h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I found a great website detailing Derek's MANY mistakes - conveniently overlooked by his lackies:

http://www.badpsychics.co.uk


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Heres an article I wrote on MH for The Fortean Times:



WHERE HAVE ALL THE GHOSTS GONE?


Ghost vigils can be the most boring activity ever. But there is something
 rather appealing - not to say addictive - about stopping up for hours on a
 Saturday night waiting for a spook to shake its chains and wail at us.
 However, the number of new ghost cases are become fewer and further apart.

So what happened?

Simple. "Most Haunted" happened: Living TV's top-rated programme. When it
 started, a pretend parapsychologist (in reality, an actor), a presenter who
 would scream at anything, and various "psychics" toured some of the many
 reputedly spook-infested locations in the UK, gathering "evidence" for the
 paranormal.  The results invariably included shaky night-vision camera
 shots, people unable to handle EMF meters and interpret their results
 correctly , and various facts spouted by the psychics (some of which turned
 out to be wrong) as they get possessed by an army of weird phantoms , all
 the time while dodging those pesky orbs. Little has changed in the last few
 years.  Recently, a possessed "psychic" was asked a question which the
 spirit should have been able to answer, but wouldn't.



I kid you not. This method of "research" places far too much emphasis on one
 person (the medium) whose skills are, in a scientific sense, unproven
 psi-kookiness. It gives ghost researcher a bad name.

But there has been an annoying side effect: the show has led to a
 proliferation of groups: these are people who watch it and think, "that
 looks like fun" and set up their own groups,  many of whom have a lack of
 professionalism and view the whole venture as a lark, with many people
 seeing it as a way of getting a short-term thrill, like adrenalin junkies on
 a roller-coaster.  The number of "Most Haunted" wannabees, such as the UK
 Ghost Investigators,  means that the already sparse number of ghost reports
 are becoming heavily diluted and true, professional groups (SPR, ASSAP,
 Parasearch etc.) who genuinely seek an understanding of ghosts hear little
 of new cases. The self-styled description of these wannabee groups
 activities as "research" is somewhat baffling too: "research"? What exactly
 are they researching? Most groups have decided that ghosts exist anyway.
 "Investigations"? What are they investigating? A medium's ramblings? As
 stated, most groups are thrill seekers who have absolutely no plans to
 further this field of study.

These are the groups who squabble over venues and locations, poaching places
 and members from each other. Some of the groups have so much in-fighting and
 bitching that people leave to form their own splinter groups.

Some of the ghost investigations I have been on border on farcical; some of
 the others teeter over the edge into pure lunacy, an insult to the
 intelligence. There is something disturbing about groups who are so
 anti-equipment that they will only consider mercury thermometers during
 these investigations.  I suspect that the reason for this is

it removes any opportunity these people may have of giving them something to
 do during a particularly boring vigil. One vigil I attended was so beset by
 people taking flash pictures of orbs that my night vision was severely
 disrupted.

Then there are psychics who are so egocentric that they throw tantrums if
 they don't get their own way. Then there are the credulous buffoons who
 accept anything unexpected as definitely paranormal. These people whisper
 reverentially "thank you" to non-existent spooks whose communication
 attempts during séances amount to very faint clicks that are probably
 timbers and pipes settling.  And, despite many people (such as the world's
 finest photographic experts) proving repeatedly  that orbs are nothing
 supernatural, clueless paranormal investigators still offer their photos as
 "proof". When such "proof" can easily be discredited by experts, it makes
 the whole community a subject of ridicule. Where the idea that orbs are the
 first stage of a spirit manifestation is beyond me. Has anyone actually
 watched this happen?

Personally, I have absolutely no time or respect for groups who obsess over
 orbs, or are medium led. Given the "me me me me me me me" attitude of most
 mediums, I believe that mental illness plays a greater part in these spook
 hunts than any perceived psychic abilities.

I cannot help but concur with a recent statement by Derren Brown, who said
 that New-Agers are renowned for accepting beliefs but not questioning them.
 In short there is no scepticism or rational thought. Much of what they know,
 they have been told, or have read. They have done little research and simply
 repeat various "facts" mantra-like. Orbs, for instance. Most Haunted has
 suggested that orbs have no scientific explanation; an obvious lie.

This "Most Haunted" effect also has another associated artefact: avarice. The
 show has resulted in haunted venues realising that they can make money from
 the gullible, some even going so far as to embellish ghost stories to lure
 the unwary in.  Before MH, many groups were happy to pay £5-10 to cover
 staff overtime and insurance costs. But now, it is so very different. One
 venue in London used to charge a minimal fee, but now charges £1400 - 2000
 because they were seen on MH. And one ghost group even charges venues for
 their services! One group was allowed free access to a venue, but the group
 charged its members £80 to attend the investigation. When the proprietors of
 the venue found out, they cancelled their access agreement.

(More recently, John Humphries, owner of the Ram Inn near Bristol, who would
allow anyone access to his home free of charge, now charges £40 per person
after a visit from "Most Haunted")

And then there are those teams that advertise events on E-bay for
 extortionate sums of money.

Another member of LivingTV's paranormal entourage is "I'm Famous and
 Frightened", another atrocious attempt at "investigating" the paranormal,
 but with worse "psychics" than Most Haunted. This was so bad that, in the
 first series, the on-site paranormal researchers (from the respected group
 Ghosts-UK) almost walked off the set. Still, at least this show is for
 charity but is still leaves an awful taste in the mouth.

The field of spontaneous phenomena research was in disarray before Most
 Haunted anyway. The Living TV show has only served to emphasize the shoddy
 state of research anyway. One famous, but disreputable author regurgitates
 the same old ghost stories without checking original base records. As a
 result, many long discredited stories are still accepted as fact.... and
 this is a habit that many groups employ.

This may be an occasion where I become sceptical over a research topic, not
 necessarily because it has proved to have no worth, but because of the
 antics of the deluded. All I can hope is that, like the X-Files,  most
 people will lost interest in the subject when Most Haunted descends into its
 own graveyard - the television archive.

well,what can i say?you might be right that some of most haunted is made up but who are we to judge?i think most haunted is a good programme.i think derek acorah is good at what he does,and its uncanny that at times he says things about different place and re-tells the history of the locat.ions which even richard felix doesnt know unless he looks it it up in the books and hes an historian whos should know about these events before the investigation?whether derek is a fake or not,or if the show is fake,it makes compelling viewing,i for one love the show and long may it run.

All I can say is BRAVO!!! I must say I am a believer in ghosts. Not because of something I read or watched on the telly, but because of my very own personal experiences. Although I believe I am a sceptic as well. And it's true that as soon as these people(unprofessional idiots),
start there own ghosts hunts, "research" and the like it does make a laughing stoch of the "truth". It makes me angry! There is nothing wrong with having a television program which deals with the subject, but please don't turn it into a sideshow!