7 replies to this topic

[Gigan]

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Derek:..Derek Acorah is the stage name of Derek Johnson (born January 27, 1950). He is a popular but controversial English cable and satellite television personality, who has come to fame as a purported "psychic medium" (a person who claims to be able to talk to the dead)...Career.His early life was spent in Bootle, Liverpool, England, where, according to his several books, he first discovered his psychic abilities and became interested in Spiritualism. He claims that in this period, he first contacted his spirit guide, 'Sam', said to be an Ethiopian from approximately 1,500 years ago, with whom Derek was friends in a previous life (some of Derek's beliefs appear to reflect Kardecism as well as Spiritualism)...He pursued a career as a footballer for many years, playing for Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Glentoran, before emigrating to Australia to continue to pursue his footballing career...On his return to Liverpool, Derek Acorah began to practise as a medium, and soon gained a popular local following. His first book 'The Psychic World of Derek Acorah' was co-written with his then manager John G. Sutton. Sutton took Derek to the USA, where he was ISPR-tested in the field and allowed to join the International Society for Paranormal Research (ISPR) headed by Parapsychologist Dr. Larry Montz. As one of the psychic investigators of the ISPR team, Derek participated in six field investigations in England for the 1999 award-winning documentaries, ISPR Investigates Ghosts of England and ISPR Investigates Ghosts Of Belgrave Hall, created and produced by Dr. Larry Montz and Daena Smoller. Derek Acorah remained an ISPR investigator until 2006. He then appeared on Psychic Livetime on a local Manchester station, Granada Breeze, and went on to host his own show, Predictions with Derek Acorah. Following the closure of that station, he was chosen by LivingTV as the resident medium on their 2002 series Most Haunted, which shot him to national fame. His theatre tours of purported mediumship have resulted in shows across the UK...Another Living TV series, The Antiques Ghost Show, lasted one series. LivingTV announced in 2005 that there would be two new commissions featuring Derek Acorah, including one named Ghost Towns...He appeared for one line in the 2006 Doctor Who episode Army of Ghosts: "Well, no one needs me anymore." In the episode, strange fluorescent, immaterial figures appeared regularly worldwide, and Derek Acorah's line was one of several short clips of fictional TV from the episode....Criticism.Acorah's claims of mediumship were challenged when he claimed to be in contact with the spirits of fictional and fictitious characters. In one case he became possessed by a fictitious character, 'Kreed Kafer', (an anagram of 'Derek faker'. He also was "in touch" with the spirits of 'Rik Eedles' (an anagram of 'Derek lies'), and 'Ged Harken' ('hang Derek')...Dr Ciarán O'Keeffe, Most Haunted's resident parapsychologist, claims that these names were given to Acorah just before the cameras rolled, or mentioned in his earshot by other crew members before the shoot. The names were subsequently incorporated into Acorah's "possession", shown in the programme, throwing doubt on the reliability of his claims. Dr O'Keefe stresses on his website that Acorah may have innocently, subliminally or mistakenly produced the names in response to the prompts he had received, and that the results of this one 'test' do not prove that Acorah's claimed abilities are false. Mentioning other occasions on which Acorah had provided correct information, O'Keeffe also claims that the Mirror newspaper took much of what he said out of context, and suggests that until solid proof is found, people should neither believe nor disbelieve in the claims of psychics, mediums and observers. ..The show's presenter, Yvette Fielding, is quoted as opposing O'Keeffe's view, saying that Acorah was dropped from the show because the incidents above demonstrated that "he was a fake". She is also quoted as saying that his "violent behaviour" when he was "supposedly possessed" was becoming too dangerous...So, I would be interested to hear your views on Mr Acorah. Is he legitimate? is he just a great actor? I have to admit to wondering why Derek was no longer on Most Haunted, but obviously from reading the above passage I know why...Discuss! ..Gigan

[Aliamaru]

I think he was just a good actor, up until they tricked him with the anagrams and he was in essence, exposed.. . But he is entertainment and as long as he entertains, he will always have employment.. . I have watched episodes of Most Haunted, but usuallystop half way or three quarters of the way through a show because they eventually start all screaming like school girls!. Other wise, I kind of enjoy Most Haunted, it shows me places that I otherwise might not have ever known about.

[Gigan]

I have been to a few of the places that the Most Haunted crew have investigated, and I can understand why they get so jumpy lol!..As far as Derek goes, I guess I always had a bit of a soft spot for him, so I was a little sad to see he was gone, and replaced with someone who at best is quite dull. :unsure: ..Even though he may have been duped, what about all the stuff he got right? I mean I always took it with a pinch of salt, as its easy to find out about places and their histories. They claim to have no prior knowledge of somewhere, but really we only have their word to go by. When something like this exposure happens, it certainly does'nt do anything for the credibility of the Medium field, IMO...I guess a good way to do it would be to put them in an investigation that is not at a well known castle or stately home, even a residential haunting, and see what they get. I would have loved to have seen him have a go at the Enfield Poltergeist....

[Miss Danax]

Hey!..I for one, and my mate for another believe that Mr Derek Acorah doesn't act, and that he is indeed physic. There is no way what so ever that he could retain the amount of information he does during a possesion. That amount of information he gives is intriguing, and again, he couldn't have retained all that information he give in a hour or two hours. (Have you ever watched Most Haunted?) (Amazing) ..This brings me to another point, I also believe Colin Fry is physic, and doesnt act as there is no way he could tell members of the audience things about their dead family or friends, and get it spot on. Without being physic, and if you think he asks people before the show things about relatives in the after world you are wrong. (Have you ever seen The 6ixth Sense?) (Amazing)...Gordon Smith is a medium. (Got it wrong when I said he was dead! Lmao! (sorry!)) He is Scottish and has done a few shows on Living TV....David Wells: ..David Wells joined the team (Most Haunted) as a psychic medium during 2004. His first investigation was at the Greengate Brewery - considered one of the most exciting investigations in Most Haunted history, when Stuart witnessed a beer barrel rolling towards him of its own accord!..A catering manager and former member of the Royal Navy, David developed his psychic abilities when he was ill with severe pneumonia. "I found myself being approached by an old lady who told me to go back to bed, that this is not my time and I have work to do" says David. He was suffering from sleepless nights due to being awakened by what he calls "things that go bump in the night." After many sleepless nights a friend introduced him to a lady who "dealt with these sorts of things."..David then learnt astrology to ground his abilities, which were showing themselves at an alarming rate, his memory of talking to his relatives that had passed over when he was a child came back and he realised that this was his true vocation. David's presence has become invaluable - and we were all rapt when, during a scrying experiment at Pendle Hill, a spirit lead him to lash out and smash the mirror he was using!..Tony Stockwell is also a medium and has appeared on The 6ixth Sense...I think we have made our point...Take Care, and sleep tight *mwahahahaha*..lilbluemen & lilredmen

[Jeanne]

This was written by Dr.Ciaran O'Keeffe PhD 2005; about this subject. I think you may find it rather interesting, I certainly did. Check it out.... There are still numerous rumours and allegations flying around following an article in a national newspaper in which I allegedly expose a well-known paranormal show as a con and sensationally debunk the show’s leading medium. Let me set the record straight. ..I did not lose my job because of this interview. I was not paid to do it. I was approached by the newspaper journalist and agreed to do the interview on condition that my fee in full would be donated to a named music therapy charity. I informed my employers about this interview, but I was never pressured, coerced or asked to do it by anybody. I volunteered to do it, and here’s why. ..I am an academic and one of my areas of expertise is the scientific study of paranormal phenomena. In January 2005, I was awarded a Ph.D. by the University of Hertfordshire for the scientific research I had conducted since 1999 with Prof. Richard Wiseman on assessing paranormal advice and special claimants (i.e. psychics, mediums and astrologers). Part of this research has been published in the British Journal of Psychology, after being reviewed by other experts in the field, thus attesting to the scientific standing of my research. I have also been a full-time lecturer on Parapsychology at Liverpool Hope University since September 2002. ..With regards to paranormal phenomena, and mediumship in particular, I am a true skeptic. What that means is that I do not pretend to know the truth: though I continually question the veracity of mediums’ claims, I cannot tell you whether or not mediums have genuine abilities. In fact, to this day, unfortunately, nobody can tell you this for sure. I can only tell you of specific mediums involved in specific incidents that indicate the most probable explanation is a normal one, whether that be cold reading, Barnum Effect, or even fraud. Some people can try to convince you that true mediumship does not exist, because they genuinely believe it doesn’t or because they have a vested interest in convincing you it is all fake, or because they feel they have evidence to prove it doesn’t. Alternatively, they can try to convince you that true mediumship does exist, because they truly believe it does or because they have a lot to earn from you if you believe it does. I am in neither camp. My approach to scepticism has always been “education, not condemnation”. ..So when I was approached by the newspaper to “give my professional opinion on mediums, psychics, psychic-phone lines in general, and the show’s leading medium in particular”, I agreed because I felt that an entire article examining the sceptical side to mediums and psychics would inform the public and raise questions. There is room for both sides of the argument, and I sincerely believe that the search for truth can only succeed if there is an open dialogue between each side. ..The particular incidents surrounding the medium mentioned in the article did happen as described. In view of these incidents, it is tempting to conclude that we are not in the presence of genuine mediumship. But as I had also explicitly said during the original, unpublished, interview, there may be other explanations – the medium may genuinely believe he has an ability, and there are other instances where accurate information was forthcoming when one could argue that he possibly demonstrated paranormal communication. Of course, incidents such as those described in the article do weaken the possibility of genuine mediumship considerably but they do not prove, beyond all doubt, that we are dealing with a ‘fake’. By the same token, to this day, in my opinion, no definitive evidence has been presented that proves with absolute certainty that we are facing genuine mediumship ability. Regular viewers and parapsychology students are aware that, until I am presented with such definitive evidence, I will endeavour to offer a number of possible explanations that typically focus on the logical, natural, ones. I hope, as I did when I first agreed to be interviewed for the article, that this will raise enough doubt for people to continue to question mediumship, rather than take it for granted or be too quick to deny it. I hope that this will arm those attending theatres, platforms, one-to-one readings and watching paranormal shows with the power to make a critical, informed opinion about what they are seeing or experiencing...At first, I was upset and angry that the article distorted my view and took such a narrow focus on the show and its medium. I am not retracting anything I said but the article evoked a picture of me as an antagonist unwilling to listen to any alternative arguments. That is not true. Many of my quotes, where it appears I’m providing definitive conclusions, are taken out of context. In hindsight, however, there is one thing I am extremely pleased at: the discussions this article has created. A true skeptic questions. The fact that people are now no longer accepting unconditionally what they are shown and are more questioning is a good thing. Though the balance of probability states otherwise, I will always attempt to provide a number of possible explanations and let the reader, or viewer, make up their own mind. ..Ultimately, my intention coincides with my remit – exposing the facts...letting you decide...Article copyright © Dr.Ciaran O'Keeffe PhD 2005.

[Gigan]

Well it certainly seems to me that somebody threw a big wrench in the works regarding Most Haunted. I had no idea that all this went so deep. Initially I thought Derek left for his own reasons, but I guess not.. . It seems sad that this field is full of people who are quick to turn on others and backlash against them (I have unfortunately seen that first hand).. . It would be a good thing, IMO, to try and test mediums under controlled conditions, to see how good thay really are with their talents though. Of the paranormal field, mediumship is one thing I have never been really convinced by. :unsure:

[chez21]

i think derek was acting most of the time, and saying things he was told to, all for the cameras. but the other times i think he could be tellin the truth, you see the shock on his face like he has just seen a ghost i 100% believe in ghosts i've had my own experiences, it is scary but i wouldn't embarass myself on t.v screamin like them i 100% believe in david wells he is more convincing and i would love to go ghost hunting with him, so if your out there david im willing

[corinne]

Ive just seen Derek Acorah at a theatre in Dundee,what a load of rubbish.Ive watched all this mans tv programmes etc,and he continualy comes ut with the same things.Telling people at the show when they will have another baby etc,concidering these were young woman just married i would have said a pregnancy in the future was a cert.He also stated from one ghost,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,im happy now,i have a bungalow over here,mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmive also heard that on his tv shows.The longest reading just so happened to be given to a member of the theatre staff.At the interval it realy upset me listening to stories from people desperate to have contact with loved ones,and this man is busy giving out twaddle about babies and bungalows.Does this man not realize how raw through recent loss some of the people are who go to his shows,or doesnt he care.Before going to this show Iwas neither a believer or non believer,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but now mmmmmmmmmmm.As a showman I give this man credit for his ability,as a phychic,il leave that to your individual judgement.corinne