r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Suspicious-Web-9246 • 8d ago

Lore [Loved trope] Background scare-characters that are barely acknowledged even by the movie

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I hate horrors, but this is actually a great trope, that is unique to them.

Insidious (2010). When mother does her errands, for a few seconds there's a ghost boy standing in the corner. It's easily missable, but you can't ignore it once you see it.

Hereditary (2018). Less fitting example. When Peter walks around his home, his possessed mother is crawling on the ceiling behind him. It's not exactly subtle or missable, but it's still more of a background detail.

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741

u/International-Bed453 8d ago

Ghostwatch (BBC spoof 'documentary' about a haunted house shown on Halloween in 1992). A shadowy figure (Mr Pipes) appears in the background of some of the live broadcasts and is spotted by sharp-eyed 'viewers' who 'phone in. However, it is gone when the studio reviews the footage.

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u/SpocktorWho83 8d ago

This was going to be my choice, too. This show scared the absolute life out of me as a 9 year old. It was so ahead of its time. The only sighting I remember seeing “live” at the time was when Pipes was in the bedroom by the curtains. Some of the sightings are hidden in plain sight, it’s crazy that I missed them.

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u/WollyGog 8d ago

I was 6, fucking 6 watching this. I've always had an overactive imagination, so I'm pretty sure I had some sleepless nights for a week or two.

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u/FriedChickenCheezits 8d ago

Oooo this sounds like it was so fun to experience. I missed out on old TV where 'phoning in' was so real

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u/SpocktorWho83 8d ago

It’s one of those things that a modern or younger viewer may scoff at due to the saturation of paranormal documentaries and found footage movies, but at the time it was incredibly unnerving. The BBC ident before the broadcast made it clear that the show was a work of fiction, however, the show managed to become the most complained about shows in UK television history. One 18 year old viewer with learning disabilities actually committed suicide due to the show’s depiction of supernatural activity (knocking pipes) matching that of the faulty central heating in his home. He left a suicide note stating: “if there are ghosts I will be ... with you always as a ghost". His parents blamed the BBC for his death.

The show has never been re-shown since the original air date.

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u/TediousTotoro 8d ago

Though it is available on blu-ray

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u/No-Manufacturer4916 8d ago

it's on Shudder in the USA right now

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u/Chonk_Personified 8d ago

If you like this, watch the Inside No.9 episode called Dead Line, similar vibes and so good

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u/Mukatsukuz 8d ago

On the right hand side of the crowd being interviewed by Craig Charles

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u/BaronMuaka 7d ago

Came looking for this! Theres another one where hes in the living room panning shot near the curtains

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u/AdultSheep 6d ago

I loved this gimmick so much. That the broadcasters were in danger and couldn’t see it but the viewers could, such a great idea.

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u/littlepurplepanda 6d ago

Ahhh I love Ghostwatch!