Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains

In June, 2008, just as things started to get going on the BtC pre-production front, Steve Volk mentioned that he was due to give a talk, partly on Ghostwatch, for the University of Glamorgan's upcoming ' Space. Time. Machine. Monster ' conference. Realising this could be a great opportunity to learn more about the original film, it didn't take long for me to find my railcard and board the next train bound for Cardiff. As I stepped out onto the platform at Treforest, I found myself amongst a towering band of verdant hillsides. The view was just spectacular. The university is only a short stroll down the road from the station… followed by just one or two ‘endurance-style’, uphill treks (but then, I was lugging some bulky camera cases...). After meeting Steve in the lobby, we entered Theatre 2 and checked out the scene. By the very nature of the vast space that was made available to us, I had a feeling that recording the sound might be a problem. The only microp

Be sure to check out Mikerophonics - the official website of Ghostwatch star, and professional sound designer, Mike Aiton . ...also Unofficial Chairman of The Adrian Edmonson Lookalike Society - "Right On!"

Check out the new, official Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains forums over at: www.Ghostwatch.freeforums.org

Congratulations, Ghostwatch fans! By an impressive 51% of all votes taken, you have chosen this moment as being the most frightening glimpse of spook, Mr. Pipes ...

Many of our subscribers have asked, "just what is Mr. Pipes saying in this/that scene..?"

Thanks go to our Youtube subscriber ' execation ' for pointing this one out to us:

Head on over to the GhostwatchBtC Youtube page where you can check out FOUR brand new videos! 1. Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains - Happy Hallowe'en! Just in time for Hallowe'en comes this short collection of Ghostwatch secrets, which you may not have seen before...   2. Ghostwatch - The Voice (subtitled) For anyone who has ever wondered exactly what was being said during this classic scene...   3. Ghostwatch - Rare Alternate Voice Recording A rare, unseen version of the chilling 'tape recording' scene...   4. Ghostwatch - New Mr. Pipes Sighting? Is Mr. Pipes standing behind you for a ninth time?

Don't trust your eyes and don't believe what they tell you on TV.   To all those who remember Halloween night 1992 and watching the "live" broadcast of Ghostwatch on BBC1, get those ducking apples out and scoop out those pumpkins because Mr Pipes is out and about this and every October 31st! ..... If you are fans of the programme, please support filmmaker Richard Lawden's attempt to get Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains , a documentary on Ghostwatch , to your screens soon.   Till then... "Round and round the garden, like a teddy bear...." STEPHEN VOLK (Screenwriter , Ghostwatch ) (Photo Credit: Jonathan Hall - Clerkenwell Films/ITV)

A huge thank-you goes to Sir Michael Parkinson for choosing the next topic for his special, Hallowe'en-themed blog... Be sure to click the banner above and head on over to Sir. Michael's new official homepage, where you can read his very own Hallowe'en memories of working on Ghostwatch ... Week In Words (30.Oct.08)   If you want a really scary Halloween then buy, borrow or rent a DVD of ‘Ghostwatch’, a programme I appeared in 1992 and which caused such a panic at the BEEB it was never repeated.   ‘Ghostwatch’ was a television programme which visited a supposed haunted house in the forlorn hope of seeing a ghost. I played the host safely ensconced in a television studio and commenting on an outside broadcast from a council house with a sinister past where the other presenters got more than they bargained for.   The other reporters were Craig Charles, Mike Smith and Sarah Greene, all playing themselves, and it was this ploy of employing presenters in a seemingly re

I once read the key to any great horror story is that it “stays with you in the daylight”. For myself, and I’m sure countless others, this maxim holds true for Ghostwatch . But with so many other similarly conceived works of the genre already in existence, it's worth noting that few examples have demonstrated such influence, such power , over their audience than the controversial, Screen One drama special. By definition, Art is ineluctably dependant on the willingness of an audience to participate; as someone once said, “a painting has no music”. But assuming the key distinction between so-called ‘high’ and ‘low’ art is merely the breathing space, or perhaps freedom, to allow one’s imagination to fill in the gaps between fact and fiction, then Ghostwatch might very well be considered a masterpiece. With its surrealist themes and divisive villain, the film hit most of the marks required to one day be hailed as a worthy Horror flick, but it was the active participation of its vi

31.10.08