Derek Acorah
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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 ( Johnson ) Acorah worked for Littlewoods Warehouses as a Security Guard, at their Derby Lane and subsequently J.M Centre buildings, for six years from 1979 to 1985 prior to beginning 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.
He was also mentioned in Coronation Street when the son of the new Morton family Darryl Morton thought the room was haunted because it was cold saying "We should get Derek Acorah in here"
Criticism
Acorah's claims of mediumship were challenged when he claimed to be in contact with the spirits of fictional 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.[1] O'Keeffe claims that the Mirror newspaper took much of what he said out of context and suggests that, until solid proof is found, people cannot be certain about the claims of mediums. He does say, however, that of all the mediums he has studied, "the most probable explanation is a normal one, whether that be cold reading, Barnum effect, or even fraud."[2]
The show's presenter, Yvette Fielding, is quoted as 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.[3]
Parody
Acorah's fame and dramatic style of mediumship have been parodied by comedian Marc Wootton in his series High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman broadcast on BBC Three. The show plays in reruns in the United States on BBC America.
Personal life
Acorah was married during his football career. This first marriage produced his only child, a son named Carl. Acorah eventually remarried. His current wife Gwen also had a daughter from her first marriage and gwen has been seen in episodes of Most Haunted. They share their home with their two dogs Jack and Penny and two cats Mindy and Toby. [4]
Books
Acorah has written numerous books explaining his experiences and detailing his life.
- The Psychic World of Derek Acorah: Discover How to Develop Your Hidden Powers - Derek Acorah with John G. Sutton, Paitkus Books, 2003
- 'The Psychic Adventures of Derek Acorah: Star of TV's "Most Haunted", Element Books 2004
- Ghost Hunting with Derek Acorah - Derek Acorah, Element Books, 2005
- Most Haunted: The Official Behind-the-Scenes Guide - Yvette Fielding, Derek Acorah, 2005
- Haunted Britain - Derek Acorah, Harper Element, 2006
- Haunted Britain and Ireland - by Derek Acorah
- Ghost Towns - Derek Acorah, Harper Element, 2006
- Derek Acorah's Amazing Psychic Stories - by Derek Acorah
- Derek Acorah - Extreme Psychic
References
- ^ "The original Kreed Kafer exposé", The Mirror web site
- ^ "Ciarán's Chronicles", Ciarán O'Keeffe, 2005
- ^ Interview in Metro, Oct 31, 2006, p.10
- ^ Official site
External links
Bad Psychics * [1]