Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains

Well, it's fast approaching the time to bid farewell to 2014. And a busy year it was, to be sure. Over the last twelve months, the project was very graciously invited to make quite a few guest appearances at conventions, nationwide. In April, the inaugural Sci-Fi Scarborough event kicked off, all the way Up North. In October, we made a return appearance to Autumn: Horror in the East , almost as far away, but Down South. And between them both, in July, Behind the Curtains descended upon the London Film and Comic Con where we shot the short follow-up Behind the Table , which was released entirely free, gratis and for nothin' on YouTube. By far the saddest, and most unexpected news of the year centred on the sudden losses of lead actor, Mike Smith and Executive Producer, Richard Broke. Both gentlemen were invaluable not just to Ghostwatch , but also Behind the Curtains , and it was a real honour and a privilege to have them involved in the project. They remain sorely mi...

Huge round of thanks to everyone who joined in last night's fantastic National Seance 2014! How on Earth I'm expected to describe my own personal Woodstock year after year, however, still eludes me. We laughed, we cried, we shivered, we vomited in unison. It was all really lovely. In fact, don't take my word for it, here's just a smattering of the tsunami of Tweets that rolled in, marking the event... Now, time for hibernation. See you all next year for NS15! Really looking forward to the #Ghostwatch National Seance tonight. pic.twitter.com/X710ukX3bR — David Gadsdon (@yorkiebites) October 31, 2014 #Ghostwatch pic.twitter.com/LnH7FRUDSh — Dave Tancock (@davetancock) October 31, 2014 It's almost #Ghostwatch o'clock. Cheese and Pickle sandwiches at the ready, Join in with the #NS14 @Ghostwatch — jonlyus (@jonlyus) October 31, 2014 Craig Charles hates apples, despite eating one 5 mins ago #Ghostwatch — Steve Elite (@Migraine_Boy) Octob...

After coming home from school on October 29th 1992, I can't recall precisely what I did next. I imagine I probably either sat down to watch some TV, chat about my day with the folks, or play some Monkey Island on the Amiga. But what I remember most vividly about that afternoon is that the following trailer caught my eye, alerting me to a special television event set to take place two days later. I didn't know what was to come, but it was then that I decided to check it out. Until now, I could only recall the flashlight dropping beside the lens. Suffice it to say, I have been searching for this for twenty-two years. I cannot thank the uploader enough. This has made my Hallowe'en. And National Seance is still to come! Loop Start playing when buffered ( Only Notify ) - % Smart Buffer Estimated Time: Donate to SmartVideo! Global Preferences

Greetings Ghostwatchers! Another year has all but come and gone... But now, it's almost National Séance time, again. Hoorah! So, how does it work? Well, for the past four years, we've asked fans across the globe to play their copies of Ghostwatch at exactly the same time on Hallowe'en Night, and Tweet about the show as it happens on Twitter to help mark the anniversary of its first and to date, only UK television broadcast. It's great that National Séance has now become something of a tradition since our first event way back in 2010 - mostly as it's a genuinely fun way of connecting with other fans and celebrating the show and its legacy. For the show's Twentieth Anniversary, you might recall, we even made it onto the fabled UK Trending Board, officially reaching as high as Sixth Place. Wowzers. As always, the spooky festivities kick off at 21:25 GMT . To fully complete the effect of a repeat viewing, you can also watch the original BBC Continuity An...

A lot has happened since the weekend of 11th July. It's hard to believe almost a whole month has passed since we were manning our very own Ghostwatch table at the London Film & Comic Con in the heaving halls of Earl's Court 1. Here's an exclusive look Behind the Table at the event, featuring brand-new interviews with creators, Lesley Manning and Stephen Volk , Fortean Times cover designer, Hunt Emerson , plus fans and contributors, Stephen Freestone , Julian Hazeldine , Arfon Jones , Alex Newsome , and Seb Patrick . In retrospect, this can almost be considered a quasi-sequel to the doc, itself. Thanks to everyone who braved the sweltering heat to take part! It was great fun speaking with you all, and hearing a fascinating range of new Ghostwatch stories. A special shout-out must go to musician, Ian Evans for use of the track, Lord Frith , from his fantastic E.P., Everything is the Same Subject . Hope you enjoy, Ghostwatchers. Just try not to have sleep...

Lead Ghostwatch actor, Mike Smith has passed away at the age of 59. Best known for his work as a radio & TV presenter, Mike, or "Smithy" as he was often known to friends and fans, was also a race car driver, a pilot, and a keen businessman. His career as a broadcaster began with hospital radio, and later, Capital Radio and BBC Radio 1 in the early eighties, often as the morning presenter. An accomplished driver, between his radio and TV broadcasting, Mike also took part in numerous BTCC races, winning the Willhire 24 Hour at Snetterton. His team, Trakstar, also won the British Touring Car Championship in 1990. A qualified helicopter pilot, in 2003, Mike later founded Flying TV, an aerial photography-based production company. Not just the M.D., Mike also served as an aerial cameraman. We interviewed Mike and his wife, Sarah Greene, for Behind the Curtains at Flying TV. It was a great day, and I vividly recall excitedly running up the stairs ahead of the rest of th...

  Greetings Ghostwatchers! It's now less than one week to go until Behind the Curtains is set to grace the halls of Comic Con at Earls Court, with a table of our very own, ably manned by Rich Lawden, Lesley Manning and Stephen Volk. Commitments permitting, Lesley and Rich are expected to be present all weekend, while Steve is due to join us for the Saturday only. There shall be some copies of the doc, companion book, and transcript available to pick up, all featuring our special-event reduced rates, plus the rare chance to get your future antiques signed by the show's creators. The event kicks off Friday 11th July, and lasts until Sunday the 13th. For more info on tickets and opening times, check out the website at www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com Look forward to seeing you there! UPDATE: Another quick heads-up - Stephen Volk has a book launch on Friday 11th July at Waterstones, Covent Gardens (6:30pm-8:30pm) marking the arrival of 'Best British Horror' - a...

Greetings Ghostwatchers! A bit out of the blue, I know, but we can officially reveal the entire doc has been transcribed into a second book, which is now available to pick up over at Lulu.com! Rather snappily entitled, " Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains - The Transcript ", this brand-new publication mostly comes in response to several messages sent in to the site, requesting a subtitle track for the doc, in particular for the hard of hearing. Unfortunately, we just didn't have the time or resources to implement such a feature on the DVD, but hopefully, this will make for a fitting accompaniment. For those who are planning on making the trip, a few copies should be available to pick up, and be squiggled on, at the London Film & Comic Con in July. Again, hope you enjoy, thanks for the support, and until next time, try not to have sleepless nights... Limited copies of the doc are available while stocks last from LawmanProductions.co.uk The original companion bo...

It is with great sadness that we report the passing away of Ghostwatch Executive Producer, Richard Broke. He was 70. A true legend in his field, with a plethora of credits to his name, Richard was responsible for heading some of the most innovative and highest-rated television productions of all time, including the acclaimed, The Monocled Mutineer (1986), and multi-award winning, Tumbledown (1988). He was both nominated for, and won several BAFTA and RTS Television awards, alongside many other accolades, and considerable high praise. A greatly-respected figure in the TV and Film Industry, in the late 1980s, he (in)famously helped develop a six-part supernatural serial by Stephen Volk entitled, ' Ghost Watch ', into a radical, single drama, with Ruth Baumgarten and Lesley Manning, for the successful Screen One drama strand, which he also Executive Produced for BBC1. Following transmission, he staunchly defended the show when it came under fire, even going so far as to ma...

Greetings Ghostwatchers! Sorry to drop this on you at almost the last minute, but... how does a Behind the Curtains screening in Scarborough sound? Well, if your reply was even just a momentary, intrigued-sounding murmur, then you might be interested to hear that perhaps as many as two shall be taking place, next weekend... Final schedule is still TBC, but at last, we can finally reveal that the inaugural Sci-Fi Scarborough event shall be holding a live showing of the doc on 5-6 April at the Spa Complex. Director, Rich Lawden will be in attendance, not only heading a Q&A at some point, but also signing some DVDs, and even a few increasingly-limited copies of the companion book of the same name. If that wasn't enough, fellow GW/BtC alumnus Craig Charles is set to funk things up on the Saturday night with his inimitable DJ set. In addition to a Trading Hall, there shall be an Artists' Alley, a Jedi Fight Academy for all you wannabe Skywalkers out there, and the chanc...

Yesterday, we learned the very sad news that Lewis, the young son of Ghostwatch.info creator, Stephen Freestone, had passed away. Let's keep this simple. There are two organisations dedicated to helping kids, parents and carers of children like Lewis, affected by rare genetic disorders, and they need our help: JSUK.org Dandy-Walker.org All donations would be gratefully received in memory of this amazing, and inspirational young man, and we wish Stephen and his family all the very best during this difficult time. Come on guys, let's make a difference!

It's a rare and precious thing to feel such a degree of sadness and sorrow following the passing of somebody you hadn't yet had the good fortune to bump into someplace and share a smile, but even so, the recent passing of Harold Ramis still hit me as if somehow losing an old friend. I shall try not to ramble, particularly as I don't need to convince fans of anything they already know. I just felt compelled to mark this truly sad event in some small way. The legacy and influence of arguably, his most beloved character, Dr. Egon Spengler (so named after historian and philosopher, Oswald Spengler, and Hungarian refugee/classmate, Egon Donsbach), is as globe-spanning, as it is undeniable. I wonder just how many positive vibes have stemmed from us watching the adventures of this renowned, bespectacled, spores-moulds-and-fungus collector. Enough to bring the Statue of Liberty to life, and take her for a stroll down Fifth Avenue, at least. I vividly recall my mother first br...

Greetings, Ghostwatchers! There's a curious, repeating phenomenon that is often reported during screenings of the doc (which began during our very first event, no less). It seems to occur around the same time the end credits roll, with members of the audience nodding their heads and tapping their feet in tune to Ian Evans' inspired closing number, 'Ghost Watch' . Then, the compliments/questions start pouring in. "This sounds great." "What's this music?", "How did you get hold of that?", "Who wrote this, then?", "When's this from?", and so on. It even marks the first topic to grace the film's IMDb message board . So, you can imagine our building anticipation on catching the news that musician, Ian Evans is currently gearing up to release his follow up E.P. to 'Ghost Watch'. Entitled, "Everything is The Same Subject", the new Extended Play is due to hit, February 14th. To check out ...

Conventions. They're a big deal, these days. I remember going to one of the early Memorabilia fairs at the NEC in the late nineties, and it was actually... cosy. Now, many of the present-day events have room for a plethora of dealer tables, celebrity signings, imaginative costumers, and even... wait for it... Us! Yes, this summer, Behind the Curtains shall be descending upon Earls Court for the gigantic London Film and Comic Con 2014 from Friday 11th to Sunday 13th of July. Rich Lawden'll be there, Stephen Volk'll be there, and Lesley Manning'll be there (commitments permitting, and each likely appearing on alternating days) to sign all your wonderful Ghostwatch stuff, and chat about how great both the show and doc are, on a strictly-wound stopwatch, in exchange for your cold, hard cash . Nah, only joking. We're planning on using a clock, not a stopwatch. Currently, we've a banner printed, and a few DVDs, books and posters set aside. Recently, a ...

Despite on face value, Ghostwatch and Living TV's Most Haunted bearing more than a few striking resemblances, they are in fact, very different programmes at heart. One of the many long-running rumours connecting the two shows is that fellow Blue Peter host Yvette Fielding was once considered for Sarah Greene's 'Reporter' role (not true). A familiar face, particularly to fans of the cult, investigative series (which ran for eight years, and now continues to air online), and also kids' TV classic, Knightmare (his team being one of only a handful of winners in the show's history, no less) we recently spoke to presenter and self-confessed Ghostwatcher, host Jason Karl concerning his appreciation of Ghostwatch , and own experiences with the Paranormal...   Hi Jason, so how, where, why and when did you first check out Ghostwatch , and do you recall your initial reaction to the show?   I remember clearly the day when Ghostwatch was broadcast – I was ...