[dollyface]

I also think that Most Haunted used to be much better. Nowadays it seems more 'put up'. Not been the same since Derek left, but I quite liked David Wells.
Now they have some American woman with them, and that Lesley (historian) always puts me in mind of a school teacher!
I saw the programme last night at that Aviation museum, and when Karl was on his own and swearing a lot, I had to say that I laughed until I nearly p***** myself! (sorry if I'm not allowed to say that!). ops:
I've also seen Ghost Hunters and I reckon they're great. As someone else here said, if they don't find anything, no biggie.

I heard a bit of a radio interview on You Tube between the Ghost Hunters and Evette Fielding. She got a bit stroppy with them and even remarked 'you're just plumbers', but what they do is for free and they really want to help people.

[SemperNox]

As an American, I was entirely unaware of Most Haunted until my wife searched for more paranormal programs. We'd been watching Ghost Hunters and it's recent spin-off Ghost Hunters International and loved their approach and style. We decided to give Most Haunted a try and picked a couple random episodes; needless to say, we were thoroughly disappointed with nearly every aspect of the show. Perhaps we picked poor representations of the series, but it will take a lot of convincing to get me to watch another airing of Most Haunted.

In the beginning season of Ghost Hunters, they'd occasionally bring in mediums, psychics, and demonologists; I found great fault with these methods since they ran contrary to the entire goal of the investigative team, which was to scientifically eliminate all natural explainations and try to record true paranormal phenomena. Fortunately, they have been gradually refining their scientific methods and have dismissed the help of spiritualists ... not because they weren't useful, but because what they said couldn't be validated. Naturally, they've missed some great paranormal activity because of their insistence on eliminating all other explainations, but it's exactly that kind of methodology which further validates belief in spiritual/paranormal activity.

[limitedmorbidity]

I love watching Most haunted.... Not because anything that happens on that show is actually worth any thing, but only out of morbid curiosity, and because to someone who is an amateur paranormal investigator himself, this show is always worth a laugh or two.....

[collioure bee]

I used to like Most Haunted but became suspicious of Derek forever being posessed, in fact he was the reason I stopped watching when in the London Dungeon episode he clearly stated that Jack the Ripper had a claimed a victim right on this spot when in fact the ripper operated north the river some distance from the London Dungeon.
There is also this little episode to ponder on how genuine his stuff was and how much of it was for show. Undermined the value of the show for me.
"One such case which exposed Acorah was at Bodmin Gaol, Cornwall. Before the filming, Acorah had been fed misinformation about a non-existent ghost of Kreed Kafer by the show parapsychologist Dr. Ciaran O' Keeffe. During the investigation, which was later broadcast, he presented the information as fact and even behaved as though being possessed by the fictional ghost. O'Keeffe later revealed Kreed Kafer is an anagram of 'Derek Faker'"

[Echolima]

Immediately following the filming of the Bodmin Gaol episode, the team moved just along the road to Prideaux Place, where - apart from Acorah identifying rabbit-spirits - he claimed a highwayman, Rik Eedles. This was a second anagram set-up by the team, unscrambling as "Derek lies".

A month or so later we're in York, where Acorah comes up with Ged Harken ... yes, you've guess it! Yet another anagram set up by the team, this time it quite obviously was intended to "hang Derek"

Then the piece de resistance - Craigievar, and the most ambitious set-up of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. And Acorah fell for it, hook, line and sinker. He felt he was Richard the Lionheart, looking out of the castle windows, even describing the red cross on his white shirt. The Witch was, of course, the Laird, who - according to Acorah, but nobody else - indulged in the black arts in the cellars. And the wardrobe? A ghost was supposed to appear from a huge wardrobe which [according to the team] was placed in front of a concealed door.

It would all be very funny - if only he wasn't still conning thousands of people out of their hard-earned cash, and giving Spiritualism and Spiritualists a very bad name

[smallhouse]

We're way behind everyone else - we live in Spain and had to buy the DVD to see MH! I think they scare themselves into a lot of it, and Mr. Acorah had us falling off our chairs with laughter. Very entertaining if nothing else, but the bit where he says the dog can see a monkey on the other side of the room is hilarious. We've had many dogs over the years - still have 5 actually - and not a single one would have sat quietly just trying to peek around the hands of the person covering its eyes; had there really been a monkey ghost the dog would have either gone beserk, or done a 'border collie', ie. hunkered down and growled at the 'lost sheep'. After that I couldn't take him seriously, which was a shame since I was hoping for some serious treatment of the arguments concerned. He's very clever at latching onto what people want to hear and tends to talk to people as if they're not very bright, which is insulting.

[kittyhawk]

I like it actually.The british buildings and castles are so full of history that you just don?t find anywhere.But regarding the show itself,it?s entertaining.Mr Acorah is a born entertainer,that?s for sure.The Black Swan was mostly hilarious though,they had invited Uri Geller who was really just fed all his "visions" by Derek Acorah.

[Warwick]

This show was rather intriguing for a while, but has unfortunately tailed off ftom something I made sure not to miss, to something I skip past on my way to the History Channel. The problem is, it has to be enteratining above all else, and sitting around in empty old houses - however spooky or haunted - is never going to be entertaining.

What also irritated me about the show wa that stupid woman Yvette, who seems to have some peculiar vested interest, as not only her boyfriend, but cousins and every other relative seem to be in the show... no doubt on fat retainers. Nothing wrong with that if only the arrogant ****** wasn't so conceited, unscientific, unprofessional, clumsy and noisy! If there ever was any EVP or sinister groans and clanking chains, the sound would be entirely drowned out by her incessant chit chat, gasps of horror and pathetic screams... one minute she's daring and challenging any spirit, however evil, to show themselves... "I'm not afraid of you!", the next second she's wetting her knickers and having to be stretchered away, after someone drops a 2p coin on the floor while pulling out their hankerchief - utterly pathetic!

The trouble is, this show (like any other) has to get ratings, and to do that, has to become more and more 'interesting' every episode. There are no longer gasps of wonder when the odd orb floats by, or a door slams, we have to have hysteria and 'posessions', everyone getting ill or passing out. No longer will their eyes glowing sinisterly green in IR light cause shivers down the spine, we've all got used to it. If Anne Boleyn's ghost walked past, head under arm, or Richard III appeared and goosed Yvette in some dank dungeon, people would hardly bother to look up...

The show has long ago reached its very dismal zenith, there is nothing more to offer. Virtually no phenomena were ever reliably recorded or sensibly analysed, it's all unscientific, unconvincing and supremely unsatisfying - but that's the nature of 'entertainment' like this.

As for Derek Acorah, I'm pretty sure he is genuine, and remarkably talented - good thing he abandoned this sinking ship before ruining his credibilty!

[Echolima]

Originally Posted by Warwick

Yvette, who seems to have some peculiar vested interest, as not only her boyfriend, but cousins and every other relative seem to be in the show...

The main line-up is Yvette and her husband Karl who devised the show; Yvette's cousin, Stuart and Yvette's mother's hairdresser, Cath

As for Derek Acorah, I'm pretty sure he is genuine, and remarkably talented - good thing he abandoned this sinking ship before ruining his credibilty!

If you think he's genuine, how do you explain him
1. being possessed by an anagram [Kreed Kafer]?
2. being possessed by a fictional character [Viviana Radclyffe]?
3. contacting the spirits of two other anagrams [Rik Eedles and Ged Harken]?
4. seeing the spirit of an English king [Richard the Lionheart], in a castle which wasn't built, in a country he never visited?
To quote Acorah:
"His chest is all white, and he's got like a very large red that is emblazoned in front, and he stands here for some reason. He's a big, big man, this, but not a bad spirit, a person who was a just man. Who's that Sam? Richard. Richard. The symbol of the lion. Richard the Lionheart. He comes here. He must have stayed in this room. Before the 9th and 10th centuries - 800 and something."
In fact he was three centuries out for Richard, and eight centuries out for the castle.

Acorah's credibility? How credible is someone who claims, falsely, to be a Spiritualist, trained by the Spiritualist Church? Who cheated on Most Haunted with prior information? Who lies about the origin of his stage name? Who obtains information from subjects, then pretends that same information has been given him by the spirit of a dead relative? I could go on ... and on... but there's no need. Acorah's credibility is at rock bottom.

[Warwick]

Hmmm... my 'judgement' (not that I have any tight) was made through seeing on other programs, where he did some psychometry - which seemed very impressive (okay, okay... I've forgotten what it was called!). Impressive that is if he wasn't given any hints, clues or prior information - if he had, then anyone could have done it.

Cynical and suspicious though I am as a rule, the concept of such a program that was completely based on fraud seems a little too much to believe, though I'm quite sure it is possible. Possible, yet pointless, and entirely dishonest... though there are much more risky ways to make money I expect?

I have to say, I was a bit dubious about his visit to Egypt, Akhenaton seems likely to have 'moved on' to me... but who knows? All in all, the very absurdity of his stuff is more convincing to me than if he were always right, spooky, solemn and sinister - it's a confusing business, that I do know.