Derek Acorah

Derek Acorah in 2002.

Putting the psycho in Parapsychology

Men who stare at goats

Leonora Piper Kathleen Goligher Princess Märtha Louise Warren Caylor

By the powers of tinfoil

Sensing Murder Prophecy Psychic Psychic detective Guy Lyon Playfair Helen Duncan Hans Bender Sleep-learning Ian Stevenson v - t - e

Derek Acorah (1950–2020), born Derek Francis Johnson, was a British TV actor taking the role of a psychic medium, most notably on the television series Most Haunted. He had also done other shows including Predictions with Derek Acorah and Derek Acorah's Ghost Towns and performed a stage act. Derek Acorah was exposed as being a bit of a chancer in the early 2000s, and after that his following was more "ironic" than "iconic".

Nearly all these entities Derek channeled coincidentally spoke with the same strong Scouse (Liverpool) accent he had, no matter where they came from. (If you don't know what Scouse sounds like, think of how the Beatles spoke, but rougher sounding in Derek's case. Kim Cattrall once spoke like this too, believe it or not.)

Derek has now passed over to the other side himself, where he spends his time apologising to all the dead people who featured on his shows.

Highlights

• Acorah was a staple of the television comedy show Most Haunted from 2002–2014. The show featured Acorah, co-starring Yvette Fielding, and several other geniuses stumbling around in old buildings with infrared video cameras looking for ghosts, during which Acorah would inevitably pretend to communicate with spirits. One memorable episode featured Acorah supposedly passing on a message from a deceased young woman: "Mary loves Dick". In a later episode, Acorah was busted pretending to be possessed by the spirit of a fictional character made up by a fellow cast member.
• In 2010 Acorah's Michael Jackson: The Live Seance was voted the worst television program of the year. If he could predict these results, why attempt to make it?
• In 2012 Acorah claimed to have gotten news from his 'spirit guide' that missing child Madeleine McCann had died some time ago, but would soon be reincarnated. McCann's parents were reportedly "sickened" by Acorah's claim, although sadly there is no evidence that she is alive.

Didn't see that coming

Acorah's driving license was revoked for 28 months after the car he was driving struck another motorist's, causing the driver to have whiplash.

The "should have known this was going to happen" joke was wheeled out again in March 2017 when a stage appearance was cancelled at the last minute by Acorah when he wasn't paid the fee he expected, and turned into a near-riot.

Acorah's show Most Haunted has been the subject of many complaints to broadcasting watchdogs. In 2005 viewers complained that the show was deceiving viewers by claiming the paranormal was real. However TV watchdog Ofcom ruled that the show was not to be taken seriously, finding it went "beyond what we believe to be a generally accepted understanding of what comprises a legitimate investigation" and "should be taken to be a programme produced for entertainment purposes". In 2013 a complaint was upheld for scaring children.

See also

• Psychic detective