| Most Haunted | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Yvette Fielding, Karl Beattie |
| Starring | Yvette Fielding David Wells Ciarán O'Keeffe Karl Beattie Paul Ross |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 25 |
| No. of episodes | 329 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Yvette Fielding |
| Running time | 30 minutes (1st season) 45 minutes (2nd seasons to present) 90–210 minutes (specials) |
| Original release | |
| Network | Living |
| Release | May 25, 2002 – July 21, 2010 |
| Network | Really |
| Release | August 21, 2014 – January 11, 2019 |
| Related | |
| Most Haunted Live! Ghosthunting with... | |
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.
The team travel around the UK, and also Ireland, the Netherlands and the United States, investigating possible paranormal 'hotspots' for 24 hours.
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 6 |
| Geoff 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.
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 1-3 |
| John 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) |
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.
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.