![\"m5fhkaktelcghrv6ykvkvjuatquso75tcxtdpbdidw8r8n4v.jpg.jpg?w=1140&v=2\"](\"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/m5fhkaktelcghrv6ykvkvjuatquso75tcxtdpbdidw8r8n4v.jpg.jpg?w=1140&v=2\")
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Our awesome intern, Lola \u2013 yes, we\u2019ve somehow landed ourselves an intern to bring you extra content \u2013 is taking a deeper look into some of the topics we\u2019ve covered on the podcast, going way beyond IMDb and Wikipedia.<\/strong><\/p> She\u2019ll be writing regular pieces for our Substack, Patreon, and the blog here, starting right now with her background feature on <\/strong>Ghostwatch<\/u><\/em> from Episode 18<\/u><\/strong><\/a>. Enjoy her article below, and if you haven\u2019t subscribed to the <\/strong>Substack<\/u><\/strong><\/a> or <\/strong>Patreon<\/u><\/strong><\/a> yet, make sure you check those out too!<\/strong><\/p> There are some people who argue that the horror genre has stagnated a bit since the heyday of the classic American slasher. For some, we seem to have hit a point of diminishing returns when it comes to being terrified: an event horizon from which we become desensitised to almost any horribleness that we might encounter on the big screen. There is, however, one recent innovation to the genre that cannot be ignored and that is the found footage genre, which breaks down the barriers between real and fake, and brings new fears to the fore. But where did this come from?<\/p> Fifty-six years after Orson Welles\u2019 notorious war of the worlds radio programme, and seven years before the release of the Blair Witch Project, the BBC was to release a fictional broadcast that is still talked about to this day. Filmed in the same studios as the Shining, Ghostwatch was a 91 minute made for TV film that forewent the fake blood and jump-scares, instead using clever writing and camera trickery to make moments that would terrify the nation. Despite never being repeated on the BBC, its place in horror film history is assured. I\u2019m not arguing that writer Stephen Volk single-handedly brought the mockumentary into the horror sphere, but if found footage is a hurricane, then Ghostwatch was definitely a dark cloud on the horizon.<\/p> If there is one thing you know about Ghostwatch you know that it was convincing, and if your first thought when it is brought up is of Michael Parkinson or Craig Charles, it is likely that your second thought goes back to another infamous fake broadcast. War of the Worlds, a radio adaptation by Orson Welles, includes a fake breaking news bulletin well known for causing mass hysteria and national panic through its heavily realistic style, and acting notes lifted from genuine reactions to the Hindenburg disaster.<\/p> \u201cOh the humanity .. I don\u2019t- I can\u2019t talk to people, ladies and gentlemen. Honestly just laying down there is the smoking wreckage and everybody can\u2019t hardly breathe.\u201d <\/em>- Hindenburg reporter reaction, taken as a reference for actors in War of the Worlds.<\/p><\/blockquote> This particular broadcast from 1938 is very well known, but was slightly blown out of proportion by the media and by Welles himself and while some people were genuinely convinced, it was not all-out mass hysteria as people tend to believe. The theory that people switched over from another programme during a musical interlude, thereby missing the disclaimer at the beginning, has been largely refuted.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> There were other precursors to Ghostwatch, however, that were not fabricated, at least not by a production crew. In the 1970s, the Enfield Poltergeist gripped the imagination of the country. Like Ghostwatch would do, it took place in a normal suburban house, inhabited by a single mother, with the haunting focusing on two of her young daughters. 11 year old Janet Hodgson recalled feeling used and abused by the spirit for that peculiar period from 1977 to 1979, and whether you believe in the case or not, the circumstances are very similar. Another thing that ties the \u201creal\u201d haunting with the mock-up is the amount of eyewitnesses. 30 independent witnesses verified the Hodgson family\u2019s claims, including a press reporter, BBC investigator, psychic researchers, and religious leaders. In Ghostwatch, there is a small army of experts called in to give their two cents on the haunting on Fox Lane.<\/p> Indeed, the cast of Ghostwatch stand out as crucial to the realism, making use of real life television presenters. Michael Parkinson acts as the film\u2019s main presenter, providing a synoptic device through which the story can progress at a natural rhythm while retaining its documentary style. At the time he had been known and trusted as a chat show host for twenty years, and was especially trusted as a thorough and authentic voice in entertainment. This meant that people had a real belief in the show from the beginning; whether they knew it was fake or not, the inclusion of Parkinson would be very effective.<\/p> Parkinson also appears as himself in Love Actually (2003)!<\/p> Supporting Parkinson outside the studio was children\u2019s TV presenter Sarah Greene. Like Parkinson, her presence lent the programme an air of legitimacy and reflected the implicit expectations and values of BBC audiences at the time. Her previous dramatic credits for the BBC included the Doctor Who<\/u><\/a> Serial Attack of the Cybermen, and she was also a former presenter of Blue Peter, although I\u2019m pretty sure there is no badge in the world for this.<\/p> Completing the ground-team was Craig Charles, also known as Dave Lister in the TV show Red Dwarf. His presence was intended to bring an element of comedic relief to the film, relying on his natural style of humour to further convince people that the production was live and off the cuff. Overall, these three presenters represented the intentions of the director Leslie Manning to create a story that was not only entertaining but thoroughly believable. Perhaps the best piece of evidence that the production team did not intend to cause a national panic is the fact that such lengths were taken to draw the viewer in by blurring the lines between filmic diegesis and real life. If the team thought people would genuinely believe in the programme, they would not have put such consideration into its effectiveness.<\/p> \u201cNo creaking gates, no gothic towers, no shuttered windows, but over the past ten months this house has been the focus on an astonishing barrage of supernatural activity\u201d<\/em> - Michael Parkinson, Ghostwatch.<\/p><\/blockquote> Ultimately, the direction was a success in making the programme seem like it was occurring live, even though it was scripted and filmed months prior. This meant that the many spooky moments ended up landing with their full weight. The plot follows the Early Family: Mother Pamela and daughters Suzanne and Kim. They are being haunted by a malicious entity that lives under the stairs in what the family refer to as the \u201cGlory Hole\u201d - accessed only via a small, boarded up door. This entity, nicknamed \u201cPipes\u201d is visible only in eight blink-and-you\u2019ll-miss-it shots, each time appearing as a tall man with scratches on his face and a missing eye. He also does not appear limited by geography, appearing in the studio as well as the house.<\/p> 6 Frames in which the apparition, \u201cPipes,\u201d is visible<\/p> Over the course of the film, Kim and Suzanne are increasingly possessed and menaced by the ghost, and things in the studio begin to break down. The climactic ending was viewed by 11 million people and implied the disappearance not only of the fictional character Suzanne Early but also presenter Sarah Greene. The triumph of Pipes, successfully using the programme to enter the homes of people who tuned in to watch, is the final stroke of evil genius that broke down the barrier between reality and fiction entirely.<\/p>![\"fpji9eimlbftbbz4thsc0ae6ft4m6kfpjkrrjr7ufqoqizru.jpg.jpg?w=1140&v=2\"](\"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/fpji9eimlbftbbz4thsc0ae6ft4m6kfpjkrrjr7ufqoqizru.jpg.jpg?w=1140&v=2\")
<\/p>![\"noxgs6d5xsbwv35ellkdvkm7x7hjcns64msaaubgu8af57vz.jpg.jpg?w=1140&v=2\"](\"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/noxgs6d5xsbwv35ellkdvkm7x7hjcns64msaaubgu8af57vz.jpg.jpg?w=1140&v=2\")
Image of supernatural activity, shown as a part of the Ghostwatch TV special<\/p>![\"8ldfwupib3vbjlz0m7hhw9ucofliecqvpynuucycvzzikhrh.jpg.jpg?w=1140&project=general-witchfinders-253396&v=2\"](\"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/8ldfwupib3vbjlz0m7hhw9ucofliecqvpynuucycvzzikhrh.jpg.jpg?w=1140&project=general-witchfinders-253396&v=2\")
Iconic Enfield Poltergeist image captured by Graham Morris for the Daily Mirror<\/p>![\"svcmyp8sy25yni2gnt98lqyyjzvhwconnrmiiv9lrjce5men.jpg.jpg?w=1140&v=2\"](\"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/svcmyp8sy25yni2gnt98lqyyjzvhwconnrmiiv9lrjce5men.jpg.jpg?w=1140&v=2\")
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