- Chatting to Hollywood superstars like Frank Sinatra is
all in a day's work for Derek Acorah. The tinseltown great may be long
dead and buried, but it's no barrier to heavenly communication, claims
the spirit medium. Sceptics may suggest that chatting to dead celebrities
is unbelievable, but the Most Haunted psychic has been elevated to celebrity
status in his own right thanks to the shock success of the cult cable TV
show.
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- With its ghost-hunting former Blue Peter presenter Yvette
Fielding, jerky handheld night-vision cameras and grisly locations, it's
become addictive viewing for legions of Living TV fans.
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- And now Acorah (real name Johnson) is coming to Scotland
to unleash his other-worldly powers north of the border.
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- The former Liverpool FC reserve has captivated audiences
by tramping around castles and stately homes, recounting their grisly secrets.
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- Cynics may baulk, but when Living staged a Most Haunted
Live event in Derby last year the free tickets were being traded on eBay
for £350, and a discarded call sheet for the show was offered for
£60.
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- 'In the three and a half years of Most Haunted we've
done 109 sites,' says Derek.
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- 'In England alone there are 10,000 registered. And we
go abroad - we've done Holland and Ireland.
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- 'Among the most startling were the Pendle Witches, I'd
never come across a group of people who were so affected as the crew.
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- 'Sam, my spirit guide, warned me nine witches were coming
and when they put in an appearance all hell broke loose.'
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- The special Hallowe'en show came from the Lancashire
location with a gruesome past. In the 17th century 19 locals were accused
of witchcraft and imprisoned in the dark, 30 feet below ground in a small
dungeon in Lancaster Castle, and kept there for five months on a diet of
bread and gruel.
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- When they were tried five months later they could hardly
speak.Ten were hanged on August 20, 1612.
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- The ghosthunters contacted the chief witch and one by
one the crew fell ill and had difficulty breathing.
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- Derek says: 'It was very alarming watching the crew go
down. It's when there are grounded spirits we get the real meaty stuff.
If there is no activity - grounded spirits - I can pick upon residual energies.
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- 'We've come across just a few places where it's just
been residual energy.'
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- Critics of the show suggest that things that go bump
in the night may not be all they seem. 'There's nothing that is staged
or acted in the show. I wouldn't have taken part in the programme unless
the spiritual aspect was right,' says the 55-year-old grandfather.
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- 'I wanted to bring to the public's attention what was
truly going on. I'm glad to say Karl Beattie and Yvette Fielding have been
very correct in the way they wanted it shot.'
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- The husband and wife team came up with the idea one rainy
day in their lounge. The rest is history.
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- The crew's wide-eyes and permanently petrified gaze a
la Blair Witch Project are what viewers have come to expect. Any tiniest
sound or whisper and they regularly scarper.
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- But does the animated Mr Acorah ever feel like it's time
to quickly depart the building, slamming the door firmly behind him?
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- 'At the House of Detention in London I came across a
number of grounded spirit individuals, different people from different
times,' he reveals. 'They were still grounded in this hell hole.They disturbed
me so much in what they planned to do to the women, I warned the team to
stay with the women in the crew at all times.
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- 'They were just idle threats, but because they were unknown
quantities to me and there were so many of them, you do wonder what they
can actually get up to.
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- 'They can't physically harm you and they can't take you
out your body and keep you out - in other words, they can't kill you.'
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- When ghosthunting in Manchester's Brannigans nightclub
Derek had another fright when he lost the feeling in his legs.
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- He says: 'Possession is physically and mentally draining
but it's not dangerous - as long as you look after yourself.
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- 'Sam helps to protect me from evil spirits, the crew
and my driver know what to do.'
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- Most Haunted has even captured the imagination of Radio
One DJ Scott Mills, who is so bewitched by the show he's taken to playing
clips of Derek's best possessed moments.
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- Derek kicked off his career as a professional footballer
with Liverpool FC and the Australian team USC Lions. But a knee injury
forced him to rethink his direction in life. He moved back to his native
Liverpool in the Eighties to become a full-time spirit medium.
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- He started off doing readings for a couple of quid from
a small office and now has several books,TV and radio shows on his CV.
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- He was first approached by Yvette after she turned up
at one of Derek's TV shows with a bunch of pals.
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- He didn't recognise Blue Peter's youngest-ever presenter,
but made contact for three of her pals.
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- 'She was so shocked afterwards she stayed behind to say
she'd had an idea with her husband and he'd like to meet me,' he says.
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- 'So we all sat down over a pizza in the green room and
that was how Most Haunted was born.' Now in its fourth series, Most Haunted
has propelled Derek into the spotlight. He's approached in the street,
in restaurants and shops.
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- 'It's quite lovely. It surprises and shocks me I am recognised
so much. In airports - everywhere,' he says.
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- 'It's because of Most Haunted. I also do big theatre
tours in front of around 2500. I miss doing the one to one sittings for
people. After each show I sign autographs for two hours.'
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- He gets sent thousands of letters brought in bags to
his house and tries to answer every one. Some bizarre stuff ends up in
his mailbox - artefacts found at the Mayan ruins in Mexico and gruesome
pieces of hair from dead relatives.
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- The downside of fame has been letters from 'unbalanced'
people.
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- Derek says: 'The most unusual thing was about four months
ago. Every theatre I appeared at there was a large envelope waiting for
me. In it was a letter from a woman saying if I didn't get in touch with
Princes Harry, William and Charles she knew people who would murder them.
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- 'She wanted to have William's baby. I finally got her
number and spoke to her and she stopped.'
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- His regular appearances on the box have also generated
more column inches about his work, life and even appearance.
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- One journalist even compared him to Peter Stringfellow.
'It shocked me. I asked my wife and my old mum: 'Do I look like him?' Maybe
when I had my hair longer. I think that was the only resemblance,' he laughs.
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- Derek was asked to join the International Society for
Paranormal Research (ISPR) in 1998. His powers were put to the test at
the Comedy Store in Los Angeles frequented by Dean Martin, Errol Flynn
and Jerry Lewis.
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- 'I heard a voice - it said: 'My name's Michael Landon'.
He was the actor from Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie. He hadn't
long passed with cancer and he wanted to get a precious message to his
daughter and his wife who were there.
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- 'On the same night. I got a voice and he showed himself
and it was Frank Sinatra. He said he didn't want to speak to his wife,
but his favourite niece.'
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- He's done a raft of sittings for celebs like Burt Reynolds,
Roger Moore and lots more who 'want to remain anonymous'.
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- Derek has become good pals with Freddie Starr after his
dead dad came through while Derek was appearing in Glasgow.
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- He says: 'We've become very good friends. He has a lot
of empathy for our work and believes he is quite psychic - which he is.
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- 'Spirit people come through in different ways. If they
show themselves, I'll see them, and if they talk that's even better.'
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- He says it's very touching for a relative to get a message
from someone who may have died young, or in an accident or in a violent
way. We all have spirit guides watching over us, who help us through tough
times.
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- 'They have to listen, they do help, even though they
go unseen,' says Derek.
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- 'Sam is with me all the time - but he's not always obvious
and talking to me. Sam is my spirit guide, he's been with me since birth
and will stay with me until I go back to the world of spirit.'
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- Despite a growing cult status and mixing with Hollywood
A-listers, Derek remains chatty and surprisingly down to earth.
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- He likes nothing more than sitting down to relax with
a cup of tea and a cigarette and remains devoted to his beloved Liverpool
FC.
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- 'If you saw my room it's red and white. My pool table
is red. My car is red, even my coffee cup is red. I've football-shaped
ashtrays,' says Derek.
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- He may have the same diamond earring as superstar midfielder
David Beckham, but that's where the similarity ends.
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- He adds: 'There have been tough times over the years,
but if I could go back and choose between Derek Acorah the footballer or
Derek Acorah the medium, it would be the medium every time.'
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- ON THE PILOT
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- Derek says: 'When we did the pilot of Most Haunted, Yvette
said 'Come on Derek - use your psychic abilities - are we going to sell
this programme'?' So he tuned in and discovered the future from his spirit
guide Sam: 'I told Yvette: 'We'll have a problem at first and be rejected,
but there's someone out there who'll have the empathy for the programme
and will give it a chance'. It was turned down by a number of TV companies
- mainly terrestrial - but Sam told me it was going to be a huge success
... a cult programme.'
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- THE LOCATIONS
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- Derek says: 'It doesn't matter where I am - on tour or
at home and I'll get a call or e-mail directing me to a hotel at a particular
time.' A member of the crew turns up at Derek's location and he'll follow
them to the clandestine meeting place. 'I don't get to know even the name
of the place. I have to drive for an hour after the crew member turns up
to the location - perhaps 50 to 100 miles away. Maybe even into another
county
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- http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/features/.html
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