10 Horror Movies That Are All Too Real
4. Ghostwatch
Though not technically a feature film, Ghostwatch is nevertheless a perfect example of when horror fiction proved to be too real for some audiences.
A Halloween special that aired on the BBC in 1992, this dramatized feature-length programme took the guise of a live broadcast presented by Michael Parkinson alongside other TV personalities Sarah Greene and Craig Charles as they investigate a suburban family’s home said to be haunted by the ghost of a malevolent poltergeist named Pipes.
With events in the house getting increasingly stranger as “viewers” call in to report their own paranormal occurrences, this TV special accelerates to a chilling climax in which it's claimed that evil spirits have been released into the homes of those watching through their televisions.
Despite Ghostwatch being filmed weeks in advance and being listed as a drama in the Radio Times, thousands of viewers believed that what they were seeing was really happening. Consequently, the BBC was reported to have received a 30,000 calls from disgruntled viewers.
Banned for a decade and never repeated on UK TV, Ghostwatch was even linked to a suicide and cited as being the cause of PTSD in children who watched it.