VTHokieGirl Explains

VTHokieGirl Explains

This article was offered to this site by a former fan of Derek Acorah, and its copyright vests in the author and this site.

March 2007

I found Derek on “Most Haunted” in the Summer of 2005. Paranormal TV has always interested me. I was brought up in a family of believers, although, I felt that, even at the tender age of five, I needed to help balance the family’s belief system with a bit of skepticism. My sister gave me the nickname, “the little scientist,” because I was always asking for proof, although I secretly wanted to believe and still do. So, I was naturally drawn to “Most Haunted” and the mediums involved with the paranormal investigations.

Just as I was the resident skeptic in my family of origin, I find myself playing the same role, with enthusiasm, I might add, on several paranormal sites. Something that I find rather strange, to this day, is the fact that I was so gullibly sucked into fandom. It was a mental aberration, on my part, and I fully accept responsibility for, essentially, losing my mind for a year or so. I do feel that fan forums are more than just discussion boards. At least Derek Acorah’s forum was. There is an atmosphere of love and complete acceptance from its members and administration that eventually develops, to which one cannot help but be attracted.

There was such a bond between some of us that we eventually agreed to travel from all parts of the world to meet in Nottingham, England, in November 2006. We found ourselves congregated in the foyer of the Comfort Inn on the night we were all to meet our leader, Derek Acorah. The love was in the air. It was, actually, an extraordinary experience. We identified ourselves to each other by our online names. Recognition was followed by many hugs and kisses. The weekend of in-person, face to face bonding was wonderful, I readily admit. I have never experienced anything quite like it, with so many people at once, before or since.

In October, about a month before I made that eventful trip across the Atlantic Ocean, I emailed Emma Gee of Double Exposure. I was horrified by the “blatant lies” she was posting on her site and, in a fit of annoyance, I asked her “why did she want to destroy Derek Acorah?” and couldn’t she just “get a life?”

Being the good natured soul that I have gathered that she is, she responded to my outburst with decorum. Emma asked me to identify her errors and she would investigate them. This infuriated me because, of course, I could not identify errors; I simply wanted her to stop posting the truth! I, again, emailed with a temper and Emma, again, responded with decorum.

After Nottingham, I informed Emma that I had been privileged to see the great one, live on stage, and I was convinced of Derek Acorah’s authenticity as a medium and no amount of Internet drivel was going to change my mind.

About two weeks later Emma replied by simply informing me of a new article that she had posted, analyzing Acorah’s psychic “testing” by the ISPR. “Oh, ho-hum,” I thought to myself. “Alright, whatever,” I said. I began reading. Slowly, my eyes widened. My bored gaze into the computer screen became a piercing stare. I found the article compelling.

On one particular thread within the Debate Door of Derek Acorah’s new official fan forum, Jon Donnis was allowed to post freely for a while. I was very alarmed to read that Sam, Derek Acorah’s guide’s name, was actually Masumai: “I AM U SAM,” spelled backwards. Then, there it was - insight.

I finally realized that the shadow was not the true image. Upon release, the cave dwelling prisoner suffered, as Plato predicted, “sharp pains” and the distressing glare of the light.

Next, I found a YouTube video of Derek Acorah on another skeptic website. The cold readings were blatantly obvious. I reread “The Mirror” article in its entirety. My heart sank for the first time, as it was the first time I read it with an objective mind.

I became aware of the fact that the name “Acorah” doesn’t even exist, even though it was professed to be a family name in several Acorah books (nearly all written by Gwen, I have since learned). These are but a few examples that have caused me to doubt Derek Acorah’s authenticity.

I have been accused of going out of my way to find fault with him. I truly have not sought ways in which to criticize. However, curiosity led me to look more closely at the evidence that I had been ignoring for so long. I could not keep a blind eye.

I am sorry that my further probing has led me to feel the way I do. If by stating the truth, as I see it, this hurts Derek or his wife, I am sorry for that, too. I have not created the evidence out of my own imagination. It has been presented to me, some of it quite conveniently, on a proverbial silver platter.

I do wish them well. But, while the accolades will continue to be offered, so will the criticism, some of it quite freely. I fear that someone with a much louder voice than my own will happily seize the opportunity to scathingly ridicule, if given it. Perhaps the Acorahs should reconsider their master game plan, lest that unfortunate occurrence take place.

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