This was probably the scariest thing I saw as a child (age 10 at the time) - with the possible exception of those 'Rabies' posters. There was another episode about a girl who put plasticene down a gun and when it backfired it blew the bad guy's eye out. Armchair Theatre was unbelievably frightening. Wasn't it on at about 7.30 in the evening too?
Agreed...saw this as a kid and it was terrifying that scene, seem to recall the story was not so eerie in the finish but that scene has stayed with me since and i am now 45, a friend had the paperback book with that image on the cover.
Wow, that scene has haunted me since I first saw it all those years ago. I thought it was called The Black Nun. It's the only TV show or movie that scared me as a child.
@GiantTalon3 - wierd how the mind plays tricks - I also thought it was called the black nun for some reason, I'm English and forty, my wife is Irish and 32 and we BOTH have the same memory of being scared witless by this thing when we were kids! we were talking about it today and am amazed that I can find it on here, amazed how many people felt like me about it and Amazed how bloody scary it still is! nightmares tonight!
I cannot believe that my Nan used to let me watch this when I was 7 years old!!! We were just discussing programmes that scared the s**t out of us when we were kids and the opening credits with the shadow sitting in the armchair scared me half to death and when I watched it on here it made me go goose pimply!! When I found this OMG, its the only part of the programme I can remember, I dont know the story, what happened at all other than the nun with no face. Still made me go cold lol
I had flipping nightmares about that faceless nun for years, i was about 8 when I saw it, I have just found this clip and it is EXACTLY as i remember it 30 years ago, I even remembered the characters name was Jamima, playschool was never the same after that
I saw this when I was 4, the first time I experienced fear probably. Too frightened to watch it again. Then when I did I found out what it was all about and the fear has gone now! I miss the fear a bit!
I f**king shit myself when me and my younger brother watched this at home in 1978 I think!! It still frightens the bejesus out of me now. Nothing as scary as this ha been done, simple but bloody effective.
like most, I was about 7 when i first saw this, freaked me right out. shared a bedroom with one of my brothers and he recorded the theme music and played it at night before I went to bed to keep me freaked!!! what a bro. although in the 70`s no one cared what you watched! we sat down and watched the exorcist as a family film!
like most, I was about 7 when i first saw this, freaked me right out. shared a bedroom with one of my brothers and he recorded the theme music and played it at night before I went to bed to keep me freaked!!! what a bro. although in the 70`s no one cared what you watched! we sa
Oh my goodness! I was ten years old when I saw this. It completely freaked me out; in fact I don't think I ever got over it. Even now, thirty-odd years later I still tremble when I go into the attic ...
I have goose bumps. I've been scared by this for years, no-one knew what I was talking about, I even recorded PD James The Black Tower and watched all the episodes because I was so sure that's what it was..Its strange how all those years ago I can still remember where I was- watching it with my Dad on my sofa, so scary, thanks for this clip.
amazing. I've just travelled back 33 years through watching this clip on you tube. Absolutely bricked my pants watching this as a kid and it was the talk of the playground the next day. Fantastic memories.
I remember this so well, from all those years ago when I watched it as a child - unforgettable terror! This series was so good and I think Quiet As A Nun was the best - it was just sooo spooky ps thanks so much for posting
I remember this so well, from all those years ago when I watched it as a child - unforgettable terror! This series was so good and I think Quiet As A Nun was the best - it was just sooo spooky
Along with the other 179 commenters, this scared me witless aged 12 when I saw it for the first time. It's made worse by the buildup and the fact that the little girl has seen the black nun already and keeps sobbing "she had no face." Huh? How that can that be? Oh, right. Arrrgh - it's true!
I saw this when it aired as a small child and have never forgotten it, it gave me nightmares for weeks afterwards! Just found it again here and watching it got the adrenaline pumping again. Thanks for uploading!
Awesome clip. This video has always creeped the hell out of me, and not much horror stuff has ever been able to do that. Wish they made horror tv shows like these now
I am 26 years old. This freaked me out the 1st time i saw it n it still freaks me out. Imagine it on a personel level. U'r lost in the woods, u find refuge in an old church, go upstairs n u r greeted by a nun with a black mask over its face! I would cry like a little girl. Infact i'd run so fast in the opposite direction i'd probably travel back in time. Plutonium or no plutonium. This is sum creepy atmospheric stuff. They dn't make things like this nowadays. Dam that scary nun
The scary shadow in the opening titles, the very scary nun in the rocking chair. Blimey! I was about 8 years old when I first saw this and was utterly terrified at the time. I'm 41 now and still just as scared of the opening titles and the faceless nun.
I remember watching this when I was about 11 or 12 and it scared the S*** out of me, a faceless Nun in a rocking chair in a church, still scares me and I'm 42 now,lol !
I saw this for the 1 and only time as a 10 year old. I couldnt watch the rest of the series because the theme tune frightened me too much. It remains to this day the scariest thing I ever saw on T.V. after just seeing it again at 41 I once again am afraid of going to the toilet alone.
I can remember what seemed like the whole school talking about this the next day. The show was a huge hit at the time.
Everyone was terrified. TV is so crap now. I remember that during the week, everyone used to watch ITV and at the weekends, BBC1. Now there is nothing on either. Sad.
this really scared me when I first watched it. I had thought it was one of the tales of the unexpected series; I'd forgotten about Armchair Thriller. Never trusted rocking chairs after that!
The only two things i remember of this series when i watched it air as a kid (and my dad letting me watch it) was 1) the theme and 2) that bloody nun sequence - really did put the wind up me!
Bloody hell!!That brings back memories(not in a good way), i remember watching this when i was a kid, Sunday night it was on, probably watched "That's Life" afterwards to lighten the mood :)
Think the landing light was on for a few nights after this.I'll probably leave it on tonight come to think of it.
scariest moment of my life as a kid!!!! i remember it sooooooo clearly i am 40 now so must of only been 7 or 8 but that scene is still scary now !!LMAO what were my parents doing letting me watch that!!!!
@leschampkinu2 Hhahaha dude, i was gonna say the same thing,,, i used to beg to stay up to watch it, then when the opening music came on i was already pissing my self with fear, then when it finnished i was too frightened to go to bed hahahahaha, what memories.
308lee I may or may not be able to help. I seem to recall a weird and scary play (play for today?) on the bbc back in 1980 where a family of transparent aliens were being hidden in a bedroom. Can't remember the title tho bt it was definately on tv.
A very young Patsy Kensit appears in the black nun story.
I have seen a lot of horror films in my 40 years, but I have to say that this is the only thing that ever really scared me. I was only 10 at the time, but the impact it left was incredible.
Probably the most memorable and scary episode of the show. I remember this and the episode of Sapphire & Steel about the man with no face in the photos very vividly!!
How scary was this!.....i was so scared of this when i was younger!......my babysitter used to shout upstairs to me and my sister that the black nun was up there if we would'nt come down stairs, it worked cause we would come down 3 stairs at a time...lol
This totally terrified me....Blair Witch is pants by comparison. I was 10 at the time, I can remember the very night I watched it and lying in bed unable to sleep...all I could hear was the creak of the nun's chair on the landing, waiting for her face to appear.
It is amazing that so many people share the same feeling about this series, I thought I was alone. This was the most scary thing (just the chair!) I ever saw on TV ever. Of course I was only a child. But even now I remember the fear, it was a very, very unpleasant feeling.
Same as everyone else. I was ten and it scared me witless and stuck with me. Anyone remember the episode (or it may have been a different series) where an alien that looked like a lampshade was kept in a bedroom or the one where the ghost of a dolphin haunted a pool? I'm not making this up. :-)
The dolphin haunting the pool (!) was from the series 'BEASTS' written by Nigel Kneale, and entitled 'Buddyboy'...and to be honest quite ridiculous, like the rest of the series mostly; can't help you with the alien lampshade though, sorry!
I had to sleep with the light on after watching Armchair Thriller... i was only 7 yrs old ! I think it only ran for two years but what a lasting impression.
Like anyone who saw this episode in the late 70's it has left a mark after all these years. I am still terrified of nuns! And that music! I think I watched this episode (easily the scariest) at my Grans house in Warrington, my sister must have been in bed but I bet a talked about it the next day just to frighten her (what a sweet brother)!
it took me a couple of goes to summon up the courage to watch this. I was about 5 when this was originally on and it scared the crap out of me then, and it's still powerfully scary today.
As if the opening credits weren't scary enough ...
I still have a lasting fear of this (evident by the fact I had to stop the clip at 7 seconds). The whole nun with no face story left me with nightmares for a long time.
I saw this when I was about ten years old.. over 30 year later, I still remember screaming and gripping the door frames as I was too scared to go to bed! And I can't be in the same room as a rocking chair to this day.
and that's Jonathan Aitken's sister Maria creeping about with the torch there. She got done for bringing thru cocaine at Heathrow in the early 80s. No wonder the poor woman turned to the gear...
btw QAAN here is from the book of the same name by Antonia Fraser (daughter of Lord "Myra Hindley" Longford" and missus of Harold Pinter. Good stuff
aww man now i dont know how old this thing is and im 14 die hard horror fan blood and gore, its nothing, i can watch every modern and old horror and laugh my ass off through it but the only two things that keep me from doing this are the movie susperia (dario argento shout out bird with the crystal plumage ftw) and this clip cuz thats just fucking scary the only shit that seems to be scary is the Italian stuff (assuming this is italian) just amazing on a bun WER IZ THE FULL EPISODE?!?!?!?!?!
It was 1st broadcast in spring 1978 - I was 12 and just couldn't believe it was shown before the 9pm watershed. IFRC it went out at 7pm. I'd forgotten iit until I saw that special 'night-time' Thames ident and then suddenly the memories of Sisters Ancilla and Boniface came right back ...
Really good find- this scared the willies out of me when I was a kid. Also it made Channel 4's charts of 50 scariest moments so I wasn't the only one.
@ShatterheartTheFirst depends how old you are. If you were <10, in the 70s, and the scariest thing you'd ever seen up to that point was The Wizard Of Oz, then it was well shocking. (Also, bear in mind that back then we didn't have VCRs, or kids channels. You watched what your parents watched. Good and bad)
absolutely scared the crap out of me as a kid, gave me recurring nightmares too!! Funny, researching this online I didn't realise that it was on as a kids tv prog. I thought i'd just been left to stay up late by accident! Took a couple of gos to pluck up courage to watch it again but wasn't so bad once I watched it.
You are absolutely right ! I only realised after watching this clip and reading the various comments that the full episode is now available to buy on dvd;so,I have ordered it ! Looking forward to watching the full version!!
@blyid1 I'm a bit late to the party here but I'm exactly the same - this was on one schoolnight when I was about 8 & my brother 7. We had nightmares for ages and still remember this episode over 30 years later.
You could always play it on your computer and use region free software like VLC player. Or search for a region unlock code for your DVD player - usually a combination of numbers typed on the remote.
I remember watching this programme, when I was about nine years old, and being really scared.But a few years later I was skiving of school and they showed a repeat of it in the afternoon and it didnt scare me has much in the cold light of day.
Watching clips of shows like this again make yo feel sorry for youngsters today who have nothing like the quality tv shows on offer now we had back in the 70's and 80's.
They dont make shows like this any more and its a real shame.
Should think about bringing it back, but not wasting it. Keeping the gothic horror style to it.
When this was on in the 70's, it was the only Thames TV produced show to have the 'night-time' Thames bit at the beginning. So you knew what was coming next.
This gave me nightmares for years. I was so scared I remember being physically sick after watching this.
All I can say is that I'm glad it's not just me. And - yes - replying to somebody else, I don't like going up into my attic through the hatch in the ceiling, poking the torch ahead of me!
wow - that scared the shit out of me when I say it as a 12 year old originally, i had to sleep with the lights on for quite a while. Thanks for putting it online.
that was the scariest thing i'd seen in my life 30 years ago.the girl on the ladder got her own series a few years later.jemmima shore investigates,although patricia hodge took over the role.
I saw this when I was about 8-9...scared the hell out of me. To this day, I have a phobia of nuns and rocking chairs. I can't bring myself to watch this clip.
Wow this takes me back, I must have been 7 or 8 when I first saw this, for some reason I recall this being on in the afternoon during the week on LWT? I maybe wrong?? The main thing that got me was the opening titles I'd always watch them half hiding behind the sofa lol Great memories!!
Thank you SO SO much for posting this! It aired when I was a child and I have never stopped looking for it since. I so WISH they would release it to DVD, but for now I can scare myself SENSELESS, once again, with this clip!
I was terrified by this as well. Think I was 8 or 9. Between the school showing me Apaches and the TV putting this out before 9pm, it's amazing that I've never ended up in therapy1 Sally
I join the rest of you here as I vividly remember the scary ending and had to have my mum read Whizzer and Chips to me with the light on til I went off to sleep. Anyone want to start a help group?!!
Many thanks for posting this - I think it's a real tribute to the quality of the TV programmes of the 70's that I can still remember the theme tune note for note and this particular scene was really terrifying. That particular night we had extended family staying and we all jumped when the black nun appeared. Needless to say we could hardly sleep afterwards!
i never did see this episode but i remember when i was about 5 or 6 it was the intro that always freaked me out.
when i found the intro on youtube at about 1.30am i rang my older sister up who was at home alone that night with her two kids and put the speaker to my phone and played the theme tune down the phone...hahaha it shit her right up,needless to say it shit her right up as it was a bolt out of the blue which she never forgot as a kid too ....i know i'm cruel :-)
I watched this series when I was about 10 - I think it's 30 years old. It must of been on about 8pm because my parents were strict about the 9pm watershed. The black nun in the chair is really the only clip that I remember today and ranks slightly above other 'behind the sofa' Dr Who moments. Sadly the author is resisting release of this series on DVD. Many thanks to Skinbackyourpeel for having the foresight to record, keep & show this clip.
I just want to repeat what a lot of people are saying about this clip. It scared the bejaysus out of me when I was a kid. Primary 6 or 7 I'd have been in at the time, so about 10 or 11. That bit where you see the nun rocking back and forth with no face - it was the talk of the playground next day. "Did you see the Black Nun?" - I am so glad I found this clip.
One question though - when Jemima Shore heard the rocking chair first time, why didn't she run like bloody fuck?
Always remember this as our school was a convenant shared with nuns and top floor was boarded up.We were convinced we could hear chairs creaking.Good post.
Hee, I remember this!! Terrified the shit out of me and was the main talking point at Primary School. I remember one girl getting terribly upset cause she said she saw the black nun in the library. Hee hee, unbelievable, but good times!
I was 10 when this was screened and I can remember having to go upstairs to bed when it was finished. Tried every trick and excuse to get back down to sitting room and eventually spent the night sleeping in parents bed !!!
never saw this myself but my husband has often tried to describe the nun in the chair scene, so i'm glad ive found it. When he wakes up tomorrow I will show him the clip..or should i be evil and wake him now (2am)to scare him??
I wasn't allowed to stay up & watch this, but I went downstairs to get a drink and this was the only bit I saw. Scared me s***less - I had nightmares for weeks!
Seems laughable now, but this scared the bejesus out of me as a kid. It's one of my defining childhood memories, particularly as my primary school was run by nuns!
can't believe this had the same effect on so many 70's kids! To make matters worse we had a picture of St Gertrude in her nuns habit in the house and my sicko brother painted her face out with black paint one night. I nearly died when I saw it. Happy memories!!!
oh great now the 'never think about those scary programmes' have surfaced again for this one from my subconsious...great..just great...this programme gave me the shit's for years and still does at times..especially when going up the stairs at night like that nun scene....mummeeeee...!!
christ I used to try and block this image out of my head at night for weeks after i saw it in april 1978. I used to try and think of C3PO and R2D2 at the beginning of star wars but saw them both in nun costumes. It fucked me
This is THE standout episode......still gives me the creeps over 30 years later :O
56postoffice 1 month ago
Masterclass in understated scariness, still gives me goose bumps
youngian 1 month ago
This was probably the scariest thing I saw as a child (age 10 at the time) - with the possible exception of those 'Rabies' posters. There was another episode about a girl who put plasticene down a gun and when it backfired it blew the bad guy's eye out. Armchair Theatre was unbelievably frightening. Wasn't it on at about 7.30 in the evening too?
MrBeenyboy 2 months ago
@MrBeenyboy it was so so creepy, my mum said we could watch it but go straight to bed after it was terrifying
SuzySuzySuzy999 1 month ago
shouldn't have watched this... I've reverted back to being that terrified kid in the 70s. Leaving the light on lol
47heroes 3 months ago
Agreed...saw this as a kid and it was terrifying that scene, seem to recall the story was not so eerie in the finish but that scene has stayed with me since and i am now 45, a friend had the paperback book with that image on the cover.
nuuuurrr 3 months ago
Wow, that scene has haunted me since I first saw it all those years ago. I thought it was called The Black Nun. It's the only TV show or movie that scared me as a child.
GiantTalon3 3 months ago
@GiantTalon3 - wierd how the mind plays tricks - I also thought it was called the black nun for some reason, I'm English and forty, my wife is Irish and 32 and we BOTH have the same memory of being scared witless by this thing when we were kids! we were talking about it today and am amazed that I can find it on here, amazed how many people felt like me about it and Amazed how bloody scary it still is! nightmares tonight!
roofgiant 3 months ago
I cannot believe that my Nan used to let me watch this when I was 7 years old!!! We were just discussing programmes that scared the s**t out of us when we were kids and the opening credits with the shadow sitting in the armchair scared me half to death and when I watched it on here it made me go goose pimply!! When I found this OMG, its the only part of the programme I can remember, I dont know the story, what happened at all other than the nun with no face. Still made me go cold lol
fayandbrad 3 months ago
OMG so scary! I remember this and I'm 43 now! Still scares the crap out of me!
mvillmer 3 months ago
I had flipping nightmares about that faceless nun for years, i was about 8 when I saw it, I have just found this clip and it is EXACTLY as i remember it 30 years ago, I even remembered the characters name was Jamima, playschool was never the same after that
kellyben0627 4 months ago
@kellyben0627 A whole generation of us was traumatised by this piece of drama. I have never been properly right since I saw it.
Debbieht68 4 months ago
I saw this when I was 4, the first time I experienced fear probably. Too frightened to watch it again. Then when I did I found out what it was all about and the fear has gone now! I miss the fear a bit!
MrXanaduFilms 4 months ago
If she started screaming like that at me I'd wanna give her a slap too.
richwicz 5 months ago
I f**king shit myself when me and my younger brother watched this at home in 1978 I think!! It still frightens the bejesus out of me now. Nothing as scary as this ha been done, simple but bloody effective.
TheRapmeister 5 months ago
man i remember watchin this i was 8 or so definitely one of the scariest things i've ever seen i always remember it
LEGENDLEN 5 months ago
like most, I was about 7 when i first saw this, freaked me right out. shared a bedroom with one of my brothers and he recorded the theme music and played it at night before I went to bed to keep me freaked!!! what a bro. although in the 70`s no one cared what you watched! we sat down and watched the exorcist as a family film!
37hunter12 6 months ago
like most, I was about 7 when i first saw this, freaked me right out. shared a bedroom with one of my brothers and he recorded the theme music and played it at night before I went to bed to keep me freaked!!! what a bro. although in the 70`s no one cared what you watched! we sa
37hunter12 6 months ago
Oh my goodness! I was ten years old when I saw this. It completely freaked me out; in fact I don't think I ever got over it. Even now, thirty-odd years later I still tremble when I go into the attic ...
Debbieht68 7 months ago
Watched it with my mum she was saying to skip it and so we went o nun and I wet my pants
sus99111 7 months ago
I have goose bumps. I've been scared by this for years, no-one knew what I was talking about, I even recorded PD James The Black Tower and watched all the episodes because I was so sure that's what it was..Its strange how all those years ago I can still remember where I was- watching it with my Dad on my sofa, so scary, thanks for this clip.
crink73 7 months ago
Does anybody know where filming took place, specifically where the tower is ?
Rubieraoreilly 7 months ago
This isn't the one where a nun is sitting in a monsastary and there's a deep, roaring growl from the next room that makes her dress flutter, is it?
altermann1ify 8 months ago
This was first shown on April 18th, 1978.
arizonabay15 9 months ago
amazing. I've just travelled back 33 years through watching this clip on you tube. Absolutely bricked my pants watching this as a kid and it was the talk of the playground the next day. Fantastic memories.
UBZUKI 9 months ago
I remember this so well, from all those years ago when I watched it as a child - unforgettable terror! This series was so good and I think Quiet As A Nun was the best - it was just sooo spooky ps thanks so much for posting
MystyMary 10 months ago
I remember this so well, from all those years ago when I watched it as a child - unforgettable terror! This series was so good and I think Quiet As A Nun was the best - it was just sooo spooky
MystyMary 10 months ago
Along with the other 179 commenters, this scared me witless aged 12 when I saw it for the first time. It's made worse by the buildup and the fact that the little girl has seen the black nun already and keeps sobbing "she had no face." Huh? How that can that be? Oh, right. Arrrgh - it's true!
Brrr.
camp3rman 10 months ago
Great clip. Like many others this spooked me when I was young never forgot it.
ancietman 10 months ago
I saw this when it aired as a small child and have never forgotten it, it gave me nightmares for weeks afterwards! Just found it again here and watching it got the adrenaline pumping again. Thanks for uploading!
chuckyoofarley 11 months ago
Funny shit Classic!!! And love all the comments lol
kingnebulous 11 months ago
Awesome clip. This video has always creeped the hell out of me, and not much horror stuff has ever been able to do that. Wish they made horror tv shows like these now
studdles2007 11 months ago
I am 26 years old. This freaked me out the 1st time i saw it n it still freaks me out. Imagine it on a personel level. U'r lost in the woods, u find refuge in an old church, go upstairs n u r greeted by a nun with a black mask over its face! I would cry like a little girl. Infact i'd run so fast in the opposite direction i'd probably travel back in time. Plutonium or no plutonium. This is sum creepy atmospheric stuff. They dn't make things like this nowadays. Dam that scary nun
thuganomics84 1 year ago
OK scary how exactly? sorry I just don't get how this is supposed to be scary
KapitanArkangel 1 year ago
@KapitanArkangel Was for a nine year old...
chabezloujas 1 year ago
@chabezloujas OK Got Me There
KapitanArkangel 1 year ago
@KapitanArkangel you had to watch it at the time and be young.
blazingflaneur 10 months ago
Omg the faceless nun's.Nothing that much scared me that much as a kid,but i remember
this and it scared the shit out of me.Ty for posting it
urtube2k9 1 year ago
can't believe i've found this clip, I saw this when I was kid and have never been the same since.
robertodowneso 1 year ago
Haven't seen nuns in the same light since, lol.
chabezloujas 1 year ago
The scary shadow in the opening titles, the very scary nun in the rocking chair. Blimey! I was about 8 years old when I first saw this and was utterly terrified at the time. I'm 41 now and still just as scared of the opening titles and the faceless nun.
williamssr001 1 year ago
I remember watching this when I was about 11 or 12 and it scared the S*** out of me, a faceless Nun in a rocking chair in a church, still scares me and I'm 42 now,lol !
steve7395 1 year ago
very scary still stands the test of time
Drevilbreakfast 1 year ago
I saw this for the 1 and only time as a 10 year old. I couldnt watch the rest of the series because the theme tune frightened me too much. It remains to this day the scariest thing I ever saw on T.V. after just seeing it again at 41 I once again am afraid of going to the toilet alone.
1968jumanji 1 year ago
@1968jumanji I totally agree. This terified me for years!
thomasmichael1 1 year ago
Thanks for putting this up.
I can remember what seemed like the whole school talking about this the next day. The show was a huge hit at the time.
Everyone was terrified. TV is so crap now. I remember that during the week, everyone used to watch ITV and at the weekends, BBC1. Now there is nothing on either. Sad.
Leosw4 1 year ago
Brings back memories i was about 7 or 8 ,scared the shit out of me,music made my hair stand on end .lol
f1massafan 1 year ago
i used to watch the opening then shit myself and run up the stairs.
milktop 1 year ago
please please please, do you have the full version of this episode, I wnt to bring back my childhood by seeing it, thanks for uploading
knutfheifer 1 year ago
I crapped myself a lot in the 1970's.
JapStrangler 1 year ago
Scared the bejesus out of me when I was a kid. I slept with the light on for months afterwards
drewdi39 1 year ago
this really scared me when I first watched it. I had thought it was one of the tales of the unexpected series; I'd forgotten about Armchair Thriller. Never trusted rocking chairs after that!
pamcel 1 year ago
i don't understand what's so scary about that? =S
Rhiaaa7397 1 year ago
LOL! xD
Rhiaaa7397 1 year ago
The only two things i remember of this series when i watched it air as a kid (and my dad letting me watch it) was 1) the theme and 2) that bloody nun sequence - really did put the wind up me!
TheUTubeTeamSucks 1 year ago
Bloody hell!!That brings back memories(not in a good way), i remember watching this when i was a kid, Sunday night it was on, probably watched "That's Life" afterwards to lighten the mood :)
Think the landing light was on for a few nights after this.I'll probably leave it on tonight come to think of it.
darrenpotts 1 year ago
Yeah shock to my childhood when i saw this spooky scene! This and also the 'do not talk to strangers' video they showed at school. Scarry s*#t
Lovafunk69 1 year ago
I saw this in about 1978. It scared me so much that 32 years on, I can't be in the same room as a rocking chair.
I'm amazed at just how many people were badly affected by this programme.
pixieswan 1 year ago
S**T i remeber this episode when i was a kid it s**t me up then as now
gjack40 1 year ago
I was 11 when I first watched armchair thriller. "mummy" !
blaggermouth 1 year ago
Thanks for the video.
Could you you upload the whole chapters or the "limbo conection" one?
bassmoster 1 year ago
Yeah - I remember this scene. The nun with no face. I must have been around 5 - 6 when I saw this and I still remember it to this day.
I also remember one where a kid comes home to find his mother is a vampire. Gawd knows why I was allowed to watch this stuff lawl
trooperJac 2 years ago
There's something basicaly evil about a rocking chair.
mutinyonthekitkat 2 years ago
What an excellent clip. I remembered this series as I was in the last year of school. This just gave me goose pimples and I'm 47!
airscrew1 2 years ago
scariest moment of my life as a kid!!!! i remember it sooooooo clearly i am 40 now so must of only been 7 or 8 but that scene is still scary now !!LMAO what were my parents doing letting me watch that!!!!
leschampkinu2 2 years ago 6
@leschampkinu2 Hhahaha dude, i was gonna say the same thing,,, i used to beg to stay up to watch it, then when the opening music came on i was already pissing my self with fear, then when it finnished i was too frightened to go to bed hahahahaha, what memories.
goodsmile2010 2 years ago
@leschampkinu2 the same thing happened to me - my wife saw it too when she was a kid, we stillabout it!
roofgiant 3 months ago
308lee I may or may not be able to help. I seem to recall a weird and scary play (play for today?) on the bbc back in 1980 where a family of transparent aliens were being hidden in a bedroom. Can't remember the title tho bt it was definately on tv.
A very young Patsy Kensit appears in the black nun story.
dali366 2 years ago
I used to have a tv series called The Foundation on 16mm film and Patsy Kensit was in that too. I think she was in quite a lot of TV shows back then.
airscrew1 2 years ago
Yes some of the older kids in this episode also went on to appear in Grange Hill.
dali366 2 years ago
Comment removed
joshtealfilms 2 years ago
woaaaah
mesembe 2 years ago
I have seen a lot of horror films in my 40 years, but I have to say that this is the only thing that ever really scared me. I was only 10 at the time, but the impact it left was incredible.
flash971 2 years ago
yeh this scared the hell out of me as a young un , and salems lot , remember that....scary as.
collibosher70 2 years ago
Probably the most memorable and scary episode of the show. I remember this and the episode of Sapphire & Steel about the man with no face in the photos very vividly!!
cylon6 2 years ago
How scary was this!.....i was so scared of this when i was younger!......my babysitter used to shout upstairs to me and my sister that the black nun was up there if we would'nt come down stairs, it worked cause we would come down 3 stairs at a time...lol
loveumygirl 2 years ago
This totally terrified me....Blair Witch is pants by comparison. I was 10 at the time, I can remember the very night I watched it and lying in bed unable to sleep...all I could hear was the creak of the nun's chair on the landing, waiting for her face to appear.
68hejira 2 years ago
Yep.
Still sends a shiver.
Shit me up when I was 9 years old.
DrL0206 2 years ago
yes me to this stayed with me through my whole life,gud to know it werent just me it fucked up lol.
servoscum 2 years ago
I was about 10 when I saw this... 31 years later, I still can't be in the same room as a rocking chair.
pixieswan 2 years ago
It is amazing that so many people share the same feeling about this series, I thought I was alone. This was the most scary thing (just the chair!) I ever saw on TV ever. Of course I was only a child. But even now I remember the fear, it was a very, very unpleasant feeling.
DeadMartha 2 years ago 2
Same as everyone else. I was ten and it scared me witless and stuck with me. Anyone remember the episode (or it may have been a different series) where an alien that looked like a lampshade was kept in a bedroom or the one where the ghost of a dolphin haunted a pool? I'm not making this up. :-)
308lee 2 years ago
The dolphin haunting the pool (!) was from the series 'BEASTS' written by Nigel Kneale, and entitled 'Buddyboy'...and to be honest quite ridiculous, like the rest of the series mostly; can't help you with the alien lampshade though, sorry!
ebenezerhoary 2 years ago
ebenezerhoary...thanks such a lot for that!
Now I know for sure that I didn't just imagine it. Ta!
308lee 2 years ago
i watched this when i was about 8 and nearly had kittens it was well fucked up
TheJules2011 2 years ago 2
I had to sleep with the light on after watching Armchair Thriller... i was only 7 yrs old ! I think it only ran for two years but what a lasting impression.
smidsyonfire 2 years ago
is this an alternate ending?,only seen part 3 on you tube different end to this ?
hillyboy9999 2 years ago
WOW, its still scary!!!
fearclownz 2 years ago
Christ! Well thats one repressed memory thats not anymore. Sweet dreams. Not.
htershane 2 years ago
Like anyone who saw this episode in the late 70's it has left a mark after all these years. I am still terrified of nuns! And that music! I think I watched this episode (easily the scariest) at my Grans house in Warrington, my sister must have been in bed but I bet a talked about it the next day just to frighten her (what a sweet brother)!
FrankTownsend 2 years ago
it took me a couple of goes to summon up the courage to watch this. I was about 5 when this was originally on and it scared the crap out of me then, and it's still powerfully scary today.
deepspacenin 2 years ago
This damn episode shit me right up for months and months, I used to not be able to sleep thinking that faceless nun was in my loft!!!
masonblak 2 years ago
As if the opening credits weren't scary enough ...
I still have a lasting fear of this (evident by the fact I had to stop the clip at 7 seconds). The whole nun with no face story left me with nightmares for a long time.
Too freakn scary man I'm leaving this one alone.
slightlyfantastic 2 years ago
I saw this when I was about ten years old.. over 30 year later, I still remember screaming and gripping the door frames as I was too scared to go to bed! And I can't be in the same room as a rocking chair to this day.
pixieswan 2 years ago
and that's Jonathan Aitken's sister Maria creeping about with the torch there. She got done for bringing thru cocaine at Heathrow in the early 80s. No wonder the poor woman turned to the gear...
btw QAAN here is from the book of the same name by Antonia Fraser (daughter of Lord "Myra Hindley" Longford" and missus of Harold Pinter. Good stuff
krakenwave 2 years ago
aww man now i dont know how old this thing is and im 14 die hard horror fan blood and gore, its nothing, i can watch every modern and old horror and laugh my ass off through it but the only two things that keep me from doing this are the movie susperia (dario argento shout out bird with the crystal plumage ftw) and this clip cuz thats just fucking scary the only shit that seems to be scary is the Italian stuff (assuming this is italian) just amazing on a bun WER IZ THE FULL EPISODE?!?!?!?!?!
MeOwGoD19 2 years ago
It was 1st broadcast in spring 1978 - I was 12 and just couldn't believe it was shown before the 9pm watershed. IFRC it went out at 7pm. I'd forgotten iit until I saw that special 'night-time' Thames ident and then suddenly the memories of Sisters Ancilla and Boniface came right back ...
krakenwave 2 years ago
Really good find- this scared the willies out of me when I was a kid. Also it made Channel 4's charts of 50 scariest moments so I wasn't the only one.
youngian67 2 years ago
No sorry, what exactly is scary about this?
ShatterheartTheFirst 2 years ago
@ShatterheartTheFirst depends how old you are. If you were <10, in the 70s, and the scariest thing you'd ever seen up to that point was The Wizard Of Oz, then it was well shocking. (Also, bear in mind that back then we didn't have VCRs, or kids channels. You watched what your parents watched. Good and bad)
iggy23 1 year ago
absolutely scared the crap out of me as a kid, gave me recurring nightmares too!! Funny, researching this online I didn't realise that it was on as a kids tv prog. I thought i'd just been left to stay up late by accident! Took a couple of gos to pluck up courage to watch it again but wasn't so bad once I watched it.
theflye 2 years ago
Thats as scary as hell !! I remember watching that exact episode years ago as a kid and it was just as scary back then !!!
blyid1 2 years ago 2
Very true, just proves the point you don't need blood & gore to create a good spook.
skinbackyourpeel 2 years ago 4
You are absolutely right ! I only realised after watching this clip and reading the various comments that the full episode is now available to buy on dvd;so,I have ordered it ! Looking forward to watching the full version!!
blyid1 2 years ago
@skinbackyourpeel Absolutely right.......those shock movies are crap compared to this stuff.......
jonfletcher147 1 year ago
@blyid1 I'm a bit late to the party here but I'm exactly the same - this was on one schoolnight when I was about 8 & my brother 7. We had nightmares for ages and still remember this episode over 30 years later.
Mindfreak5150 10 months ago 2
WER CAN I WATCH A FULL EPISODE ONLINE?
azzaboi93 2 years ago
An Armchair Thriller set is due on dvd in the US in July. Check amazon.
TheBlackNun 2 years ago
I just ordered the complete 11 dvd boxset of Armchair Thriller cant wait for it to arive
stephensullivan1 3 years ago
Where did you order it?
fldevine1440 3 years ago
On Amazon its the complete series also Brian Clemens Thrillers are there which are just as good
stephensullivan1 3 years ago
I found them on Amazon's uk site, but I don't think they would work in the US. I didn't find them on the amazon US site.
frances
fldevine1440 3 years ago
You could always play it on your computer and use region free software like VLC player. Or search for a region unlock code for your DVD player - usually a combination of numbers typed on the remote.
peterdelane 2 years ago
I remember watching this programme, when I was about nine years old, and being really scared.But a few years later I was skiving of school and they showed a repeat of it in the afternoon and it didnt scare me has much in the cold light of day.
dzucco1 3 years ago
Watching clips of shows like this again make yo feel sorry for youngsters today who have nothing like the quality tv shows on offer now we had back in the 70's and 80's.
They dont make shows like this any more and its a real shame.
Should think about bringing it back, but not wasting it. Keeping the gothic horror style to it.
coolcelt 3 years ago 2
Couldn't agree more; still, at least today's youngsters don't have to change their pants as often!
rabengeraun 2 years ago 2
my mum told me about this and how shit scary it was and fuck me i wont be able 2 sleep 2night!
360FTW666 3 years ago
lovely backhander lol...used to watch this when I was about 10 and it made me plum myself lol
flemwad 3 years ago
When this was on in the 70's, it was the only Thames TV produced show to have the 'night-time' Thames bit at the beginning. So you knew what was coming next.
This gave me nightmares for years. I was so scared I remember being physically sick after watching this.
matelot95 3 years ago 4
Glad you liked it, Hope you managed to keep hold of your breakfast this time around.
skinbackyourpeel 3 years ago
that made me shat my pants that did..
pimlico96 3 years ago
funny
tommyrock911 3 years ago
I nearly messed myself
rabengeraun 3 years ago
scarry stuff
Hardy44500 3 years ago
All I can say is that I'm glad it's not just me. And - yes - replying to somebody else, I don't like going up into my attic through the hatch in the ceiling, poking the torch ahead of me!
sallynufc 3 years ago
wow - that scared the shit out of me when I say it as a 12 year old originally, i had to sleep with the lights on for quite a while. Thanks for putting it online.
il2st 3 years ago 4
haha great stuff, this is the only episode i remember, scared me so much as a kid.Thanks for posting!
crackityjones777 3 years ago
Superb show in its day
kookinoncool 3 years ago 2
that was the scariest thing i'd seen in my life 30 years ago.the girl on the ladder got her own series a few years later.jemmima shore investigates,although patricia hodge took over the role.
maximumcobblers 3 years ago
well that was shit scary...
apeandbirdgang 3 years ago
Nevermind Sapphire & Steel!
borgduck 3 years ago
I saw this when I was about 8-9...scared the hell out of me. To this day, I have a phobia of nuns and rocking chairs. I can't bring myself to watch this clip.
pixieswan 3 years ago
This really scared me as a child. Can't believe it used to be on at 8.30pm on a Thursday night.
DrTed07 3 years ago
i remember being terrified i must of been about 5,stayed with me for ages.makes me think about a time way deep in my memories,great
hanghang81 3 years ago
I've only got one thing to say about this clip of Quiet As A Nun...more please...more...more...MORE...
proff180 3 years ago
Wow this takes me back, I must have been 7 or 8 when I first saw this, for some reason I recall this being on in the afternoon during the week on LWT? I maybe wrong?? The main thing that got me was the opening titles I'd always watch them half hiding behind the sofa lol Great memories!!
RogerRamjet08 3 years ago
Thank you SO SO much for posting this! It aired when I was a child and I have never stopped looking for it since. I so WISH they would release it to DVD, but for now I can scare myself SENSELESS, once again, with this clip!
cynthiajellis 3 years ago
hi there they have released most of the series on dvd try ebay or amazon
loreintuition 3 years ago
the black nun has always stayed with me.fucking shit me up and i was only 8.
iansithlord 3 years ago
I couldnt agree more,the black nun scared the living shit out of me when i was 9 and have never forgotten it.
clivegrah 3 years ago
I was terrified by this as well. Think I was 8 or 9. Between the school showing me Apaches and the TV putting this out before 9pm, it's amazing that I've never ended up in therapy1 Sally
sallynufc 3 years ago
Im with you on that Sally, Whenever were driving in the country my wife and kids think windmills are beutiful, but we think otherwise dont we.
clivegrah 3 years ago
We are not the only ones, clive!
sallynufc 3 years ago 2
I thought I was the only one permanently affectd by this programme. I can't be in the same room as a rocking chair...
pixieswan 3 years ago
this really messed with my head .i had reoccuring nightmares for years .dont let children watch it
suzanneroland 2 years ago
I thought I was the only one to be so traumatised by this... reading the comments, I'm certainly not alone!
Over 30 years on, I can't pluck up the courage to watch this clip.. it absolutely terrified me.
pixieswan 2 years ago
Now, now then, lets not go down the discrimination route. What have you got against black nuns....with no faces anyway?
borgduck 3 years ago
I join the rest of you here as I vividly remember the scary ending and had to have my mum read Whizzer and Chips to me with the light on til I went off to sleep. Anyone want to start a help group?!!
beaumont1920 3 years ago
Whizzer and Chips...Now theres a blast from the past.Was that the one with fuss pot and sids snake,they dont make em like they used to.
clivegrah 3 years ago
u can watch all the episodes on here lots of scares lol,its also coming out on dvd soon
i can also recommmend dying day which is out now
sleep well lol
themaster5390 3 years ago
Many thanks for posting this - I think it's a real tribute to the quality of the TV programmes of the 70's that I can still remember the theme tune note for note and this particular scene was really terrifying. That particular night we had extended family staying and we all jumped when the black nun appeared. Needless to say we could hardly sleep afterwards!
br13636 3 years ago
i never did see this episode but i remember when i was about 5 or 6 it was the intro that always freaked me out.
when i found the intro on youtube at about 1.30am i rang my older sister up who was at home alone that night with her two kids and put the speaker to my phone and played the theme tune down the phone...hahaha it shit her right up,needless to say it shit her right up as it was a bolt out of the blue which she never forgot as a kid too ....i know i'm cruel :-)
goonernaz77 3 years ago
I watched this series when I was about 10 - I think it's 30 years old. It must of been on about 8pm because my parents were strict about the 9pm watershed. The black nun in the chair is really the only clip that I remember today and ranks slightly above other 'behind the sofa' Dr Who moments. Sadly the author is resisting release of this series on DVD. Many thanks to Skinbackyourpeel for having the foresight to record, keep & show this clip.
hoggler555 3 years ago
Christ it frightened when i was a mere corn dodger, now i,ve watched it in my 40,s and it still scares the living shit out of me.
wightangel 3 years ago
What was that when that nun with no face got up and hit that woman?
Biscom 3 years ago
I just want to repeat what a lot of people are saying about this clip. It scared the bejaysus out of me when I was a kid. Primary 6 or 7 I'd have been in at the time, so about 10 or 11. That bit where you see the nun rocking back and forth with no face - it was the talk of the playground next day. "Did you see the Black Nun?" - I am so glad I found this clip.
One question though - when Jemima Shore heard the rocking chair first time, why didn't she run like bloody fuck?
opusdei1916 3 years ago 2
The nun in the chair is a creepy bit but good.
Biscom 3 years ago
Always remember this as our school was a convenant shared with nuns and top floor was boarded up.We were convinced we could hear chairs creaking.Good post.
jc67h 3 years ago
Hee, I remember this!! Terrified the shit out of me and was the main talking point at Primary School. I remember one girl getting terribly upset cause she said she saw the black nun in the library. Hee hee, unbelievable, but good times!
tomtomstuff 3 years ago
I was 10 when this was screened and I can remember having to go upstairs to bed when it was finished. Tried every trick and excuse to get back down to sitting room and eventually spent the night sleeping in parents bed !!!
suparokdog 3 years ago
never saw this myself but my husband has often tried to describe the nun in the chair scene, so i'm glad ive found it. When he wakes up tomorrow I will show him the clip..or should i be evil and wake him now (2am)to scare him??
vicjojam0 3 years ago
Watching this at 3am by myself in a big unfamiliar house was not a good idea!
callumscampbell 3 years ago
I know what you mean. The same thing happened to me.
gondorado 3 years ago
im 37 but i still remember my older brother doing the nun in the chair bit ..... the music scared me shitless.., even now!!!
good post mate.
massusm25 3 years ago
I wasn't allowed to stay up & watch this, but I went downstairs to get a drink and this was the only bit I saw. Scared me s***less - I had nightmares for weeks!
bluegrasslass 4 years ago
soo funny now. scared the granny out of me when i was seven. mum dad can i stay in your bed. my boy does it now. but its ps3 games with zombies.
macayamum 4 years ago
Seems laughable now, but this scared the bejesus out of me as a kid. It's one of my defining childhood memories, particularly as my primary school was run by nuns!
macpips 4 years ago 3
Why do we put ourselves through watching this again. Hoards of like minded peope born in the mid to late 60s, 11/12 and impressionable in 1978.
Right now it's 78 again.
captainhowdy1967 4 years ago
can't believe this had the same effect on so many 70's kids! To make matters worse we had a picture of St Gertrude in her nuns habit in the house and my sicko brother painted her face out with black paint one night. I nearly died when I saw it. Happy memories!!!
bf989 4 years ago 3
I remember being taught by an evil old Sister Gertrude- what was St Gertrude famous for?
coralarch 4 years ago
oh great now the 'never think about those scary programmes' have surfaced again for this one from my subconsious...great..just great...this programme gave me the shit's for years and still does at times..especially when going up the stairs at night like that nun scene....mummeeeee...!!
kensal5 4 years ago
christ I used to try and block this image out of my head at night for weeks after i saw it in april 1978. I used to try and think of C3PO and R2D2 at the beginning of star wars but saw them both in nun costumes. It fucked me