Ghostwatch, the BBC Halloween broadcast

On 31 October 1992 the BBC aired Ghostwatch, a staged programme presented as a live investigation of a haunted house in Northolt. Many viewers took it for real, according to a crew member.

The BBC aired Ghostwatch on 31 October 1992, Halloween night, as a 90 minute programme. The BFI describes it as a supposedly live broadcast from a council house in Northolt, haunted by a spirit the family called Pipes. The family were a single mother, Pam, and her daughters Kim and Suzanne.

The Museum of Hoaxes outlines the format. Mike Smith and Michael Parkinson reported from a television studio where the public phoned in and specialists in the supernatural appeared by satellite link. Craig Charles and Sarah Greene reported live from the house.

In a 2020 Guardian piece, a member of the production crew said many viewers believed they were watching a real-time documentary, and that Parkinson's mother apparently did. The same writer said 30,000 complaints reached the BBC, which banned the programme from being shown again for ten years.