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On several occasions the former "psychic medium" Derek Acorah was purportedly possessed by an entity, sometimes
evil or sometimes "lost and confused." One such case which exposed Derek was the Kreed Kafer Possessionat Bodmin Gaol, Cornwall, where Derek
was seemingly possessed by a spirit whose name was an anagram of Derek Faker. It became common knowledge locally that before
the filming, Derek had been "fed" misinformation by local pranksters who had sat in the bar and loudly discussed the non-existent
ghost of Kreed Kafer, hoping that he would use what he heard. It would appear that he did.
The show's presenter and executive producer, Yvette Fielding said in an interview that she believes it was a
fake possession. However it is unlikely that it will ever be known whether this was in fact a real paranormal event. Another
possible theory is that Derek only thinks he is getting possessed, when in all actuality he's imagining things. Other people
might say the possession-of-the-day (week, for the television one-off version) made the shows more interesting. In the same
interview, Yvette Fielding said that following the fake possession Derek had to leave the show, since it was contrary to everything
that was shown in the programmes being real. However, an analysis of the interview by the Bad Psychics founder refutes many
of Fielding's claims.
Further controversy centred again in the West Country, this time in Devon. On the
first night filming "Terror in Torbay", Derek mentioned a woman incarcerated by her jealous sister in the cellar
of Lupton House, even coming up with the names Margaret and Eleanor. In this case, the facts were right, but the location
was wrong. This is the well-known legend of Berry Pomeroy
Castle which was to be the last night's location. On the final night, at Berry
Pomeroy, Yvette reminded Derek that he had mentioned the incarcerated sister two nights prior, yet Derek glossed over his
mistake and changed the subject.
Most Haunted is a topic of great debate in Britain, with an enthusiastic fan community on the 'Most Haunted Forum' at Living's website. It is regarded as cult television
in the UK.
On the second night of a Live investigation in September 2005, the crew of Most Haunted visited the disused
Barnes Hospital in Manchester. Yvette Fielding claimed the hospital was an insane asylum and Derek Acorah was "possessed" by
an insane patient, despite Barnes Hospital originally being
a convalescence hospital [1]. Urban explorers from the website Nyctophobia visited the hospital in November to setup a Most
Haunted spoof, Most Unhaunted, mocking the inaccuracies of the live show such as the reporting of the "terrible smell" in
the mortuary by Yvette Fielding despite there being no such smell.
In December 2005, Ofcom concluded an investigation into the show following complaints that it was blurring the
line between investigation and entertainment. They came to the conclusion that Most Haunted is not a serious investigation
into the paranormal and should be treated as nothing more than entertainment. They noted that the presence of a studio audience,
theme music and the dramatic behaviour of the presenters and crew suggested this. However, they did not find that the programme
had broken their code of conduct.
Several videos have appeared on the internet which to critics, reinforce their opinion that the show is set
up and involves no paranormal activity. In one, a viewer with a satellite feed recorded the actors and crew joking around
and laughing at the story Derek Acorah has just told. Another shows the program's presenter, Yvette, supposedly moving a glass.
The glass is expected to be moved by the spirit, but some charge that Yvette who is wearing slippery gloves, instead thrusts
her hand forward. In another video, a cameraman catches a glimpse of Yvette in a mirror, making a ghastly noise, then asking
if anyone else heard it; blaming it on spirits.
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