Well I like Derek Acorah. Makes me laugh. Although the whole show is not really convincing. There are a couple of problems in my mind (and forgive me if some of this has already been said but I'm jumping in at page 20 and haven't had time to read all of your posts)
1. Someone who has a vested interest in the occult like Derek, may well have been able to absorb and memorise a lot of facts about the places they visit. If these are indeed Britain's most haunted places then it follows that they are probably the best documented and that an avid fan of the occult could easily come up with a few key names once he discovers where he has been taken to. So we don't even need to posit active and conscious fraud.
2. I've noticed that in the better documented locations, Derek seems to come up with many hits - fore and surnames of people who are not only associated with the building but of whom ghost stories are told. In less well known places such as the brewery, he comes up with names that are unknown or safe bets such as Thomas and John.
3. There is no way whatsoever to judge what happens outside of the area covered by the camera or how many takes have been made. I love watching the show but the fact is that it would be easy to fake it and there would be no way for the normal viewer to tell the difference. So belief is a matter of faith, which is a pretty unfortean sentiment.
4. These orb things are boring and not in any way interesting. Some magician did a show on channel 4 or 5 recently in which he showed that digital cameras will always pick up these orbs. The claim that 'science' cannot explain them is not quite correct. They are bits of dust according to this magician.
5. This Yvette woman - God almighty! She is a nervous wreck. She'll sit there confidently demanding that the ghost should reveal itself. Suddently one of the cameramen farts and she goes into hysterics. She just makes a run for it.
6. I am not convinced by the crew's reactions when they are interviewed after the show. In the show about the Drury Lane Theatre investigation, the sceptical parapsychologist and two others saw a pair of legs. All of them agreed that it was a pair of legs and that they were not part of a body. Now, this is a mind blowing event; "Fuck me! Legs! Aaaaaaaargh! Legs without a body!! Shiiiiite! It's all true! There really are such things as ghosts!" Not; "Well, we all definitely saw them and it was definitely legs without a body. Anyway, sleep tight".
7. The music and general atmosphere of the show are designed to be spooky. No need for this if you are documenting clear evidence that the laws of physics as currently understood are being set aside on a regular basis in specific locations. Just a sober exposition of the facts, then wait for the world to stand itself on its head.
8. No facts have ever been revealed to us, which are not already known and documented. There have been a few shows where the historian claims that Derek has said something that he couldn't possibly have known. But even if we take the rest of the crew in good faith, why should Derek not have access to the same information as the historian?
9. We need someone to observe the show being made, who will be able to assure us that no deliberate fraud has taken place. Why not get Richard Dawkins in for the job? He is the Professor for Public Understanding of Science and as such ought to be interested in a high profile case such as this. He ought to welcome the chance to expose any potential fraud and to be able to verify the facts for himself.
10. I'd like to see a double blind experiment in which Derek and the crew are led to certain locations by impartial observers. Some of these will be haunted and some won't. As much care as possible should be taken to ensure that even the haunted locations are not known either to Derek or the crew. Fly them to Holland for example or to Italy. The show would be shot as usual but there would be no verification of the facts until after the series.
I'm not saying that I don't believe in ghosts because I am pretty sure I saw one myself on at least one occasion and heard one on another see:
http://www.strangestories.co.uk/stories/s25.shtml
