Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains

Greetings, Ghostwatchers! Almost twenty-five years on, and it seems that Mr. Pipes still delights in tormenting his audience with further, potential hidden appearances. So much so, in fact, that one Ghostwatcher in particular - James Syrett , recently got in touch, to suggest a few new possible sightings of his very own... Before we start, it's worth noting that Dr. Lin Pascoe's eloquently logical notion of 'Faces in the Fire', remains something of a much-loved mantra, around these parts. We know that there are definitely eight confirmed sightings of the notoriously-bashful Raymond Tunstall, one debunked, and perhaps as many as five more left to track down, in total. It's also worth a mention that although the golden figure of "Thirteen" appearances is posited during the doc, the actual final tally could well have reduced/increased, during the exhaustive edit of the original film.

Greetings, Ghostwatchers! First, has anyone else noticed their old Teletext service has suddenly returned, or is it just me..? If this happens again, I'll be sure to let you know. Spooky, eh? In other news, hope you can all join us later this evening, for National Séance 2016! This year marks our sixth live event, and the last before next year's big Ghostwatch Twenty-Fifth Anniversary. As always, the glorious proceedings kick off, just like the original, at 21:25, Tonight.

Greetings, Ghostwatchers! So, news . But first, a recap. In late 2007, when I first met writer, Stephen Volk at The Watershed, Bristol, so intermittently timorous was I in handing over my treatment for then-pie-in-the-sky documentary project, first momentarily titled, Ghostwatch: Behind the Scenes , that I very nearly walked out of the building before I even got the chance. Though, to be fair, I was just about to miss the last train home. Then, a few seconds later, I did.

Greetings, Ghostwatchers! On Wednesday 24th August, in the heart of bustling, tram-linked city of Edinburgh, Scotland, Filmhouse (home of the city's International Film Festival), hosted the world premiere of Red Dwarf XI , set to air on Dave beginning, 22nd September. And guess who flew up to Auld Reekie to check out the proceedings. No clues, just have a guess. Moderated by SFX Editor, Richard Edwards, the event notably featured an appearance from our very own Hallowe'en Witchboard enthusiast, Craig Charles.

Image courtesy of Lionsgate Ironically, this all seems slightly unreal. There had been some rustling in the leaves for a while surrounding upcoming Horror flick, The Woods , but earlier today, news finally broke that the upcoming film, set for release this September, is in fact a long-awaited sequel to Indie classic, The Blair Witch Project ! Made on a shoestring in 1997, the original film was later released in 1999 to enormous worldwide commercial success, and a positive critical response. The first industrial metal-fueled sequel, Book of Shadows shortly followed in 2000, and is often regarded as, well, not quite up to the lofty standards of its predecessor. Personally, I must admit to having slightly more time for its central, mass-hysteria-centric conceit than some, which feels more grounded and intriguing a concept on repeat viewings. Give it another go if you can, especially if watched alongside its short film accompaniments, Shadow of the Blair Witch and The Burkittsvil...

Relatively few examples of contemporary media have best withstood the test of time more so than the Video Home System, better known as good old VHS cassette tapes. Tactile, reliable, and still in use today, they no doubt remain an integral part of many Ghostwatchers' early lives. Largely phased out to make way for LaserDiscs, DVDs and other higher-def formats, Ghostwatch nevertheless holds the distinct honour of being one of the BFI's final video releases, released back in 2002.

This might not come as much of a surprise, but for my taste, documentaries arguably represent the purest form of film. Drama, almost by default, strives to meet that same baseline level of realism, which I suppose is where my appreciation of faux docos, or Cinéma vérité stems. Like so many others, I count more than a few examples of (f)actual docs as being among my personal favourites. But in my experience, there always seems to be one that, for whatever reason, stands out, personally.

Greetings, Ghostwatchers! Just a quick heads-up that if you happen to be in the vicinity of Newcastle Castle Keep's Great Hall on Friday 17th June, at around 7pm, you might like to check out a very special screening of Ken Russell's Gothic , presented by Novocastria Macabre , in association with Screen Demons Horror Film Festival - and set to feature a must-see Q&A with screenwriter and Ghostwatch creator, Stephen Volk , and David Pirie , author of A Heritage Of Horror .

Greetings, Ghostwatchers! Following on from our recent piece on Samhain Magazine , we were lucky enough to speak to its creator, John Gullidge on how the publication came to be, his thoughts on our favourite Hallowe'en Hoax, and what he's up to now...

Despite a suitably enigmatic aura, the shadowy spectre of Samhain Magazine still looms heavy in the scope of deep, Ghostwatchian research. Now sadly out of print, the monthly publication (described as Britain's Longest Running Horror Film Magazine) once covered many a genre gamut – from TV to Film, Horror to Fantasy, and beyond.

Been biting my tongue on this one, but if the rare response to yesterday's second teaser for the upcoming Ghostbusters suggests anything, it's that the business of remaking, or even revisiting a classic film is no less a barefoot hot coal walk than it has been since, well, ever. According to local legend, actual legend Dan Aykroyd has been spearheading a third flick in the rightfully-popular Ghostbustin' cinema series for decades. And why not? The first installment was unmistakably for the time capsule; its sequel, for the most part, successfully recaptured that proton stream in a bottle a second time around. The-then burgeoning franchise even managed to spawn a very well-written and received cartoon show, still fondly recalled by yours truly. Like the characters' albeit fictional business in the film itself, from a marketing standpoint alone, Ghostbusters clearly has legs. In all fairness, the trailer opens well, with some suitably haunting piano chords evoki...

"First rule in government spending... Why build one, when you can have two at twice the price?" Have you seen, Contact ? It's brilliant. In other news, already it seems, Red Dwarf XII is finally upon us, despite XI having yet to hit the airwaves. Indirectly taking a leaf from John Hurt's above-quoted, S.R. Hadden (or perhaps more directly, the Superman and Matrix sequels), both new series are filming practically back-to-back. Incidentally, have you seen Superman II ? It's brilliant. Hurtling back to reality for just a brief moment, this week's as-yet unnamed episode (unless it really is going to be called 'S12.E02' - in which case, see above for an 'exclusive' 'screen-grab') followed much the same pattern as the last show we reported from, certainly in terms of setup and general preamble. Just to set the scene for you, before each evening begins, having handed over their tickets, audience members then proceed to gather in a wh...