Actor Eric Stonestreet served up a real scare for Modern Family fans on Halloween eve (30Oct14) after sharing a spoof news article online suggesting the hit Tv sitcom had been cancelled.

The star, who portrays Cameron Tucker on the show, took to his Twitter.com blog on Thursday (30Oct14) and appeared to confirm followers' worst fears by posting a link to the Clickhole.com article, and simply writing, "so sad."

The story's headline read: "Whoa: ABC Just Canceled Modern Family In Order To Teach People That Something You Love Can Be Taken From You With No Warning Whatsoever".

The post prompted a wave of angry responses from upset fans, until they realised the website was full of satirical, fake news.

Stonestreet's trick post was uploaded a day after Modern Family's season six Halloween episode aired in the U.S. on Wednesday (29Oct14).