History Film / Ghostwatch

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ghostwatch-uni-film_7674.jpg]]

->''"We don't want to give anybody sleepless nights."''
-->-- '''Michael Parkinson'''

In 1992, Creator/TheBBC made a Halloween {{Mockumentary}} styled as a live investigation into a supposedly haunted house inhabited by a woman and her two young daughters. The broadcast starts off with the cast and crew going over what the night will consist of, explaining the family's situation and inviting viewers to call in and share their own experiences with the supernatural, as well as giving name to the supposed entity, "Pipes". After that, you have to [[https://archive.org/details/Ghostwatch see it to believe it]].

Comparable to the US ''Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' broadcast, ''Ghostwatch'' led to its own series of rash sightings and slight panics in England -- the British Medical Journal reported that it had actually induced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostwatch#Psychological_effects brief anxiety reaction]] in at least two children, the symptoms of which were compared to those associated with posttraumatic stress disorder. A major factor in this response was the verisimilitude of the show's presentation; despite taking place during a drama slot, much of the cast was made up of well-known TV personalities [[AsHimself playing themselves]]. Consequently, the show was subject to varying levels of censure, both internally and externally. It was attacked by the print media, who accused the BBC of irresponsible hoaxing. A married couple successfully filed for judicial review of then MediaWatchdog the Broadcasting Standards Commission, after the latter refused to hear their complaint (along with several others) alleging a link between the show and the suicide of their teenage son. The BSC in turn reversed its position and ruled that the broadcast was "a deliberate attempt to cultivate a sense of menace" and that more active efforts should have been made to clarify that it was not a genuine live show.

Meanwhile, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUyhN-gq8xk flustered parents piled onto BBC's Bite Back]] to voice their anger, while the BBC itself never made a repeat broadcast despite the obvious mileage available in terms of ratings, and supposedly withdrew its BAFTA nomination. In response, the creators pointed out that the broadcast had never been billed as anything other than fiction, that writing credits given both at the beginning and end of the show made this all the more clear and that they couldn't fairly be expected to flash regular disclaimers throughout the film for the same reason any other mockumentary writer wouldn't do so -- that is, it would ruin the flow of the story.

The fact that the show contained some admittedly ropey acting and content warranting only a [[UsefulNotes/MediaClassifications '12' certificate rating]] speaks volumes to the effective use of build-up and the [[NothingIsScarier power of suggestion]] employed by the writing.

Only people who knew their parapsychology recognised that the idea of a ghost terrorising two girls in an ordinary British semi-detached house was based on the "real" life case of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enfield_Poltergeist Enfield Poltergeist]], in which it turned out that the girls were making it all up to get media attention. [[note]] In adulthood, one of the witnesses claimed "two percent" of the phenomena to have been faked; an element alluded to here [[/note]]

(Years later, Creator/NewLineCinema would end up adapting a fictionalized version of these same events in ''Film/TheConjuring'' franchise.)

"31-10", a short-story sequel to ''Ghostwatch'' by the show's writer, Stephen Volk, can be [[http://www.stephenvolk.net/31-10.pdf downloaded from his home page]].
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!!This broadcast contains examples of:

* AdultFear: Put yourself in Pam Early's shoes, and try to not be terrified.
* AgentMulder: Dr. Lin Pascoe, as well as the part-time exorcist.
* AgentScully: At first, both host Michael Parkinson and Dr Emilio Sylvestri, the American skeptic, second guess Dr. Pascoe at every turn. Then, [[spoiler: even as the studio is being actively destroyed by "Pipes" (or Raymond Turnstall), the host still cannot believe what's happening.]]
* ArbitrarySkepticism: Parkinson declaring that the sudden deluge of panicked phone calls are all pranks, [[spoiler:despite the fact that by this point something seriously spooky - supernatural or otherwise - has clearly hijacked the entire broadcast]].
* AsHimself: Mike Smith, Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene and Creator/CraigCharles. This was a principal factor in the confusion over whether the show was real or not. That all were associated with light entertainment and/or children's television made it an especially effective use of the trope, as there is a near-constant MoodDissonance from the start between the cheery Beeb personalities and the spooky backdrop. The cameraman and soundman are also played by a real-life BBC camera team and use their real names.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: Dr. Emilio Sylvestri sounds more like the name of a Bond villain than a scientist in a straight-faced mockumentary trying to sell its realism.
* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: Pipes succeeds in taking over the broadcast and spreading all over the houses in the UK who tuned into ''Ghostwatch'' and is implied to have taken Sarah Greene and Suzanne Early by the end of it.]]
* BaldOfEvil: Kim describes Pipes as bald.
* BedsheetGhost: A portrait of one hangs in the main studio.
* BigBad: [[spoiler: As the show progresses, we eventually learn that Pipes is the ghostly progeny of Mother Seddons, the evil spirit of an infanticidal 'baby farmer' who has been making the estate 'England's answer to Amityville' for centuries.]]
* BigScrewedUpFamily: How the Earlys have unfairly come to be regarded due to unsympathetic media portrayal.
* BlackEyesOfEvil / GhostlyGape: Viewers who phone in describe Pipes this way.
* BlowYouAway: Used when Pipes gets really riled up.
* BrownNote: [[spoiler:The whole show becomes one of these in-universe, as Pipes uses it to possess people up and down the country.]]
* CameraAbuse: Interference with the sound and visuals increase proportionally with the level of paranormal activity, to the point that nothing is what it seems by an hour into the film.
* CassandraTruth:
** The Earlys themselves repeatedly try to warn ''everyone'' how dangerous Pipes is or can be. Nobody except Lin Pascoe believes them, which is apparently why the BBC thought it was a good idea to have a whole camera crew there on ''Halloween''.
** A Welshman calls in towards the end of the second act to report a plate leaping off the arm of his chair and smashing, however his delivery is so comical that Parkinson dismisses it as a prank and even [[AgentMulder Lin Pascoe]] doesn't appear to take it all that seriously. [[spoiler: It turns out to be the first warning sign that the broadcast is allowing Pipes to invade the homes of viewers.]]
* CatScare: Played straight, [[spoiler:but keep your eye on the reflection in the glass door]].
* ChekhovsGun: Several through the broadcast
** The [[NightVisionGoggles night vision on the camera].
** During Craig's interview with two locals from Foxhill, they mention a dead pregnant dog and a missing girl that was never found. [[spoiler: Early hints that whatever the haunting may be is darker than what the BBC expected.]]
* ConvictedByPublicOpinion: The Earlys.
* CrazyPrepared: The house is fitted with timecoded CCTV cameras that can be remotely operated as well as devices for outside monitoring of atmospheric conditions and light frequency. The cameraman's kit is also capable of thermal imaging.
** [[spoiler: The only times we see anything about the outside broadcasting, it's from much earlier than we think, and they're clearly having problems with it. Also, those timecoded CCTV cameras are all pretty much the eyes and ears of Pipes from very early in the show...]]
* CreatorCameo: Director Leslie Manning makes a vocal cameo as Mary Christopher, one of the callers that talks with Michael and Dr. Pascoe.
* CreepyBasement: The "Glory Hole", which is never actually seen, but the fact that Pamela Early boarded up the door proves how scary it is. [[spoiler: Sarah Greene and Suzanne disappear through the door and are never seen again.]]
* CreepyChild: As the film progresses, both Suzanne and Kim have moments of this.
* CreepyCrossdresser: Raymond Turnstall.
* CreepyMonotone: The woman who calls in about her kids refusing to leave the television set speaks in this way, before SuddenlyShouting at Michael Parkinson and Dr. Pascoe to stop the broadcast.
* CuriosityKilledTheCast: And how!
* DeadpanSnarker: Dr Emilio Sylvestri.
* DemonicPossession: Pipes takes over Susie, and later [[spoiler: posses Michael as well, and if Dr. Pascoe is believed, maybe happening to others all over the country.]]
* DownerEnding: The crew went out to prove the Earlys right, Pipes is real. Doing so ends with Sarah and Susie being dragged off to their deaths, [[spoiler: Michael being possessed after Pipes invades the now empty BBC, which just seconds before had been bustling in crisis, and may possibly be doing so to everyone watching the program. Effectively, as Dr. Pascoe puts it, the program ended up being a massive national seance, giving [[TheBadGuyWins the malevolent specter even more power]], who now has the power to haunt every home he chooses to in Great Britain, and possibly the world.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: Raymond Turnstall.
** As noted above, the tragic suicide of a teenager in RealLife was attributed to the show, allegedly because he wanted to [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled preempt the evil spirits depicted]].
* DroneOfDread: [[spoiler: In the final scene, the ghostly wind and the cat yowling well up to create this effect just before the cut to black]].
* EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler: As more insight to Pipes' true nature comes to light, the theory is suggested that whatever it is may have started out as a spiritual entity that even predates humanity. A GreaterScopeVillain that wishes to spread its evil, using the live broadcast to create a nationwide séance circle. This entity has terrorised the area around Foxhill Drive for potentially centuries.]]
** [[spoiler: Mother Seddons is the second layer to this evil, controlling Mr. Pipes, implied to be behind the murder of a five-year old, the mutilation of a pregnant dog, and the disappearance of a young girl.]]
* EldritchLocation: It is implied throughout that Foxhall Drive is one.
* EmpathicEnvironment: As the broadcast cuts back to outside Foxhill Drive [[spoiler: after Mother Seddons takes control,]] a sudden storm has appeared.
* EvilDetectingDog: Mike Smith reports that one viewer called in to say that her dog won't stop barking and that several others are describing instances of their pets becoming very agitated.
* EvilSmellsBad: When detailing an incident where 'Pipes' attacked her directly, Pam Early mentions there was a thick, rotten-cabbage smell.
* EvilSoundsDeep: Pipes gives [[Film/TheExorcist Mercedes McCambridge]] a run for her money.
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: In-universe, viewers call in to report bizarre things happening in their homes since tuning in. [[spoiler: At the end, when Pipes possesses Parkinson, he directly addresses the viewer, saying "You didn't believe the story about Mother Seddons, did you?"]]
* FreezeFrameBonus: Several very spooky ones involving Pipes.
* GhostlyChill: Sarah constantly mentions how freezing the home is every time something terrifying is just about to happen.
* GoneHorriblyRight: A live investigation into the paranormal using flashy technology. Should be fun, right?
* HauntedHouse: You have ''no'' idea!
* HauntedHouseHistorian: Two of them call in to expose morbid details from the history of the house on Foxhill Drive.
* HauntedTechnology: Trope codifier.
* HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday: Justified, as the TV cameras are in there for Halloween night.
* ISeeDeadPeople: Kim has a few of these moments.
* IronicNurseryTune: ''Round and round the garden...like a teddy bear...one step...two step...''
* ItsQuietTooQuiet: The abrupt restoration of peace in the house during the final act arouses Lin Pascoe's suspicions and leads to the WHAMLine given below.
* {{Jerkass}}: Dr. Emilio Sylvestri comes off this way, ''very'' smug and entitlement over the paranormal. Not helped he actively attacks Lin Pascoe's assurance that the hauntings are real.
** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Craig Charles does this quite well between breaking the dark mood.
* JumpScare: Played straight. Craig Charles jumps out of a closet in a mask.
* MadeForTVMovie: A one-off drama that several people, at the time of broadcast, believed to be real.
* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: If viewers are alert, they may spot Pipes' ghost standing in the background of several scenes during the programme. People ring in and are ignored/dismissed with apparently exaggerated or dramatic stories, and characters can be seen to suddenly disappear.
* {{Mockumentary}}: Without much "mocking".
* MugglesDoItBetter: With a part-time exorcist having already failed to root out the spirit, this is the rationale that Michael Parkinson gives for the project in-universe, stating that the myriad technology at their disposal will allow them to go "ghost-hunting on an unprecedented scale". [[spoiler:Subverted, as the ghost commandeers all of it.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Dr Lin Pascoe wants to help vindicate the Earlys by exposing their ghostly tormentor to the entire nation. [[spoiler: As she herself realizes, the broadcast becomes a 'massive seance', unleashing the evil spirit on potentially every household that tuned in.]]
* NightmareFuelColoringBook: Kim drew the graphically disfigured Pipes after seeing him under the stairs, and Susie, under Pipes' influence, scribbled a bunch of gibberish accompanied by a bloody drawing in her school notebook.
* NonActorVehicle: Used deliberately to add plausibility to the situation. Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene and Mike Smith were all familiar faces from British television, but as presenters, not actors.
* NothingIsScarier: Arguably what made the ''entire'' airing so intense and terrifying: It acted ''very realistically'' and didn't immediate throw in spooks or jump scares, playing off as an "actual" live broadcast. Even when shit does hit the fan, it ''still'' retains this.
* ObligatoryEarpieceTouch: Michael, Sarah and Craig continuously touch their earpieces to emphasise they are in constant communication during this live event.
* OminousVisualGlitch: The camera starts glitching out towards the programme's climax.
* OneSteveLimit: Averted as a side effect of having real BBC personalities playing themselves, meaning there are two Mike's and a Michael.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: [[spoiler: Our ghosts can form onion layers, take control of the BBC and kill people with freakin' ''cats!'']]
* PhonyNewscast: A TropeCodifier in the spirit of ''War of the Worlds''.
* PluckyComicRelief: Craig Charles' role in the Ghostwatch team.
%%* {{Poltergeist}}
* RewatchBonus: [[spoiler:Pipes is visible several times in the background of shots.]]
* RewindReplayRepeat: Subverted. Pipes is present when we first see the videotape from the girls' bedroom, but when it's played a second time, he's not there anymore.
* SanitySlippage: The Early children begin to showcase this as the special progresses and by the end of it. [[spoiler: Lin Pascoe herself as well, but it's more subtle in regards to not being able to know what to do despite being an expert in the paranormal]].
* ScienceHero: Dr Lin Pascoe is styled this way. She took on the Early family's case as part of her own ongoing research into the paranormal and regards her work as legitimate, if non-traditional, empirical inquiry.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler: Lin Pascoe and the rest of the in-studio cast when Pipes begins wrecking the joint. Only Parkinson remains behind.]]
* TheShowMustGoOn: Even after [[spoiler: Pipes has attacked the studio and everyone else has abandoned it, Parkinson stays put and continues to commentate on the action, or lack thereof...right down to [[WhamLine reciting the nursery rhyme Pipes is associated with]]...]]
* ShownTheirWork: Writer Steve Volk and producer Ruth Baumgarten consulted with representatives of a number of psychical societies as well as members of the public professing to experiences with the paranormal, with the result that the programme gives a veritable checklist of phenomena associated with the ghosts. Inversely, next to no research was done on the possible adverse reactions a suggestible viewer might have to the show (see DidntThinkThisThrough note above).
* SkepticNoLonger:
** [[spoiler: Surprisingly averted with Michael Parkinson who is calm to the point of delirium right up to the point he is possessed, which is the last we see of him. According to the short story sequel, Emilio Sylvestri was unmoved by the entire incident, calling it delusion on a mass scale.]]
** Averted then Played Straight with Dr Emilio in the short story sequel. Who is at first unmoved by the events of the TV show, declaring it all to be mass hysteria on a grand scale, but then [[spoiler: is attacked by Mr Pipes and has his face horribly gashed open, and then witnesses Mr Pipes becoming the apparition of Sarah Greene and possessing the protagonist]].
* StoppedClock: The cameraman observes that his watch stopped at 9:30 pm, just as they went on air. Several viewers call in to note the same thing has happened with their household clocks.
* StylisticSuck: The entire faux-authenticity of the thing is compounded, rather than diluted, by the very cheap production values, which are incredibly close to ''Series/{{Crimewatch|UK}}'' episodes of the era, and abundant use of practical effects. A modern equivalent would likely use a lot of JitterCam footage and CGI, which would only cheapen the experience.
* TabloidMelodrama: The Earlys are victims of this, with the local media having made them out to be deranged kooks.
* TalkingHeads: In the form of members of the public contributing their own experiences with the paranormal.
* TitleOnlyOpening: It begins with a simple title sequence, with a generic font. The actual title sequence is a few minutes later, and at least has some StockFootage in it. [[spoiler:This is intended to act as SuspensionOfDisbelief, due to its nature as a drama.]]
* TookALevelInJerkass: Parkinson gradually grows more and more curt and dismissive as the film goes on. [[spoiler:Justified as he was slowly getting possessed the entire time.]]
* {{Watershed}}: Invoked in-universe by Michael Parkinson, who urges a distressed caller to tear her children away from post-watershed TV and send them to bed.
* WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties: A test card reading "NORMAL TRANSMISSION WILL BE RESUMED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE" appears onscreen when the feed from the house is cut.
* WhamLine:
** [[spoiler: "This picture we're seeing now isn't live. This is some earlier footage, from earlier in the evening. This is just a cover, it's a dupe. This isn't happening now."]]
** [[spoiler: "We've been conducting a seance, a massive nationwide seance!"]]
** [[spoiler: "Didn't believe the story of Mother Seddons, did you...? Fee, fi, fo, fum..." ''[transmission cuts out]'']]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The fates of both Craig Charles and the camera crew who accompanied Sarah into the house are not revealed either in the ending or the short story sequel, however, the fact they were effectively fleeing for their lives from the compromised outside broadcast unit...
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: "31-10" gives one to some of the main cast:
** Michael Parkinson [[spoiler: fully recovered from getting possessed by Mr. Pipes, though the memory of ''Ghostwatch'' had been completely seared from his mind. He refuses to watch the program again and people are forbidden from bringing it up in his presence.]]
** Pamela and Kim Early [[spoiler: moved to the United States in an attempt to put that traumatic night behind them. Pam remarried and, after getting looked at by various psychotherapists, became one herself, specifically one that would help others in a similar position to hers. She sadly passed away in 1995 in a house fire. Kim would adapt a Midwestern accent and new name while studying to become a biologist.]]
** Sarah Greene and Suzanne [[spoiler: were never seen again. Even after local police stormed the house in an attempt to locate them, the Glory Hole was completely empty. The BBC attempted to do damage control by hiring a look-alike to take Sarah's place on Children's BBC to explain to the younger viewers that she was perfectly fine, though apparently everyone saw through the ruse.]]
* YouAreWhatYouHate: An ideological example. Lin Pascoe berates Emilio Sylvestri for his smug faith in conventional scientific methods, arguing that such approaches have left us in the dark when it comes to explaining large swathes of human experience, preventing mankind from understanding potentially harmful phenomena. She spends much of the the first couple of acts using knowledge gained from her own particular methods of study and investigation to confidently explain and analyse the history of incidents in the house right up to the present day. However, [[spoiler:as the ghostly activity in the house begins to escalate, she realizes that utter complacency in her own methods have led to a very dangerous situation indeed and left her as clueless as the next person in trying to account for what is happening. When Parkinson calls her on this, she timidly concedes the point.]]
%%* YouLookLikeYouveSeenAGhost
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''What big ears you have... what big eyes you have... fee, fi, fo fum... '''fee, fi, fo fum...'''''

* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: Whatever happened to Suzy and Sarah when they were trapped inside the glory hole.]]

* AsHimself: Mike Smith, Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene and Creator/CraigCharles. This was a principal factor in the confusion over whether the show was real or not. That all were associated with light entertainment and/or children's television made it an especially effective use of the trope, as there is a near-constant MoodDissonance from the start between the cheery Beeb personalities and the spooky backdrop. The cameraman and sound man are also played by a real-life BBC camera team and use their real names.

* BlackEyesOfEvil / EyelessFace: Viewers who phone in describe Pipes this way.

** The night vision on the camera.

* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: If viewers are alert, they may spot Pipes' ghost standing in the background of several scenes during the programme.

* MadeForTVMovie: A one-off drama that several people, at the time of broadcast, believed to be real.
* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: Several. [[spoiler:Pipes appears prior to being acknowledged by any character]], people ring in and are ignored/dismissed with apparently exaggerated or dramatic stories, and characters can be seen to suddenly disappear.

* RewindReplayRepeat: Subverted. Pipes is present when we first see the videotape from the girls' bedroom, but when it's played a second time, he's not there any more.

* ShownTheirWork: Writer Steve Volk and producer Ruth Baumgarten consulted with representatives of a number of psychical societies as well as members of the public professing to experiences with the paranaromal, with the result that the programme gives a veritable checklist of phenomena associated with the ghosts. Inversely, next to no research was done on the possible adverse reactions a suggestible viewer might have to the show (see DidntThinkThisThrough note above).
* SkepticNoLonger: [[spoiler: Surprisingly averted, as Michael Parkinson is calm to the point of delirium right up to the point he is possessed, which is the last we see of him. According to the short story sequel, Emilio Sylvestri was unmoved by the entire incident, calling it delusion on a mass scale.]]

** [[spoiler: "We've been conducting a seance, a massive nation wide seance!"]]

Comparable to the US ''Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' broadcast, ''Ghostwatch'' led to its own series of rash sightings and slight panics in England -- the British Medical Journal reported that it had actually induced [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostwatch#Psychological_effects brief anxiety reaction]] in at least two children, the symptoms of which were compared to those associated with posttraumatic stress disorder. A major factor in this response was the versimilitude of the show's presentation; despite taking place during a drama slot, much of the cast was made up of well-known TV personalities [[AsHimself playing themselves]]. Consequently, the show was subject to varying levels of censure, both internally and externally. It was attacked by the print media, who accused the BBC of irresponsible hoaxing. A married couple successfully filed for judicial review of then MediaWatchdog the Broadcasting Standards Commission, after the latter refused to hear their complaint (along with several others) alleging a link between the show and the suicide of their teenage son. The BSC in turn reversed its position and ruled that the broadcast was "a deliberate attempt to cultivate a sense of menace" and that more active efforts should have been made to clarify that it was not a genuine live show.

* EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler: As more insight to Pipes' true nature comes to light, the theory is suggested that whatever it is may have started out as a spiritual entity that even predates humanity.]]

* AsHimself: Mike Smith, Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene and Craig Charles. This was a principal factor in the confusion over whether the show was real or not. That all were associated with light entertainment and/or children's television made it an especially effective use of the trope, as there is a near-constant MoodDissonance from the start between the cheery Beeb personalities and the spooky backdrop. The cameraman and sound man are also played by a real-life BBC camera team and use their real names.

* TheShowMustGoOn: Even after [[spoiler: Pipes has attacked the studio and everyone else has abandoned it, Parkinson stays put and continues to commentate on the action, or lack thereof... right down to [[WhamLine reciting the nursery rhyme Pipes is associated with]]...]]

* ChekovsGun: Several through the broadcast

** During Craig's interview with two locals from Foxhill, they mention a dead pregnant dog and a missing girl that was never found. [[spoiler: Early hints that whatever is darker than what the BBC expected.]]

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: Pipes succeeds in taking over the broadcast and spreading all over the houses in the UK who tuned into ''Ghostwatch'' and is implied to have taken Sarah Green and Suzanne Early by the end of it.]]

* BigBad: [[spoiler: as the show progresses, we eventually learn that Pipes is the ghostly progeny of Mother Seddons, the evil spirit of an infanticidal 'baby farmer' who has been making the estate 'England's answer to Amityville' for centuries.]]

* DownerEnding: The crew went out to prove the Earlys right, Pipes is real. Doing so ends with Sarah and Susie being dragged off to their deaths, [[spoiler: Michael being possessed after Pipes invades the now empty BBC, which just seconds before had been bustling in crisis, and may possibly be doing so to everyone watching the program. Effectively, as Dr. Pascoe puts it, the program ended up being a massive national seance, giving [[TheBadGuyWins the malevolent specter even more power]], who now has the power to haunt every home he choses to in Great Britain, and possibly the world.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Dr Lin Pascoe wants to help vindicate the Earlys by exposing their ghostly tormentor to the entire nation. [[spoiler: As she herself realises, the broadcast becomes a 'massive seance', unleashing the evil spirit on potentially every household that tuned in.]]

** Averted then Played Straight with Dr Emilio in the short story sequel. Who is at first unmoved by the events of th TV show, declaring it all to be mass hysteria on a grand scale, but then [[spoiler: is attacked by Mr Pipes and has his face horribly gashed open, and then witnesses Mr Pipes becoming the apparition of Sarah Greene and possessing the protagonist]].

* WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties: A testcard reading "NORMAL TRANSMISSION WILL BE RESUMED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE" appears onscreen when the feed from the house is cut.

** Sarah Greene and Suzanne [[spoiler: were never seen again. Even after local police stormed the house in an attempt to locate them, the Glory Hole was completely empty. The BBC attempted to do damage control by hiring a look-alike to take Sarah's place on Children's BBC to explain to the younger viewers that she was perfectly fine.]]

** Pamela and Kim Early [[spoiler: moved to the United States in an attempt to put that traumatic night behind them. Pam remarried and, after getting looked at by various psychotherapists, became one herself, specifically one that would help others in a similar position of hers. She sadly passed away in 1995 in a house fire. Kim would adapt a Midwestern accent and new name while studying to become a biologist.]]

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: "31-10" gives one to most of the main cast: