#spuk im hochhaus

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The "Haunting" TV movies - wonderful childhood memories

Some of my most vivid childhood memories of East German television consist of these multipart TV movies.

In the first series "Spuk unterm Riesenrad" ("Haunting under the Ferris wheel") (1979) three fairy tale characters from an East Berlin ghost train - a witch, a giant and Rumpelstiltskin - become alive by accident and escape. They are followed by three siblings, the grand children of the ghost train's owner who have to live through many adventures until they finally catch the fairy tale characters in an old castle. The witch and the giant have proven as good people so they can stay human but the evil Rumpelstiltskin is turned into a wooden figure again by magic.

In the second series "Spuk im Hochhaus" ("Hauting in the high-rise building") (1982) two evil innkeepers from the eighteenth century are cursed for the murder of a police officer. They are turned into ghosts who have to do seven good deeds in an East German high-rise building so that they can finally find rest in their graves after two hundred years.

The opening song's lyrics are translated as follows:

"Where the firs rustle somber and the hiker stops his step, there is an inn and in it live August and Jette Deibelschmidt (Devil-Smith)

When a guest with shiny thalers meets their eyes, they quickly take self-service in their own hands - August and Jette Deibelschmidt (Devil-Smith)

Ill-gotten goods never prosper. Do you already hear the steps of fate? Shortly it beats on your door - August and Jette Deibelschmidt (Devil-Smith)"

In the third series “Spuk von draußen” (“Haunting from outer space”) (1987) three aliens from a distance planet land in a small village in the Ore Mountains in Saxonia where they cause endless confusion while they try to carry off an alleged haunted house which in reality is their extraterrestrial holiday resort which now belongs to a family who shares the house with a mysterious old man who turns out to be an alien robot.

All three series combine lots of imagination, suspense, eerie situations and humour. They are written and directed by Günter Meyer, who loved to do cameo appearances in his movies. All three series are still lovingly remembered by the audience.

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Director and screenwriter Günter Meyer (born 25. 11.1940 in Thum) not only gave us East German viewers many unforgettable movies and series, but has performed in some of them personally. Here are some examples:

“Spuk unterm Riesenrad” ("Haunting under the Ferris wheel") (1979): in the first episode "The Outliers" Günter Meyer sits next to his cameraman Peter Süring, who is anything but enthusiastic about their stay in the ghost train.

“Spuk im Hochhaus” ("Haunting in the high-rise building") (1982): in the last episode "Farewell against one's will"  during his cameo Günter Meyer explains to the ghosts August and Jette Deibelschmidt (Heinz Rennhack and Katja Paryla) that  the kings were abolished in the GDR.

“Spuk von draußen” ("Haunting from outerspace") (1987): Cameraman Peter Süring asks Günter Meyer how he wants to spend his vacation. With a fine irony, he replies that he wants to recover properly and therefore he wants to work in the film business for fourteen days.

In "Kai in der Kiste” (”Kai in the box") (1988), Katrin Meyer gets tangled up in the revolving door of the posh Berlin hotel "Imperator" until her father Günter calls her to order. Günter Meyer has his second cameo appearance as a drunken night owl (in the company of his cameraman Wolfgang Braumann - the man with the full beard), who is interrogated by a gendarme (Joachim Schönitz).

In “Spuk aus der Gruft” (”Haunting from the Crypt”) (1998) Günter Meyer plays a Saxon tourist with a camera.

In “Spuk im Reich der Schatten” (”Haunting in the realm of shadows”) (2000) Günter Meyer - with a false beard - plays a passenger who is cheated by the taxi driver (Reiner Heise) of his change.

In “Sherlock Holmes und die sieben Zwerge” (”Sherlock Holmes and the seven dwarfs”) Günter Meyer plays a messenger who is deliberately misled by Rumpelstiltskin and therefore gives the Queen (Anja Kling) the false name of the evil spirit.