The BBC's Most Controversial TV Show - Inside A Mind

in 1992 the BBC broadcast one of the most controversial shows it would ever have in its entire history spawning more than 30,000 phone calls in just the space of an hour along with the first ever reports of children being diagnosed with PTSD from a TV programme this is the story of ghost watch before we continue however whether it being the month of Halloween it's a time where everyone is looking for a scary story and that's why this video is sponsored by audible orrible has the biggest selection of audiobooks in the entire world making it the perfect place to find some scary stories and what better place to start than Stephen King himself he's just released a brand new story called the Institute which is about kids with special abilities waking up in a mysterious facility called the Institute it's available on audible right now and I'm currently listening to it while I'm either script writing driving somewhere or just playing a game if you visit audible.com slash inside a mind or text inside a mind to 500 500 you can get a 30-day free trial with a free audiobook and two audible originals so you can get the Institute by Stephen King for free or get some of his other books which let's face it is probably something I'm gonna be doing once you've purchased your audiobook it's yours to keep even if you cancel your membership also every month you're signed up you actually get a free credit meaning you get to choose a free audiobook every month no matter the price and if you don't use your credit it'll roll over into the next month sign up now by visiting the link in the description audible.com slash inside a mind or text inside a mind - 500 500 that's inside of mine - 500 500 or audible.com slash inside a mind in October of 1988 a horror writen known as Stephen Volk a six-part supernatural series featuring a young female presenter exploring haunted houses throughout Britain he wanted to present the final episode in the style of a live broadcast where everything would go horribly wrong and the supernatural would take over his agent later came back asking if it was possible to condense the six-part series into a one-hour special to air on Halloween night Stephen agreed but suggested they do it like episode 6 and have it set like a live broadcast giving the illusion that it was real Stephens reasoning was that the scariest or most enjoyable stories he read or saw on-screen when he was a kid were tales that presented themselves as if they actually happened like Bram Stoker's Dracula the story is completely fictional but the book is structured in a way that gives us the impression these events actually happened after discussing this with his agent she was excited by the idea and production for ghost watch was finally underway on Saturday night we'll be visiting the most haunted house in Britain Stephen wanted to add even more to the realism of ghost watch by getting celebrities everyone in the UK would know playing themselves he brought in Michael Parkinson as the host who will be watching the events unfold from the studio Michael was a well trusted TV and radio presenter at the time welcome my very special guest tonight was born Richard Jenkins son of a miner in South Wales from the humblest of beginnings he shaped for himself a career in stage and film and became one of the world's greatest actors as well as being one of the richest the young reporter on the scene investigating the haunted house will be played by children's presenter Sarah green whose husband Mike Smith apparently read the script too and loved it so much that he asked if he could be in it as well which Stephen Volks jumped at the opportunity to have a husband and wife dynamic on the show he will be taking viewers phone calls in the studio along with Michael Parkinson there was also a third performer for the show Craig Charles who was currently on the hit UK sitcom Red Dwarf step up the red alert sir are you absolutely sure it does mean changing the bulb something like this had never really been attempted before this was before the internet before even the Blair Witch Project came out along with a found-footage genre reality and fiction had been separated for the most part on TV you could definitely tell when one show with science fiction and another was a documentary or a news program on real-life events but over time that gap between the two slowly started shrinking being able to see what was real and fiction were becoming harder a big example of this would be during 1977 arguably ghost watch's biggest inspiration being filled poltergeist where a BBC documentary took place in a council house in brims down after a mother of two daughters claimed to be experiencing paranormal activity what sort of a case is this in your experience well I think probably the best case this century in fact as far as documentation says the poltergeist seemed to have latched on to the door to Janet having recordings of her speaking with the voice of a man and pictures of her levitating in the air but throughout the investigation more things came to light making the whole thing a lot more questionable at one point a camera had supposedly spotted Janet in the kitchen bending spoons and trying to bend an iron bar along with photos that could suggest she wasn't actually levitating in this picture but rather jumping even some skeptics reminding everyone that Janet was a school sports champion at the time the idea that this could be real or completely fake was fascinating it had people engaged and investigating themselves tuning in and watching the kids as every move during their interviews seeing if they could spot mistake that would help them confirm on whether or not the two girls were telling the truth having that skeptic mind that not everything you see on TV is real was something Stephen Volk was wanting to convey with ghost watch because television was at a transitioning period at the time taking certain pieces of the truth and adding elements of fiction very similar to what we see now with news and media trying to explain this to the producers at the BBC though became a chore as there were no known examples available at the time to help explain exactly what they were trying to do many of the producers were hesitant with the thought of presenting something fictional as completely real so they suggested the only way they're going to allow this show to happen is if they take some precautions before it airs first one being that they add writing credits at the end along with the BBC announcer mentioning that it's a fictional story before the show begins along with the BBC studio screen one intro appearing at the beginning within the special that was also going to be a phone number the audience could call up and talk about their ghost experiences so the BBC made a pre-recorded answering machine that explained the whole thing was fictional before asking them to go on and tell their paranormal stories there was also a section added in the Radio Times before the premiere where the creator's explained it was a drama piece they created for Halloween the teasers and promos for the show were also promoted as a drama the only place where it didn't tell you it was fiction was the episode itself now are we you see one screen one presents an unusual and sometimes disturbing film marking Halloween over the centuries there have been countless reports of ghosts and ghouls but the line between fact and fiction has always been unclear using the modern idiom of the outside broadcast Michael Parkinson Sarah Greene Mike Smith and Craig Charles star in ghost watch tonight's the night 9:25 p.m. on the 31st of October 1992 ghost watch will air in front of 11 million people one of the highest viewing figures ever first stand-alone UK special however for the next hour the BBC estimated around 20 to 30,000 phone calls were all coming in at once causing the BBC switchboard to be jammed meaning the pre-recorded message telling viewers it was all fictional no longer played for future callers the program we're about to watch is a unique live investigation of the supernatural it contains material which some viewers may find to be disturbing I'm joined in the studio by dr. Lynn Pascoe to give her experts technical advice Michael Parkinson introduces us to the show explaining how they'll be spending the night in a haunted house on the outskirts of London live the phone lines are now open and anyone can call in to help to show you for the first time in refutable proof that ghosts really do exist right this part of the studio is your part of the studio this evening because this is the phone number we'd like you to call us on visiting the location the house itself is currently owned by a family of three a mother and two daughters who have all witnessed several paranormal experiences while living there including this piece of footage that was captured earlier in the week featuring items being thrown around in the children's bedroom were introduced to create Charles and Sarah Greene who explained to us how all the ghost hunting equipment was going to work before speaking to the family about their paranormal experiences a few days later these terrible noises woke me coming from the walls like back like a thudding or all around you yes like the whole room was going to come apart what sort of a noise was it I said it was pipes that central heating so afterwards whenever Kim heard something she'd say it's pipes pipes is here meanwhile back at the studio we get a call from someone who claims they saw something strange during the footage of the girls in the bedroom killer Emma Emma hello hello I did have a story but there's actually something else I'd like to say to dr. Pascoe you know at the beginning when you showed the real footage of that haunted bedroom but I was sure I could see a figure standing behind against the wall just by the current um I've I've got eight or nine phone calls here which are like endless table foods we had earlier on they too have seen a mysterious dark figure dark mysterious figure doctor sequence reading it now this is a point where Emma Stableford our caller says you could identify that dark mysterious figure only playing the footage back we can clearly see some kind of figure stood by the curtain while the children sleep but when the paranormal investigator asks for the footage to be played back again the mysterious figure is missing before rewinding it back for a third time to reveal that it may have just been a dressing-gown this isn't the only time we witness a mysterious figure appearing in the background of shots throughout the entire special we see something lurking around waiting for its moment at one point during the special Michael Parkinson and the paranormal investigator began listening to a recorded tape from one of her previous investigations while trying to communicate with ghosts for a brief shot we can make out a figure standing right behind her why have you brought it up like this thing all of a sudden the door stuck what somebody was trying was pushing it from outside and you were inside by this time when I was in there I swear I was God's my witness I heard I felt this man in there with me as the time passes 10 o'clock Sara takes the children to bed while Craig interviews said of the neighbors who have heard mysterious goings on about the house or they just simply have their own paranormal experiences to share can tell you about some of the things that have been going on around here well we live opposite permit number 43 one night ago now we had all this banging so we went to the front door and it was obviously it's coming from Pam's house what did you see well the top window was smashed and Pam and Kimmy are in the garden crying it's not very funny I mean some really weird and horrible things happen around here but what kind of weird things well there was that me a girdle that went missing what judy judy well and youngest son Garrity came running into the house in a real estate so when I calmed him down it seemed that they've been playing in here and they found this dead black Labrador and how it died back at the home we hear a huge banging sound coming from upstairs one of the girls is missing from their bed they use the landing cameras to pan around quickly and see the truth the story wasn't over yet while everyone seems to believe the haunting is now an open-and-shut case Mike Smith who's been handling the phone lines claims there was still reports coming through about the mysterious figure being sighted throughout the special all from completely different people but all with the exact same description well the strange thing is that we're still getting calls about that shadowy figure that was seen in the haunted bedroom they're generally all saying that it's an old man or a woman bald with a skull like head dark eyes or some are just saying holes for eyes and wearing a black robe or address which is buttoned up to the neck pulled over his head now do you see what he's got a description exam scoffs crap Mike Springer get on the phones wearing a black dress black she says it's like then what do you say well we were drawn to assuming it was Suzanne at the centromere this because she's at puberty but what if she is and what if his kid we'd be looking at the wrong person exactly as they travel back to the scene the show begins to derail into madness following the sound of cats screaming from the basement all the way to technology issues taking place followed by a caller coming online to explain the real story behind the haunting and who the ghost really wants I work a social worker when he came out of psychiatric hospital in several convictions for molestation aggravated abuse abduction of - he was a very disturbed man in my opinion he took his own life that's why I called when I heard when I was sitting here watching the TV did he where he kept his tools under the stairs it was 12 days before anybody found him they heard the cat screaming the cats were locked in of course of course 12 days the footage ends with the studio falling into darkness and Michael Parkinson being fully taken over by the spirit who's been haunting the whole show as he slowly walks towards the camera while the screen turns to black it is of course Halloween and if you are with us for our guests watch earlier may I reassure you that it was just a story we never meant to fool the audience but I also think that you've betrayed the trust that the audience has within the BBC well I thought it was one sick joke the way that it was based around children why did you have to bring the Stewart children into it in less than 12 hours every newspaper you could think of in the UK were reporting on ghost watch and how so many people were shocked and horrified by what they saw many people called in to the BBC expressing their disgust others saying they were having paranormal experiences while the show was airing apparently one woman according to Stephen himself called into the studio asking for compensation for a new pair of trousers because her husband soiled himself while watching the show another caller was from a vicar who said he knew it wasn't real but by airing it on TV they somehow summoned real demons Stephen was also heckled by a woman from his local off-licence expressing her anger about her son being too scared to sleep the lady serving my local off-licence said I've got a bone to pick with you my son wouldn't sleep till we took the Luminess skeleton off the back of his bedroom door to which I thought what is he doing with a luminous skeleton the back of his door in the first place despite having many comical responses to the show one of the worst things to come from all of this was the tragic death of a young boy known as Martin Denham aged 18 he had a mental age of 13 and was a slow learner but five days after watching the programme he took his own life with a suicide note saying if there are ghosts then I will be with you always as a ghost Martin's home had faulty pipes which made the same banging noises as described in the original program this of course fuelled the ammunition of the already angry mob causing the BBC to backtrack and pull all mentions of ghost watch from the general public allegedly ghost watch was nominated for a BAFTA that very year but the BBC made efforts to have it removed and never mentioned the Radio Times was also ordered by the BBC to never mention it again Stephen would later work on future paranormal shows for the BBC but not once would ghost watch ever be brought up during those productions it only got worse for the BBC a report came out two years later mentioning ghost watch and how some children had been diagnosed with PTSD from that very show making it the very first program to have reports causing something like that this looked like the end of ghost watch ready to disappear into the abyss never to be mentioned again for nearly a decade the BBC pretended like the show didn't exist that is until the internet forums introduced themselves a fan base for the show began to appear online people claiming they watched the show as a kid and while they were still traumatized they weren't angry at the show for scaring or giving the illusion that it was real in fact they loved it for that very reason some even inspired by it causing them to venture into the film industry as a job once they were old enough or their favorite genre in movies became horror suddenly a completely different side of the audience was coming to the surface on its 10-year anniversary the BBC finally acknowledged its existence and announced a DVD release along with an essay written up by stephen volcko by the 14 times explaining his personal side of the story in spite of the vitriolic reaction in some quarters over the past 10 years ghost watch has created a loyal fan base who got it and loved it apparently pirate videos were available on the black market for 50 pounds and I've been told by university professors that almost every year at least one student immediate studies will want to do their dissertation on coast watch ghost watch is a fascinating case study into how easily people can be trusting in media and television Stephen himself said in his essay about ghost watch that he wanted the show to be a message on modern TV and what it's becoming how that line between reality and fiction is becoming more and more blurred a documentaries main focus is about telling an interesting story and facts are just a bonus if you even have them news outlets are more focused on what makes a good headline rather than the con next off the story shows like ghost watched the Blair Witch Project Marble Hornets are a certain type of media a lot of people watch when they were young and just like the Enfield haunting they were looking at the screen in tentatively trying to figure out if it was real or fiction I think that's a healthy thing to experience at some point in your life learning that not everything you see is true to this day the BBC have never aired ghost watch again it can be found on the internet archives which is where it remains thank you guys for watching I also want to say one last thank you to audible for sponsoring this video take care everyone [Music]

Channel: undefined

Views: 3,204,170

Rating: 4.9343948 out of 5

Keywords: The BBC's Most Controversial TV Show - Inside A Mind, Ghostwatch, Ghostwatch behind the curtains, Inside A Mind, Inside No.9, This Show Went Horribly Wrong, mysterious, Inside No.9 Live

Id: uO2oeiGdGlM

Length: 20min 24sec (1224 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 15 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Boredzilla]

I remember this. I'd have been 11 or 12 when it was on. A friend and I started watching it after the beginning, so we didn't know anything about it being fake. Towards the end, it became pretty obvious, even to a couple of kids, but I was definitely feeling pretty uneasy. The bit I remember most was when the camera caught a shot of a random guy that wasn't supposed to be there as it panned across a room, then quickly snapped back only to find nobody there. I remember my friend and I looking at each other like WTF.

[u/jetpatch]

I was 11 at the time. Most knew it was fake 10 mins in but their was a hard core of suggestable true believers who were not only convinced they kept trying to convince everyone else it was real for weeks afterwards, even after every media outlet had said it was a fake.

[u/Digitek50]

The 1984 nuclear war docu drama 'Threads' is another one. Terrifying stuff.

[u/irridisregardless]

For those who want to know more before going in, the show is Ghostwatch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostwatch

[u/Peachicidal]

Just a heads up: it was first broadcast in 1992, according to all sources including the BBC.

[u/soulmole80]

I was 12, and as per OPs comment, nothing like this had been done. Scared the ever living shit out of me

[u/its_never_lupus]

You can watch the original Ghostwatch film here https://archive.org/details/Ghostwatch.

If you don't mind some spolers I'd recommend reading https://parapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Ghostwatch first which includes timestamps of the ghost sightings in the film, as a couple of them are easy to miss.

[u/throwaway89788978321]

This programme shat me up. You have to remember that the BBC as an institution was a very straight laced, dependable broadcaster, and this was years before reality TV. We'd switched over from ITV, and being the naive kid I was assumed this was legit. (I chickened out before the end when it went balls out crazy, so I literally went to bed terrified at the noises of the central heating ticking over.) Nowadays it's so easy to quash paranormal claims, you just rewatch stuff on YouTube and hardly anything stands up to repeat viewing. But back then, when there was no way of actually scrutinising it, you kinda just lapped it up as gospel. It was a great idea, executed perfectly at the time, really made you question what TV was and how it presented things as truth.

[u/politedave82]

I remember this like it was yesterday. I was 10 and had adults around me who made it clear it was fake, so didn’t get scared / any issues following it.

But this has come up in many a conversation with people my age who had very very different experiences.

Pipes the ghost!