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Post by helrunar on Jan 19, 2021 1:25:51 GMT
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Post by ripper on Jan 20, 2021 16:23:09 GMT
I remember watching it and puzzling how anyone could think it was real. I am beginning to wonder if the storm it caused wasn't all it was cracked up to be, in a similar way to how Orson Wells' production of War of the Worlds was supposed to have led to panic in the US, but appears to have had nowhere near that effect in reality. Having said that, Ghostwatch is very entertaining, and the presence of BBC stalwarts like Michael Parkinson does add some credibility, though not enough for it to be taken as an actual documentary.
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Post by Dr Strange on Jan 20, 2021 17:23:13 GMT
I remember watching it and puzzling how anyone could think it was real. I am beginning to wonder if the storm it caused wasn't all it was cracked up to be, in a similar way to how Orson Wells' production of War of the Worlds was supposed to have led to panic in the US, but appears to have had nowhere near that effect in reality. Having said that, Ghostwatch is very entertaining, and the presence of BBC stalwarts like Michael Parkinson does add some credibility, though not enough for it to be taken as an actual documentary. Yes, I think a lot of it was people just complaining that it was too scary, rather than that they had thought it was real - with Michael Parkinson and kids TV presenters Sarah Green and Mike Smith being in it, they thought it would be a nice, cosy Halloween treat for the kids, despite it being broadcast in a post-watershed time slot. There were a few reports of young kids developing anxiety after watching it (though I think those reactions usually resolved themselves pretty quickly), and at least one suicide (a young adult with learning difficulties) was blamed on them having watched the show believing it was real.
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Post by ripper on Jan 20, 2021 19:10:06 GMT
I remember watching it and puzzling how anyone could think it was real. I am beginning to wonder if the storm it caused wasn't all it was cracked up to be, in a similar way to how Orson Wells' production of War of the Worlds was supposed to have led to panic in the US, but appears to have had nowhere near that effect in reality. Having said that, Ghostwatch is very entertaining, and the presence of BBC stalwarts like Michael Parkinson does add some credibility, though not enough for it to be taken as an actual documentary. Yes, I think a lot of it was people just complaining that it was too scary, rather than that they had thought it was real - with Michael Parkinson and kids TV presenters Sarah Green and Mike Smith being in it, they thought it would be a nice, cosy Halloween treat for the kids, despite it being broadcast in a post-watershed time slot. There were a few reports of young kids developing anxiety after watching it (though I think those reactions usually resolved themselves pretty quickly), and at least one suicide (a young adult with learning difficulties) was blamed on them having watched the show believing it was real. To be fair to the BBC, I suppose that wanting to present it as a documentary, like Springwatch, Foxwatch etc, it put them in a bit of a quandry, in that if they wanted people to think it was all live and real, they couldn't give too much of a warning of content as they weren't supposed to know what would happen during the broadcast. Yes, I agree, many people probably saw cuddly safe names like Parky, Sarah Green and Mike Smith and thought it would be kid friendly. Very sad that someone died as a result of thinking it was real. If that happened today can you imagine the reaction on social media? Back then it was a stiff letter to the BBC to complain or a question in the House, but today.......
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Post by Dr Strange on Jan 20, 2021 20:21:30 GMT
I was just trying to track down a bit more info on the suicide - not that it really makes any difference, but it seems that the reason for the suicide (according to the note they left) may have been that they wanted to become a ghost, rather than because of any actual psychological distress. Having said that, there were also a handful of younger children (aged between 10 and 14) who were given a diagnosis of PTSD after showing prolonged emotional problems that seemed to have been related to watching the show. Loads of good stuff here - www.stephenvolk.net/ghostwatch.html#I'd particularly recommend the clip from "Bite Back" (second video down).
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Post by Dr Strange on Jan 20, 2021 20:39:50 GMT
To be fair to the BBC, I suppose that wanting to present it as a documentary, like Springwatch, Foxwatch etc, it put them in a bit of a quandry, in that if they wanted people to think it was all live and real, they couldn't give too much of a warning of content as they weren't supposed to know what would happen during the broadcast. Yes, though I think they probably did everything they could (short of having something in the program itself constantly reminding viewers that it wasn't real, which would have been ridiculous - and no doubt would have had people complaining that it spoiled their enjoyment). Apparently the continuity announcer did say it was a drama before the program started, but I suppose a lot of people would have tuned in a bit late and missed that. They also had a recorded message for anyone who called the number given in the show, which would tell them that it wasn't real - but the switchboard system got so overloaded with people calling that the message wasn't getting played; callers would just get the "unobtainable" tone, which probably just made them more convinced that there really was something sinister happening.
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Post by helrunar on Jan 20, 2021 21:09:05 GMT
Interesting link, Dr Strange. Thanks!
H.
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Post by ripper on Jan 21, 2021 12:44:49 GMT
I was just trying to track down a bit more info on the suicide - not that it really makes any difference, but it seems that the reason for the suicide (according to the note they left) may have been that they wanted to become a ghost, rather than because of any actual psychological distress. Having said that, there were also a handful of younger children (aged between 10 and 14) who were given a diagnosis of PTSD after showing prolonged emotional problems that seemed to have been related to watching the show. Loads of good stuff here - www.stephenvolk.net/ghostwatch.html#I'd particularly recommend the clip from "Bite Back" (second video down). Thank you, Dr Strange, looks very interesting. If the announcer introduced it as a drama then that kind of gave the game away, and I didn't know about that number viewers could call. Yes, seems the Beeb were trying to point those concerned to the fact that it was all fake without explicitly saying so within the programme.
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Post by Dr Strange on Jan 21, 2021 20:43:13 GMT
The pre-broadcast announcement is in the third video clip on the Ghostwatch site, about the 7:20 mark. It's actually pretty subtle - they call it "an unusual and sometimes disturbing film" and say something about "using the modern idiom of the outside broadcast" - and I think you maybe could say they were really only doing the bare minimum, and that they might have realised that a lot of people probably wouldn't have quite got what they were saying. The "Bite Back" clip is interesting though - particularly the parents who all seem completely oblivious to the idea that they had any responsibility for what they were letting their kids watch after the 9pm watershed.
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Post by ripper on Jan 22, 2021 11:49:02 GMT
The pre-broadcast announcement is in the third video clip on the Ghostwatch site, about the 7:20 mark. It's actually pretty subtle - they call it "an unusual and sometimes disturbing film" and say something about "using the modern idiom of the outside broadcast" - and I think you maybe could say they were really only doing the bare minimum, and that they might have realised that a lot of people probably wouldn't have quite got what they were saying. The "Bite Back" clip is interesting though - particularly the parents who all seem completely oblivious to the idea that they had any responsibility for what they were letting their kids watch after the 9pm watershed. I was rather surprised that the Bite Back parents put forward the view that the 9pm watershed wasn't a real thing, and that something screened post-watershed just might not be suitable for their children. Ghostwatch started at 9.25pm and didn't have anything disturbing until 40 mins into the show. That's after 10pm, so well past watershed. I had a chuckle when the producer responded to someone saying about Parky, Green etc were not actors by stating that some people featured were indeed actors and had been in popular prime-time dramas in the past week. Some parents seemed to have forgotten that even back in 1992 TVs had these things called on/off switches, and I can't help thinking that if the worst those kids had experienced in their lives was a scare from a TV programme then they can count themselves lucky.
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Post by helrunar on Jan 22, 2021 13:36:42 GMT
My impression, rightly or wrongly, is that the parents of the person who committed suicide really needed a narrative where they had someone, or something, to blame for his death that had nothing to do with their own home and whatever had happened in it that ended with his demise.
H.
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Post by ripper on Jan 22, 2021 16:52:03 GMT
My impression, rightly or wrongly, is that the parents of the person who committed suicide really needed a narrative where they had someone, or something, to blame for his death that had nothing to do with their own home and whatever had happened in it that ended with his demise. H. I can remember the reports at the time claiming a suicide due to watching the programme, but pre-internet information was not easy to come across. Doctor Strange mentioned that the suicide note said something about wanting to be a ghost, and that rang a faint bell in my memory, but close to 30 years later I can't recall how much follow-up on the suicide happened or was reported in the media.
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Post by Dr Strange on Jan 22, 2021 18:15:35 GMT
My impression, rightly or wrongly, is that the parents of the person who committed suicide really needed a narrative where they had someone, or something, to blame for his death that had nothing to do with their own home and whatever had happened in it that ended with his demise. H. I can remember the reports at the time claiming a suicide due to watching the programme, but pre-internet information was not easy to come across. Doctor Strange mentioned that the suicide note said something about wanting to be a ghost, and that rang a faint bell in my memory, but close to 30 years later I can't recall how much follow-up on the suicide happened or was reported in the media. The suicide note (addressed to his mother) said something like "Please don't worry - if there are ghosts I will be a ghost, and I will be with you always as a ghost." I suppose that could be spun in different ways - but it's not an obviously straightforward case of someone being driven to suicide because of intense fear or distress. I've come across various quotes from family members/friends saying things like he had become "obsessed" with the programme, and there was something about the pipes in the house he lived in making similar sorts of noises to those in the show and him repeatedly asking his parents if that meant there were ghosts in their house too. I think it's probably correct to say the show had some bearing on what happened, but it's not so clear that the programme makers could realistically be deemed "responsible". There was an inquest (standard procedure in a case of suspected suicide), and the family presented their views on how the show had affected their son, but the coroner made no reference to it when he returned the official verdict of death by suicide. I think at that point the BBC did the sensible thing and expressed their condolences to the family, but essentially refused to engage in any further public discussion of the matter (what may or may not have been discussed internally within the organization is another matter).
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Post by dem bones on Jan 22, 2021 21:05:51 GMT
GHOSTWATCH"On Halloween 1992, the BBC broadcast a take ‘live' outside broadcast from a haunted house, presented by Michael Parkinson, Mike Smith, Craig Charles and Sarah Greene. it finished up with an apparently possessed Parky wandering a devastated TV studio reciting nursery rhymes in a demonic voice while Greene was locked in a cupboard with the ghost of a dead child molester. it inspired widespread panic and remains one of the most complained about BBC programmes ever." - Joe McNally, Fortean Times # 128, Nov. 1999.
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Post by Dr Strange on Jan 22, 2021 22:25:14 GMT
Well that was weird - Ghostwatch just got mentioned on Channel 4's The Last Leg.
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