end, the last moment sounds like a deep possessed voice :'D PIPES

[@Loosecrewproductions]

I like how the post show announcer sounds a little bit freaked out. Was he in his room alone doing this?

[@vid-o-rama]

That’s fantastic! Thanks for uploading that. It has to be my all time favourite BBC voice over moment! Lol

[@wez4517]

Oh my god that’s truly terrifying... Wimbledon beat Man Utd away!!!

[@NorthEastTrailRunner]

This programme scared the shit out of me when I was 16. It certainly did what it intended.

[@neilhickman3436]

Bit of a wimp were you?

[@michellevickers2845]

Yes I was 15 and my boyfriend was 16 and scared the crap out of us too!!!

[@Dead-Ball-Situation]

I remember watching it and falling for every line, feeling scared at the end. I was young and at home by myself too at the time. It wasn't until days later that I realised or was told, that it was all fictional haha.

[@neilhickman3436]

Young enough to fall for that, you were too young to be left alone.

[@michellevickers2845]

I fell for it and I was 15!!

[@daniellemeatnspud3373]

I was 9 when this was aired and i had nightmares till bonfire night!!!

[@stewartmcminn7773]

The ending then that image at 8 years old... jump scare

[@tammclean9276]

Ordered the dvd wanted to see this for ages as I was only 1 year old when it was aired 😂 . The sound of wind with the credits is creepy as fuck

[@Doughboy842]

I know right? Very creepy. I was only 5 years old at that time. Too young to remembered it lol

[@Joannehowe]

I would love to see this too! If I remember rightly, the demon presenter was called Dr Walpurgis and was played by Guy Henry who stars in 'Holby City' atm. Remember watching Vault Of Horror after Ghostwatch for an hour just to calm my nerves!!

[@zero15388]

that shit me up so bad as a kid

[@strongcoffee7]

The lovely Helen Rollason...taken too soon.

[@elseworlds5]

The Radio Times pre-publicity showed photos of Michael Parkinson, .Mike Smith & Sarah Greene, and I was lulled into thinking this was a factual programme taking a semi-humorous look at the beliefs and traditions of Halloween ... a misconception that persisted for a while after the show started as I wasn’t paying sufficient attention and missed the Screen One logo and the words “by Stephen Volk” under the principal cast list ... also the announcer describing it as a FILM, not a live broadcast! However, I got suspicious when the children came across as not-quite true, more as children acting a role ... think I also felt Sarah Greene was subtly different to her usual TV persona, although she played it well ... I’d seen her in acting roles before, such as in Dr Who, and this felt like a performance, albeit a naturalistic one. Then I took another look at the Radio Times listing, and took in the Cast List, which made it clear that while some of the actors were playing themselves, other characters were definitely fictional! But as Parkinson wandered off in a state of possession, I remember my mother remarking “A lot of people are going to believe this ...”

[@brucedanton3669]

And of course Michael Parkinson was on the cover of the Radio Times that week too for Ghostwatch of course, saying Do You Believe In Ghosts so then too was he not?!

[@brucedanton3669]

Actually what was said on the cover was Are You Afraid of Ghosts? rather than what I put before so too. But we were all led really by what was a drama and a sort of documentary so too at the same time of course?

[@BL1TZEN]

Brilliant television. BBC at it's finest. I bought it on DVD when it was released a few years back and loved it all over again. Yes it may look dated - But forget Blair Witch, Paranormal Activity, Insidious etc - Ghostwatch was where it was at before all these!

[@davidrowan6556]

pipes is the only ghost that ever scare me so much I was scared to get off the sofa

[@MicksKicks1]

OMG Ghostwatch, what a moment in all our young lives! lol

[@ilfsm96]

"Pipe dream," Ghostwatch, Mr Pipes, I see what you did there ;)

[@Stew782]

oh and btw awesome upload and many thanks!

[@jtotheroc]

What I'm more shocked at is that episodes of certain BBC series were only 5 minutes. One show comes on at 8:40, the next show at 8:45. Usually shows are a half hour long (i.e. 8:00 to 8:30, then 8:30 to 9:00) is this due to the BBC not hanging commercials??

[@channelfadge7438]

where does it say this? the only short program I can see was the 10 minute news bulletin at 9:10

[@insdmia]

I have a question...at the end, after the broadcast, did the announcer know what was going on (the calls, the panic, etc.) or was the voice-over pre-recorded? He sounds a bit like "Well, should I say something about it or what?" Love the whole channel.

[@daweller]

He became possessed

[@arizonabay6]

@ptremote People missed it due to a film on ITV. They switched over to the BBC after it had started and were suckered in.

[@ChubbyChecker182]

The sports presenter at the beginning, Helen Rollason, died only a few years after this.

[@jayops]

We need something like this happen in the United States! That would shit my pants.

[@Foebane72]

It already did, it's called Orson Welles' War of the Worlds.

[@Doughboy842]

I think the Blair witch movie in 1999 was the same idea but found footage style.

[@elliotttalksf1825]

It even says at the start it’s a film with a cast. How could people think this was real?

[@radioactivepotato2068]

Six and a half minutes of BBC without a single mention of racism or transphobia. Imagine that.

[@mrjones29]

Helen looking very lovely back then. RIP lady.

[@Card_lol]

Damn wish we had something like this in America

[@Colddirector]

It's not supernatural, but you guys did have Special Bulletin which follows the same sort of fake live broadcast format

[@suchanhachan]

@@Colddirector Actually, Ghostwatch is very reminiscent of Orson Welles and his famous radio presentation of War of the Worlds. He presented the story as a series of live news reports interrupting other programs. Many people who tuned in late missed the introduction and were very alarmed by the reports of strange, alien goings-on...

[@mazzylinwood1288]

We do it's called the news.

[@Card_lol]

@@mazzylinwood1288 I was referring to Ghostwatch

[@Blu3tube]

the announcer at the end sounded genuinly spooked too, kinda lost his composure

[@jonnyhaw]

That intro makes it pretty clear it's only a drama - how did people fall for it?!

[@daweller]

Someone mentioned it came on at a time when people would switch channels, so many would have missed the intro.

[@Dead-Ball-Situation]

But you aren't going to know that if you missed the beginning credits. And if you're a kid, you're even less likely to heed it.

[@dunebasher1971]

He would have been alone in his booth, but there would have been three or four people on the other side of the glass in the control room.

[@Retrotruffle]

@pantsonhisheadkid It was broadcast at around 9:30 on a Saturday, the listings in this clip are showing what is on on Sunday.

[@Martin9476]

Remember the days when we have just four TV channels? And no internet? Television was so much more interesting. Today's TV is rubbish.

[@clammyhippo]

No it’s not, your just watching the rubbish instead of taking 2 minutes to find something good

[@sillygoose635]

No, it's not rubbish, and TV was horrible back then,

[@VermyScrubs]

@@sillygoose635 Forgive me, American here that only went to Britain once but isn’t Channel 4 currently in scandal concerning their output? Ngl I would rather watch 90s 1, 2, ITV and 4 then now. And the less said about 5 the better…

[@danielwilliamson6180]

The announcer should had said that Ghostwatch was unsuitable for younger viewers.

[@neilhickman3436]

Fuck that. They should have been in bed.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

@@neilhickman3436 "Ghostwatch is unsuitable for younger viewers and we strongly advise that they go to bed right now."

[@neilhickman3436]

@@danielwilliamson6180 oh no, I've let my kids stay up past the watershed and they've seen something they shouldn't have! How could I have avoided this without someone spelling it out to my dumb ass? How??

[@danielwilliamson6180]

@@neilhickman3436 You're not a dumbass. Don't say that. The BBC should had been more responsible when airing Ghostwatch and so should the parents. That's why we have classifications on DVDs and video games.

[@neilhickman3436]

@@danielwilliamson6180 your response doesn't make sense. Classifications 🤣 Did you really not watch an 18 film until you were 18?! 9pm is the watershed. Adult content can be shown afterwards. This started at 9.25. Noting more to say. No matter many idiots were scared.

[@robertwright7937]

Nearly 30 years.......that's even scarier.....

[@MultiVince95]

Saturday 31st October 1992

[@minusdagreez8817]

i used to love the fact they had a guy talking each time a programme finished lol

[@Concreteowl]

The perm was truly terrifying, what's more she probably paid good money to have it done to herself.

[@conor0044]

I bet most viewers got one final scare at the image at the very end :)

[@bluefrogTV_]

I bet the spirits also took over the continuity at the very end.

[@pikmak920]

Saw this when I was really young on Halloween 1992. I think I started watching some minutes in so missed the part with the opening credits and just thought it was a live broadcast. Pretty sure many other people did the same. Unless you were there watching on the night you'll never ever know the horror that so many of us experienced. Doubt they'll ever pull off anything like that again, especially not on the dull PC 21st century BBC.

[@qynzeljones]

Pik Mak you forgot about Dead Line, that Inside No. 9 episode.

[@pikmak920]

@@qynzeljones never saw that. :P

[@sheisveryfamous]

Lesley Joseph without makeup is the scariest thing in this video 😵😝

[@emmabarrow6509]

I remember people talking about it in school my mum turned off before it got scary

[@Simsla73]

I was 19 and don’t mind admitting I was scared Poo-less 💩. Oh the good old days

[@l0u13__3]

It’s weird to see cov and Leeds

[@lugwalder]

Wimbledon winning at Manchester United,my how times change.

[@Retrotruffle]

@insdmia He sounds like he's trying to make light of the situation, the sh1t is probably already hittng the fan and he knows it.

[@Lilmonkmonk]

haha class, nowt changes, Newcastle getting beat 3rd time in a week lol. COME ON THE TOON!

[@willlovesgaz]

love it

[@desertrose1226]

Is that the newsreader Helen Rollason? She looked so young, and she died young too.

[@pantsonhisheadkid]

So it was broadcast fairly early if it was finished by 7:15. I sought of imagined it was broadcast at nighttime.

[@thebradc]

It was broadcast at 925pm

[@vincelockyer]

Pipes is interfering with the news too 😩

[@GoatMalp]

Wooooooooo COYS!!!

[@MathRaven1910]

The only scary thing here is QPR,Blackpool and Coventry at the Premier League this time lol

[@ajwithnoname5527]

Rip Helen.

[@andrewnorth170]

I liked Vault of Horror☺

[@jdmaine51084]

I don't get it... what am I looking at/for?

[@TheStevenWhiting]

Possibly the bit before ghostwatch starts they essentially tell you indirectly that it's not real and just a drama. But people complained anyway saying they were scared and should of been given a warning it wasn't all real. This shows they were given a warning.

[@kay-marie1076]

+Steven Whiting He doesn't actually say that its not real. It just say the line between fact and fiction.

[@FFSIDIED87]

Wimbledon beat Man united 1-0 and Blackburn, Norwich, QPR, Arsenal and Coventry in the top 5 after 13/14 games....wow LOL

[@Rogue66669]

How the might Australians have fallen in rugby union

[@hungrywolffilms]

Announcer = Mark Waddington

[@TheDEATHSTARIII]

I hate last of the summer wine

[@AlisonBryen]

Dragon lair Oh Lord me too!!!!

[@desertrose1226]

I loved it when I was little...lol hate it now tho.

[@RumPirate]

lol exactly "using the modern idiom" you couldn't say that now as everyone would be twittering and phoning to ask what an idiom is.

[@zoewells3160]

Shut up Boomer literally everybody knows what an idiom is. It’s not some arcane term. And even if they somehow didn’t, there’s a thing called google these days, unlike then.

[@zoewells3160]

And hey, aren’t you the generation that actually believed this thing was real? Think about that before insulting the intelligence of other generations

[@jaythosonmp439]

Wait! If that was you at the end and you messing with the news...then who was flickering the lights * click click click * NOSFARATU 👉👆👉👆👉

[@francis1971]

@shanepoole That is in fact untrue.

[@creadcharles]

/i love the old weather reports. They made it look like shit nowadays

[@sillygoose635]

Nah, it was shit back then.

[@ahuman9864]

2 nil Spurs over Liverpool.

[@scousemouseuk]

i was 7 years old when i watched ghostwatch and i can be truthfull and say that it fucked my head up for a good few years i wouldnt sleep alone or with the light of or nothing, i should sue bbc for that lol,

[@carlingblacklabel2864]

2:40 Ayrton Senna's got the voice of a tenor Peter Snow sings very low Mark Barano is a soprano and John Kettley, John Kettley, John Kettley is a weatherman John Kettley is a weatherman a weatherman a weatherman John Kettley is a weatherman and so is Michael Fish Simon Parkin's always larkin Eric Lane is the same Jonathan Ross collects moss and John Kettley, John Kettley, John Kettley is a weatherman Lester Piggot couldn't dig it David Icke rides a bike Richard Keys has got no knees and John Kettley, John Kettley, John Kettley is a weatherman Debbie Thrower's got a lawnmower Johnny Marr he plays guitar David Steele lives in Keele and John Kettley, John Kettley, John Kettley is a weatherman Chuck Knox has blue socks Andy Crane has got no brain Bernard Davy left the navy and John Kettley, John Kettley, John Kettley is a weatherman John Kettley is a weatherman a weatherman a weatherman John Kettley is a weatherman and so is Michael Fish and so is Billy Giles and so is Ian McGaskill so is Wincy Willis

[@Chewy0424]

Well Sunday night looked like a crock of shit TV wise, that's for sure!