This one's been flying way under the radar which is a damn shame, but at least it's out there and we can now help spread the word - one of the more notorious hoax productions to have ever made it to air, the BBC's sublimely creepy Ghostwatch, has spawned an officially-sanctioned retrospective documentary - Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtrains.
Premiered on Halloween night in 1992, the telefilm purported to showcase a number of recognizable BBC personalities (including venerable presenter Sir Michael Parkinson) as they investigated what was rumored to be the most haunted house in all of Britain. As the "live" broadcast played out, strange events inside the home and studio itself transformed an otherwise routine 90 minutes of reality TV into an entirely original, tech-savvy "you-are-there" ghost story. A YouTube page, launched in early 2008, has collected a number of rare clips including scenes deleted from the broadcast and media reactions to the program's controversial one-time airing in its home country. Better yet is the production's official blog, which continues to track the project's status and highlights the on-going involvement of original cast members and creative talents.
Perhaps Behind the Curtains's eventual roll-out will spur the Beeb to re-release the long out-of-print original again on DVD. For fans who have yet to revel in its spooky splendors, here's hoping! We'll be training a much closer eye on this one going forward, and will keep you updated!