Most Haunted
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| Most Haunted | |
|---|---|
 Official Most Haunted logo |
|
| Genre | Reality |
| Running time | Series 1 = 30 mins Series 2+ = 60 mins |
| Executive producer(s) | Yvette Fielding |
| Starring | Yvette Fielding David Wells Ciarán O' Keeffe Karl Beattie |
| Country of origin | UK |
| Original channel | LivingTV |
| Original run | 25 May 2002–present |
| No. of episodes | 114 |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Most Haunted is a British television programme based on investigating purported paranormal activity that is shown on the satellite and cable channels LIVINGtv, LIVINGtv2 and Ftn, primarily for the UK market. It is also currently being shown on the Travel Channel in the United States, on the W Network in Canada, on TV3 in Ireland, as well as on the W Network in Australia. It is produced and presented by Antix Productions, which consists of Yvette Fielding and her husband Karl Beattie. It is an example of the genre of paranormal television.
Contents |
[edit] Production
The team travel around the UK investigating alleged paranormal 'hotspots'. In reality filming takes up to four days.
- Photography
- The photographic style of the series has changed considerably since series 1. In the first series many elaborate shots were set up with an almost 'theatrical' style, with illuminated windows and dry ice. Locations were often illuminted outside at night time, with blue and green colours. From series 1 - 3 there was extensive use of the steadicam, which provided fantastic gliding shots during Yvette's ghostly tales or for general views. The steadicam was cut in series four and its abscence was indeed noticed. In series 8 the team introduced a camera crane or 'Jimmy Jib' system for elaborate arial shots of both Yvette and the locations, this proved very successful. Most of the photography in Most Haunted focuses on 'general views' of a location and its surroundings. Most Haunted is filmed with both broadcast and miniDV cameras with night vision facility.
- Editing
- The original editor, Neil Haggerty, is said by many fans to be responsible for the creation of the original 'Most Haunted' look. Neil created amazingly intricate edits, using a wide range of visual effects such as dust and scratchings and lumnescent transitions. He also used many other devices such as slow or speeded images from the steadicam to create interesting gliding shots, imposing and superimposing and many other effects resulting in the show looking extremely sophisitcated edit wise. Neil left after series 4 and was replaced by an 'edit team'. This resulted in a different editor for almost every episode. Due to this Most Haunted lost its intricity edit wise, with only one rather fake looking dust effect in use and varying styles to the editing with each episode. This trend continued until series 8, with most of the episodes edited by Ollie Hulbert becoming close to Haggerty's original style, however other editors such as Gareth Metcalfe and even the post production supervisor, Matt Bower, failed to come close to the original edit pattern.
- Music
- The music used on Most Haunted was originally composed by Alan Clark. Although on the show it sounds like an ambient score, it is actually many tracks mixed together during editing. The tracks are all taken from Spectrasonics sample libraries and were composed into groups by Clark. There are over 100 music cues which are all mixed together in various fashions.
[edit] Other Most Haunted(s)
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: (see below).
[edit] Locations
[edit] Series 1
running time 30 min
- Athelhampton Hall, Dorset.
- Chillingham Castle, Northumberland.
- Avebury Stones and The Red Lion, Wiltshire.
- Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.
- The Ostrich Inn, Colnbrook, Berkshire.
- Souter Lighthouse, Marsden, Tyne and Wear.
- Culzean Castle, Ayrshire.
- Derby Gaol, Derby.
- Aldwych Underground Station, London.
- Treasure Holt, Essex.
- Leap Castle, County Offaly, Ireland.
- Charnock Hall, Sheffield.
- The Mermaid Inn, East Sussex.
- Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, Lancashire.
- Charleville Forest Castle, Offaly, Ireland.
- Michelham Priory, East Sussex.
- Levens Hall, Cumbria.
[edit] Series 2
running time 60 min
- The Skirrid Inn, Powys.
- Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire.
- Station Hotel, Dudley, West Midlands.
- Llancaiach Fawr Manor, South Wales.
- House of Detention, London.
- Lafferty's, Bell Inn & the Heritage Centre, Derby.
- Brannigans Nightclub, Manchester.
- Pengersick Castle, Cornwall.
- The Clock House, Surrey.
- Caesar's Nightclub, London.
- Celebrity Most Haunted - Belgrave Hall, Leicester.
[edit] Series 3
running time 60 min
- RAF East Kirkby, Lincolnshire.
- Moresby Hall, Whitehaven, Cumbria.
- Edinburgh Vaults, Edinburgh.
- Leith Hall, Aberdeenshire.
- Aberglasney House, Carmarthenshire.
- Schooner Hotel, Alnmouth, Northumberland
- Tamworth Castle, Staffordshire.
- Fitz Manor, Shropshire.
- Muckleburgh Collection, Norfolk.
- Galleries of Justice, Nottingham.
[edit] Series 4
running time 60 min
- Owlpen Manor, Gloucestershire.
- Craig-y-Nos, Powys.
- Jamaica Inn, Cornwall.
- Croxteth Hall, Liverpool.
- Hellfire Caves, Buckinghamshire.
- The Manor House Hotel, County Durham.
- Wellington Inn, Cornwall.
- Mary King's Close, Edinburgh.
- Chatham Dockyard, Kent.
- Guildhall, Leicester.
- Greengate Brewery, Middleton, Greater Manchester.
- Manor House Restaurant, West Midlands.
[edit] Series 5
running time 60 min
- Kinnitty Castle, County Offaly, Ireland.
- Castle Leslie, County Monaghan, Ireland.
- Kasteel Doorwerth, Netherlands.
- Kasteel Ammersoyen, Netherlands.
- Black Swan Hotel, Devizes, Wiltshire.
- Old Hall Hotel, Sandbach, Cheshire.
- Chough Inn, Somerset.
- Ordsall Hall, Lancashire.
- Samlesbury Hall, Preston.
- Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Greater Manchester.
- Pleasley Vale Mills, Mansfield.
- Bodelwyddan Castle, North Wales.
- Annesley Hall, Nottingham.
- Ancient Ram Inn, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire.
[edit] Series 6
NOTE: Derek Acorah's Final Series running time 60 min
- Bodmin Gaol, Cornwall.
- Dalston Hall, Carlisle.
- Somerleyton Hall, Suffolk.
- Prideaux Place, Cornwall.
- Golden Fleece, York.
- Lower Wellhead Farm, Lancashire.
- Tynedale Farm, Lancashire.
- The Ghost House, Nottinghamshire.
- London Dungeon, London.
- Petty France Manor House, Gloucestershire.
- Arreton Manor, Isle of Wight.
- Appuldurcombe House, Isle of Wight.
- Fyvie Castle, Aberdeenshire.
- Craigievar Castle, Aberdeenshire.
- The Black Bull, West Yorkshire.
- Whaley House, San Diego, California, USA.
- The Queen Mary, California, USA (Part 1).
- The Queen Mary, California, USA (Part 2).
- Bolling Hall, Bradford.
- Elvaston Castle, Derbyshire.
- Smithills Hall, Bolton.
- Peterborough Museum, Peterborough.
- Tissington Hall, Derbyshire.
- Hellens Manor, Herefordshire.
- Tretower Court, Black Mountains, Powys.
- American Legion, Hollywood, California, USA.
- Leonis Adobe, California, USA.
- Drum Barracks, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Sinai House, Staffordshire.
[edit] Series 7
running time 60min
- Lower Southward Cottage, Devon.
- Castle Keep, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.
- Woodchester Mansion, Gloucestershire.
- Coronation Street, Manchester.
- Old Church House Inn, Devon.
- Mains Hall, Lancashire.
[edit] Series 8
NOTE: Richard Felix's last series. [citation needed] running time 60 min
- Michelham Priory, East Sussex.
- Warwick Castle, Warwickshire.
- Gladstone Pottery Museum, Stoke-on-Trent.
- Margam Castle, Port Talbot, South Wales.
- Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester.
- Preston Manor, Brighton.
- Plas Mawr, Conwy.
- Taunton Castle, Somerset.
- East Riddlesden Hall, Keighley, West Yorkshire.
- Ancient High House, Stafford.
- North East Aircraft Museum, Sunderland.
- Discovery and Unicorn, Dundee.
- Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland.
- Chambercombe Manor, Ilfracombe, Devon.
[edit] Confirmed 9th Series
Beginnning early 2007.
RUMOURED LOCATIONS:
- Penrhyn Old Hall, North Wales
- Miskin Manor, Cardiff
- The Viaduct Tavern, London
- Anglesea Lighthouse
- Brougham Hall, Cumbria
Note: out of UK Locations will be visited
[edit] Cast and crew
Most Haunted features a main presenter, a spiritualist medium and a parapsychologist. Essentially the latter two create an even balance between paranormal and scientific explanations for the various phenomena that occurs.
The rest of the cast is made up from some of the crew who, once they've performed their true crew role, participate in vigils along with the presenter and other cast, essentially becoming presenters themselves.
[edit] Current cast and crew
The presenter of Most Haunted is Yvette Fielding, well known for her work on Blue Peter and City Hospital. The spiritualist medium is David Wells, and the parapsychologist is Dr. Ciarán O' Keeffe.
Many crew members have departed and removed, including Richard Felix who has been recently removed by Antix as resident historian and replaced by Leslie Smith.
Crew members include.
- Karl Beattie - Producer, Camera operator
- Jon Gilbert - Sound
- Stuart Torvell - Rigger
- Catherine Howe - Make-up artist and Hair
- Iain Cash - Camera Operator
- Julian Clegg - Most Haunted Live Access All Areas and Interactive Host
- Paul Ross - Most Haunted Live Presenter MHL 19 - present
- Steve Parsons - Paranormal Investigator MHL 19- Present
The show has also featured guest mediums. So far these have been Ian Lawman, Ian Shillito, Gordon Smith and Kevin Wade.
[edit] Former cast and crew
- Derek Acorah - Spiritualist Medium Series 1-6
- Jason Karl - Paranormal Investigator (Series 1)
- Phil Whyman - Paranormal Investigator (Series 2-4)
- Matthew Smith - Parapsychologist (Most Haunted Live)
- Dave Scanlan - Paranormal Investigator, Most Haunted Live 1
- Rick Fielding - Cameraman
- Brian Shephard - Psychic Artist Series 5
- Marion Goodfellow - Psychic Artist Series 5
- Will Hanrahan - Producer for Hanrahan Media in early Most Haunted Lives.
- Craig Harman - Cameraman
- John Dibley - Director of photography
- Jane Millichip - Executive Producer for LivingTV, Most Haunted Live 1-6, series 1-5
- Neil Haggerty - Original (some say the best) editor series 1-4, he was responsible for devising the Most Haunted look.
- Paul Harrison - Dubbing Mixer series 1-4
- Dr. David Bull - Most Haunted Live Presenter MHL 1-17
- Jamie Darling - Most Haunted Live Presenter MHL 18
- Louie Savva - Parapsychologist
- Richard Felix - Historian
- Rachel Phillips - Script Writer
[edit] Most Haunted Live
The Most Haunted Live shows are broadcast from a large, supposedly haunted location, with cameras following the team as they investigate. The shows make use of an audience and feature psychic experiments, psychic art and remote psychometry. "The Hub", as its known, is the centre of communications, where the audience and main studio is set up. The live presenter, Paul Ross, works from here, as does the interactive team and their leader, Julian Clegg. The hub is also the location of the gallery and production offices.
The first episode of Most Haunted Live was broadcast on October 31, 2002 from Dudley Castle and was produced jointly by Antix and Hanrahan Media. The next 7 live events were produced by Hanrahan; However, the eighth was produced by Antix, as Hanrahan had changed large amounts of the format, replacing the original Most Haunted music cues with their own versions and changing the styles of cameras and editing, making them inconsistent with the Most Haunted episodes. Antix's first solo production of Most Haunted Live was a grand affair with a large set, the original Most Haunted music and all the crew involved (Hanrahan only involved Yvette, the current medium and Phil from the episode team).
Paul O'Grady was on one live show after presenter Yvette Fielding was a guest on his show and invited him to come along.
The next Most Haunted Live airs in December 2006. This has apparently been confirmed by Yvette Fielding, however Paul Ross recently told viewers that Most Haunted Live would be continuing in 2007. It is rumoured that Antix have lined up a replacement for the show on an arguably grander scale. [citation needed]
Most Haunted Live locations:
[edit] Overview
On several occasions the former "psychic medium" Derek Acorah was purportedly possessed by an entity, sometimes evil or sometimes "lost and confused." One such case which helped expose Derek was the Kreed Kafer Possession. This was where Derek was seemingly possessed by a spirit whose name happened to be an anagram of Derek Faker.
The show's presenter and executive producer, Yvette Fielding said in an interview that she believes it was a fake possession[1]. However it is unlikely that it will ever be known whether this was in fact a real paranormal event. Another possible theory is that Derek only thinks he is getting possessed, when in all actuality he's imagining things. Other people might say the possession-of-the-day (week, for the television one-off version) made the shows more interesting. In the same interview, Yvette Fielding said that following the fake possession Derek had to leave the show, since it was contrary to everything that was shown in the programmes being real. However, an analysis of the interview by the Bad Psychics founder refutes many of Fielding's claims.
Recently, according to the Daily Star, Derek Acorah has been dropped by TV Bosses for faking things, speculation which proves to be false.
[edit] Criticism
This show is a topic of great debate in Britain, with two websites dedicated to debunking it; BadPsychics.co.uk and Double Exposure, and an enthusiastic fan community on the 'Most Haunted Forum' at LIVINGtv's website. It is regarded as cult television in the UK.
In December 2005, Ofcom concluded an investigation into the show following complaints that it was blurring the line between investigation and entertainment. They came to the conclusion that Most Haunted is not a serious investigation into the paranormal and should be treated as nothing more than entertainment. They noted that the presence of a studio audience, theme music and the dramatic behaviour of the presenters and crew suggested this. However, they did not find that the programme had broken their code of conduct.
Several videos have appeared on the internet which to critics, reinforce the fact that the show is set up and involves no paranormal activity. In one, a viewer with a satellite feed recorded the actors and crew joking around and laughing at the story Derek Acorah has just told. Another shows the program's presenter, Yvette, supposedly moving a glass. The glass is expected to be moved by the spirit, but some charge that Yvette who is wearing slippery gloves, instead thrusts her hand forward. In another video, a cameraman catches a glimpse of Yvette in a mirror, making a ghastly noise, then asking if anyone else heard it; blaming it on spirits.
[edit] References
- ^ Metro UK, "60 SECONDS: Yvette Fielding" by James Ellis, The UK Metro, October 30, 2006, retrieved November 2, 2006.
[edit] External Links
- The Official Most Haunted Homepage
- Antix Productions - Production company for Most Haunted
- Official Richard Felix website - Former historian of Most Haunted
- Ciarán O' Keeffe's official website - Parapsychologist of Most Haunted
- David Wells's Official Website - Spiritualist medium of Most Haunted
- Double Exposure - Exposing Most Haunted and the 'entertainment' mediums.
- Most Haunted Zone - Fan site
- Most Haunted Forum - Fan forum
- Most Haunted Tribute Site - Fan site for all that is Most Haunted
- Most Taunted Forum - A Tribute to Most Haunted Fans
- Karl Beattie's Official Fan Site - Fan site dedicated to Most Haunted producer
- Reality Thumbnails - Recaps of Most Haunted episodes
- BadPsychics.co.uk's Most Haunted articles - A list of articles by skeptics of the Most Haunted investigations
