• GHOSTWATCH at 1532 Theatre
  
• Tuesday, October 27, 2026
• 6:00 PM  8:45 PM

• Elton Rd, Bristol, England, BS8 1SJUnited Kingdom

“A masterstroke, more unsettling than any amount of explicit horror [...] Even today, when we can feel safe in the knowledge that it’s all fiction, ‘Ghostwatch’ is still an incredibly effective piece of experimental television. Just don’t watch it alone”
— Paul Whitelaw (The Guardian)
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DOORS: 18:00 | FILM BEGINS: 18:30
For our 10th anniversary celebrations, we’re bringing a truly legendary phenomenon to the big screen, plus a Q&A with the man who wrote it…
We’re absolutely thrilled to have been granted kind permission to screen Ghostwatch this October. Originally aired on BBC1 on Halloween 1992, this pseudo-documentary depicting a paranormal investigation gone horribly awry “live” on national television proved to be so controversial and disturbing that 33 years on, it’s still yet to be repeated on any UK-based television channel. Years ahead of its time, it’s rightfully the stuff of television legend - and for some of our audience, likely still the stuff of nightmares!
In addition to an introduction from Festival Director Owen Franklin explaining the context and cultural impact of the film, we’re honoured to be joined by Ghostwatch writer (and Bristol University alumnus!) Stephen Volk, who will be taking part in a post-film Q&A session. It promises to be one of the most memorable Halloween events in the Festival’s history - make sure you book early, and bring someone for company, for when the chills get real…!

Out of print for decades, The Hammer Horror Omnibus returns.

Featuring eight novelisations across two volumes, this curated collection captures some of horror’s most enduring icons from Hammer’s classic era of macabre storytelling - from Frankenstein and The Reptile, to The Gorgon and Dracula.

Written by John Burke, these novelisations also showcase brand new cover artwork in beautifully presented editions - an essential for fans of gothic horror and film fiction.

With Introductions and Afterwords by Stephen Gallagher, Ramsey Campbell (vol 1) Stephen Laws and yours truly (vol 2). A great honour to be asked. For all the reasons I give in print! 

Order page here

Karen Hamilton-Viall interviews Stephen Volk on "The Confirmed Bachelors", his new chapbook from Black Shuck Books, the notorious Ghostwatch, the attraction of ghosts and horror, and a life of writing for the page and screen. 

From 2.00 in. (Scarred for Life podcast) 

I really enjoyed chatting to critic and writer John Bleasdale about film, life, writing and a life of loving stories. We had a surprising amount in common, not least our love of Horror movies and Don't Look Now.  John's books include Darkness Visible, a remarkable study of film director Jonathan Glazer, and, more recently, the novel Connery. 

Hear our conversation here

Dr Alessandra Pino introduces a new episode of "A Curious Appetite" (link below)...

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6qC4WdhRvvgDlfmc1Cup4u...

"Today’s guest is the brilliant screenwriter behind Ghostwatch, Afterlife, Gothic, The Guardian, and one of my favourite supernatural films, The Awakening. We talk about séances as the perfect storytelling device, Dickens and “The Portrait-Painter’s Story” and how it inspired one of his stories, belief and doubt as the engine of ghost stories, food, eggs, and everyday objects in horror. Volk also discusses his excellent short story collections The Good Unknown (2023) and The Confirmed Bachelors (2025). 

"There is a moment from Ghostwatch that has stayed with me since childhood. The poltergeist makes itself known through a ruined dinner when the family’s mackerel suddenly appears covered in something that looks disturbingly like saliva. I remember thinking how awful it was that not only were they experiencing something terrifying, but they now could not even sit down and eat their meal. Because horror does not just interrupt fear. Sometimes it interrupts dinner!

"Part of this conversation also appears in Haunted Magazine #49, out now. Listen now and let me know what you think. If you enjoy it, please share and follow the podcast."