Look! Everybody wants to see him!

If Arfon Jones' wonderful 'Ghostwatching' piece, from just a few days ago wasn't enough, now here's 'Pipes Is Coming For You...' by artist, Kieran Madden. Great to see so much creativity stemming from Ghostwatch recently. Keep it up!


...And try not to have sleepless nights. Read more!

Reece Shearsmith's Haunted House

During the first part of Reece Shearsmith's Haunted House for BBC Radio 4, Ghostwatch was given a much-appreciated mention by the esteemed panel (made up of Reece, Mark Gatiss, Vic Reeves and Yvette Fielding). As the programme is only currently available for a limited period on the BBC iPlayer, here is a transcript:

REECE: A famous bard once wrote, "there are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy". Maybe the BBC had this is mind when they, in 1992, presented, Ghostwatch - a wonderful, postmodern ghost story which has come to be known as a kind of hoax akin to Orson Welles' famous, War of the Worlds broadcast in 1938. It was a wonderfully produced documentary with all the trappings and the tropes of a live broadcast. Ghostwatch used a familiar cast of television presenters and it begins like this knockabout television investigation into the most haunted house in Britain, however before long, things start to go a bit wrong.

A BRIEF CLIP FROM GHOSTWATCH IS PLAYED

REECE: So, who remembers that when it went out? Does anyone have any memories of it?

MARK: Parky - brilliant.

REECE: Yeah, brilliant actor in it! So real.

YVETTE: He was fantastic, wasn't he?

REECE: He was the thing that made it--made you question whether it was real or not.

MARK: The genius of that, I think - it's kind of uneven - there's some brilliant things in it, but the absolute copper-bottomed genius is that the ghost is called, 'Pipes'.

REECE: Yes!

LAUGHTER FROM THE AUDIENCE

MARK: 'Pipes' - it's so brilliant! And it's 'cause he lives in the--they think it comes from the cupboard under the stairs, and it makes a banging sound.

REECE: They think he's in the radiator...

MARK: 'Pipes'. That's a real ghost name if ever there was.

YVETTE: But there was huge controversy about that programme - massive.

REEVES: I've never heard of it.

REECE: Did you not see it when it went out?

REEVES: Never, no.

YVETTE: I didn't see it when it went out, either, no.

REEVES: I never heard of it.

MARK: Oh, it's good.

REECE: Have you seen it now..?

REEVES: I've heard of... Parky.

LAUGHTER FROM AUDIENCE

MARK: He's not real..! Read more!

You gonna write us a happy ending, Heather..?

After the recent explosion, popularity-wise, of the 'Reality Horror' sub-genre, the film series that helped bridge the gap between Hollywood and Indie film is now rumoured to finally become a trilogy.

Co-creators of The Blair Witch Project, Dan Myrick and Ed Sanchez, are reportedly said to be closer than ever before to pitching their concept for Blair Witch III to Lionsgate, the studio who now own the movie rights.

Interestingly, the proposed third film in the series (at one point, set to be a 'The Village'-type endeavour, charting the rise and fall of Elly Kedward/The Blair Witch), may now be returning to its dark roots - i.e. acting as a straight sequel to the original, and bypassing the events of the critically-mauled second film, Book of Shadows altogether.

Despite having met a grizzly end, presumably at the hands of the Witch herself, original stars, Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael Williams could also be returning, albeit in smaller roles.

Personally, I didn't really get a lot of the hostility that came BoS' way. Granted, it might not have been the most incredible film ever made, but if more people had seen the two accompanying (and not to mention, wonderfully produced) documentaries that preceded its release (Shadow of The Blair Witch & The Burkittsville 7), I'm sure it would have made for a more complete viewing experience.

Now that I think about it... what a year for cinema, 1999 was. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The Sixth Sense, Fight Club, The Matrix, American Beauty, and Sky Pictures', Tube Tales (one of my personal favourites) were all released that year. Not to mention Rapture TV's quite stupendous Blair Witch Weekend (wow, now that takes me back...).

Given the unprecedented financial success that films such as, Paranormal Activity have had for their distributors, here's hoping the granddaddy of them all, Ghostwatch finally gets some of the recognition it deserves too(!)

Since 2007, I have personally been discussing, pitching, recommending, and inquiring about the possibility of Ghostwatch returning in some shape or form. The doc was actually very close to going out on a well-known digital channel back in January 2008, but that was before the idea of a 2-Disc Special Edition DVD reared its bloody, cat-scratched head.

As ever, should any news come through, you'll be the first to hear. Thanks again for all the support, and we hope you all have a Happy Hallowe'en! Read more!