Spooky sitcoms

For Halloween, we thought we'd take a look back at some TV sitcoms with a bit of other-wordliness to them. From ghosts to the reaper, we've a selection of suitably-sitcommy-spooky shows below.

Rentaghost

This childrens' comedy (pictured, above) won the love of a generation of youngsters, running from 1976 to 1984. Initially following a trio of ghosts running an agency where they hire out their services, it later broadened its supernatural basis into witchcraft and pantomime horses. No, really. Guide

Turn Out The Lights

Captain Mainwaring: Ghost Hunter?! Yes, two years before first taking on the role of Walmington-on-Sea's infamous bank manager, Arthur Lowe starred in this Pardon The Expression spin-off (itself a spin-off from Coronation Street) as Leonard Swindley, a former department store manager who sets out with an old boss on the hunt for ghosts and ghouls. Whilst its predecessor is available on DVD, sadly all six episodes of this single-series sitcom are missing believed wiped. The writers included future Randall And Hopkirk (Deceased) star Kenneth Cope. Guide

So Haunt Me

One of those sitcoms that was a popular hit when on air but has since been largely forgotten, So Haunt Me ran for three series from 1992, starring Miriam Karlin as the long-deceased Jewish ghost Yetta Feldman. The story followed the young Rokeby family as they move into the house in which she lived, died, and now haunts - with a very warm demeanour, if not typically meddling! If you do nothing else today, check out the catchy theme tune. Guide

Dani's Castle

A sequel to the popular kids' sitcom Dani's House, this recent series sees Dani Harmer - playing herself - inheriting a castle that turns out to be haunted by two somewhat tricky teenage ghosts. Currently being run as a tourist attraction but voted as Britain's worst for the past 10 years running, Dani struggles to turn the castle around into a profitable concern, sometimes with and sometimes certainly without her new spectral friends' help. Guide

Mulberry

Having concluded Brush Strokes, star Karl Howman took on the ominous mantle of titular character Mulberry in this gentle sitcom with dark undertones, by Esmonde & Larbey. Running concurrently with So Haunt Me, Mulberry was the son of the Grim Reaper himself, sent to collect cantankerous spinster Miss Farnaby (Geraldine McEwan). However, instead of harvesting her soul, the distinctly cheerful son of death instead befriends the old woman - despite her best efforts to ward him off. Guide

The Ghosts Of Motley Hall

An ITV competitor to the BBC's Rentaghost, this series saw five ghosts forced to co-(not)exist, inhabiting the grand Elizabethan Motley Hall together. Each from a different era in the manor's history, they have to work together to ensure that only the right sort of person - respectful of the hall's history and desiring to restore it to its former glory - should buy the otherwise empty estate. Unfortunately, only one of them can actually leave the building, and even he can't leave the estate grounds. Guide

Marley's Ghosts

Sarah Alexander, John Hannah, Nicholas Burns and Jo Joyner starred in this comedy about a woman, Marley, and her three dead companions: her husband, her lover, and their vicar. The series follows Marley as she attempts to get on with her life, all the while plagued by the bickering, worrying and childishness of her three deceased companions. Guide

Dead Ernest

Oh, how we'd love to see this early-1980s treat! Starring Andrew Sachs as teacher Ernest Springer, a man who is able to give up his day job when he wins the football pools. Unfortunately for Ernest, celebrations see a champagne cork hitting him square between the eyes. Because, why not? His death may have been an administrative blunder but his organs have already been donated to another so he's stuck in Heaven - the British section, which is just as bureaucratic as one might expect. Guide

Strange Hill High

This childrens' sitcom has run for 2 series in the past few years, lead-written by The Simpsons alumnus Josh Weinstein. Pioneering a method of animation - 'hypervynorama' - since pilfered by ITV sketch show Newzoids, highly witty and adult-friendly scripts and stories follow a trio of students at the titular school, where all manner of oddities take place. Monsters, ghosts, parallel worlds, time travel, aliens and much else in-between. The cast includes Caroline Aherne, Richard Ayoade, John Thomson and Doc Brown. Guide

Ed Stone Is Dead

This early 2000s sitcom was broadcast by BBC Choice and starred Richard Blackwood as the eponymous Ed Stone, a man killed 57 years before his time in an accident triggered by Death himself. Restored to life but only in part, Ed can no longer eat, sleep, or have sex. On the up side, he can't die or feel pain, either. The scripts were penned by the likes of Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, James Bachman, Mark Evans and Georgia Pritchett. Claudie Blakley co-starred as Ed's love interest, with Scottish acting legend Bill Paterson as Death - or Nigel. Guide