Most Haunted

Most Haunted is a British paranormal television program based on investigating possible paranormal activity.  It is shown on the satellite and cable channels Living, Living2 and Virgin 1 (Formerly Ftn), mainly for the UK market. It is also shown in the United States on the Travel Channel and on the W Channel in Australia. It is made by Antix Productions, and is led by Yvette Fielding and her husband Karl Beattie.

The show started their 10th season on February 19, 2008.

Production
The team travel around the UK, and also Ireland, the Netherlands and the United States, investigating possible paranormal 'hotspots' for 24 hours.

Sister shows
Most Haunted Extra: runs directly after premiere episodes, documenting behind-the-scenes antics of the cast and crew on that night's location.
Most Haunted Unseen: re-release of complete series one but with added footage bringing the duration of the programme from half an hour to an hour.
Most Haunted Live!

Most Haunted Live: Access All Areas: similar to Most Haunted Extra. Features behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the team.
Most Haunted Midsummer Murders: Seven part series where Most Haunted investigators try to solve murder mysteries in normal English villages. Hosted by Most Haunted Live historian Lesley Smith. The series started on a weekly broadcast from 2007-06-19 to 2007-07-31 and the team visited (in order of broadcast) Stoney Middleton, Nantwich, Castleton, Pluckley, Ruthin, Tutbury and Tarvin.
Most Haunted: Recurring Nightmares: Series in which the presenters tell and recall their most feared visits.

The Most Haunted team
Most Haunted has a main presenter, a psychic medium and a parapsychologist. The parapsychologist's role is to be the skeptic, and to give possible scientific suggestions for the paranormal activity that happens during the night. These are supported by some of the production crew, who appear in the show and generally have some involvement with many parts of the investigation as they are performing their normal crew role. Most of these on-screen crew members also take part in séances.
 Name Show role Crew role Started Yvette Fielding  Presenter / Investigator  Executive producer  Series 1 David Wells  Medium Spiritual Advisor   Series 4 Dr Ciarán O'Keeffe  Parapsychologist  None  Series 2 Karl Beattie  Investigator  Producer, Director  Series 1  Stuart Torevell  Investigator  Rigger, Camera operator Series 1 Catherine Howe  Investigator  Hair and Make-up Series 2 Iain Cash  Investigator  Camera Operator  Series 6Geoff Adams  None  Director of Photography  Series 9

The show has also featured guest mediums. So far these have been Ian Lawman, Ian Shillito, Gordon Smith, Uri Geller and Kevin Wade. Some episodes have also included at least one celebrity. So far celebrities have included Vic Reeves, Nancy Sorrell, Gaby Roslin, Scott Mills, Mark Chapman, Simon Gregson, Sue Cleaver, Carol Thatcher, Paul O'Grady and Lee Ryan.

Former team members
The following is a list of former team and crew members who have given a lot of their time to the show.

 Name Role Duration Derek Acorah Spiritualist Medium  Series 1-6 Phil Whyman  Paranormal Investigator  Series 2-4 Jason Karl  Paranormal Investigator  Series 1 Steve Parsons  Paranormal Investigator  Series 8 Matthew Smith  Parapsychologist  Series 2-8 Louie Savva  Parapsychologist  Series 7 Richard Felix  Historian  Series 2-8 Rick Fielding  Cameraman  Series 1-4 Craig Harman  Steadicam Operator  Series 1-3John Dibley  Director of photography, Camera Operator  Series 2-8 Neil Haggerty  Editor  Series 1-4 Warren Baxter  Editor  Series 5 Stefan Petecki  Editor Series 5-7 Paul Harrison  Post-production Sound  Series 1-4 Martin Huntley  Location Sound  Series 1 Tom O'Carrol  Location Sound  Series 3-5 John Baldwin  Online Editor  Series 1-4 Rachel Phillips  Script Writer  Series 5-6 Jon Gilbert  Sound  Series 6-8 (Some of Series 9)

Controversy
Many times, former "psychic medium" Derek Acorah was possessed by a spirit, sometimes evil or sometimes "lost and confused".  One such case that 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 he was possessed by the fictional ghost. O'Keeffe later revealed Kreed Kafer is an anagram of 'Derek Faker' in the Daily Mirror. O' Keeffe exposed Acorah. The paper also claimed that O' Keeffe had exposed the rest of the Most Haunted team. O'Keeffe later reported that he had been grossly misquoted and misrepresented in the article, and produced a response outlining his version of the show based on his observations and findings, saying he had exposed Derek Acorah and NOT Most Haunted. The show's presenter and executive producer, Yvette Fielding said in an interview that she believes it was a fake possession.Metro UK, "60 SECONDS: Yvette Fielding" by James Ellis, The UK Metro, October 30, 2006, retrieved November 2, 2006.

Although not mentioned by O'Keeffe, the Mirror article also brought into question unedited footage which appeared to show Fielding and Karl Beattie  faking 'paranormal' occurrences such as ghostly bumps and knocks. Fielding denied the claims. Thus far none of this footage has come to light, leading to the belief that the Mirror'''s claims were false. Videos purporting to show the team faking paranormal activity have often popped up on the web but show no proof.

Further controversy centred on Derek Acorah in Devon. On the first night filming "Terror in Torbay", Acorah 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, Fielding reminded Acorah that he had mentioned the incarcerated sister two nights prior. Acorah glossed over his mistake and changed the subject.

Related pages
List of Most Haunted episodes

 References and notes

Other websites
 The Official Most Haunted Homepage
 Antix Productions  - Production company for Most Haunted''
 The Official Site and Forum for Karl Beattie 
 The Official Fansite and Forum for David Wells 
 Most Haunted blog  Offers an alternative view on Most Haunted

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Category:British reality television series
Category:Supernatural television series
Category:Occult
Category:Sky UK original programming
Category:Television series about ghosts
Category:Travel Channel shows
Category:British English-language television shows