The terror of television Made worse by family stress

EDITOR, - D Simons and W R Silveira describe post-traumatic stress disorder in two 10 year old boys, which was apparently precipitated by the programme Ghostwatch shown on television on Hallowe'en (31 October) 1992.1 We have treated an 11 year old boy who was referred with a 12 month history of sleep difficulties, nightmares, fear of the dark and of sleeping alone, fear of ghosts, intrusive thoughts, and panic attacks; the onset of these symptoms had been sudden, occurring immediately after he had watched Ghostwatch. He had become phobic about going upstairs to his bedroom (he said that the house reminded him of the haunted house in the television programme) and had begun to stay overnight in an aunt's flat. He had had no symptoms before watching the television programme, although his mother described him as having a slightly anxious personality. His older sister, however, had a history of encopresis and enuresis and emotional disorder, which had been diagnosed after a lengthy and acrimonious parental separation several years previously.

The boy responded to congnitive and behavioural strategies addressing his anxieties and behaviour, including gradual reintroduction to his bedroom, and …