How’s everyone’s October going? We hope it’s extra spoooooooky! For this episode, we wanted to talk about a couple of our most favorite Halloween specials. No, not the Paul Lynde Halloween Special, but that’s a close third.
Friends, this week we are talking about Ghostwatch and the WNUF Halloween Special.
GHOSTWATCH (1992)
Held as one of the most infamous pieces of British television history, Ghostwatch still incites fear and frustration in countless women and men across the UK. Aired on Halloween night, this scandalous program caused Brits to go into a public panic – a reaction so massively excitable that terrified folks didn’t know how to handle what was being presented to them. Ghostwatch was a live TV broadcast that invited the audience into the lives of a family tormented by a brutish spirit by the name of Mr. Pipes. The story is not dissimilar to the notorious Enfield Haunting; as a matter of fact, you could even say it was influenced by it. What takes place over the course of the evening is horrifying, shocking, creepy, and oh so genuine. Except…well, we won’t spoil it here.
WNUF HALLOWEEN SPECIAL (2013)
WNUF Halloween Special was a bit hard to get ahold of for a while. Some bootleg copies of this local news broadcast from Halloween 1987 were floating around VHS conventions across the Northeast for a bit, but it seems horror enthusiasts and just generally curious people have been copying and distributing the video more widely around the nation. And, we’re pretty sure you can even catch it on Shudder these days. The video is definitely a blast from the past: not only do you get to see commercials advertising things that are so decidedly ’80s (CD box set compilations and telephone hotlines, anyone?), but it takes you back to a time when local news affiliates would do crazy things like broadcast a live séance on Halloween night. Word of caution, though, we don’t think the crew of this station knew what form of bedevilment was coming to them.
Check out what we thought of these two frightening Halloween specials by clicking below! And as always, thanks for listening!
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