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Derek Acorah is the stage name of Derek Johnson (born January 27, 1950). He is a popular but controversial British cable and satellite television personality, who has come to fame as a purported "psychic medium" (a person who claims to be able to talk to the dead).
Career
His early life was spent in Liverpool, England, where, according to his several books, he first discovered his psychic abilities and became interested in Spiritualism. He claims that in this period, he first contacted his spirit guide, 'Sam', said to be an Ethiopian from approximately 1,500 years ago, with whom Derek was friends in a previous life (some of Derek's beliefs appear to reflect Kardecism as well as Spiritualism). He pursued a career as a footballer for many years, playing for Glentoran in Northern Ireland, before immigrating to Australia to continue to pursue his footballing career. Right before their move to Australia, his wife gave birth to Derek's only child Carl.
On his return to Liverpool, he divorced his first wife. Derek Acorah began to practice as a medium, and soon gained a popular local following. He remarried in the early 1990s to his current wife Gwen. His first book 'The Psychic World of Derek Acorah' was co-written with his then manager John G. Sutton. Sutton took Derek to the USA, where he joined the International Society for Paranormal Research (ISPR) headed by Larry Montz, a former ghost-tour guide from New Orleans. He then appeared on Psychic Livetime on a local Manchester station, Granada Breeze, which proved immensely popular, and went on to host his own show, Predictions with Derek Acorah. Following the closure of that station, he was chosen by LivingTV as the resident medium on their 2002 series Most Haunted, which shot him to national fame. His theatre tours of purported mediumship have resulted in sold out shows across the UK.
Another Living TV series, The Antiques Ghost Show, proved less popular, and only lasted one series. Despite this relative failure, LivingTV announced in 2005 that there would be two new commissions featuring Derek Acorah, including one named Ghost Towns.
During the late 90's Derek appeared in many Daz (detergent) commercials. Derek helped perform many Daz doorstep challenges on the nations whites.
He appeared for one line in the 2006 Doctor Who episode Army of Ghosts: "Well, no one needs me anymore."
Disputes
Derek Acorah's claimed psychic gifts have been the subject of considerable controversy, which are discussed in the Most Haunted entry.
Derek Acorah states that his stage name was taken from his grandmother's husband who was Dutch. But there is no such name in the history of the Johnson family or, indeed, in the Netherlands.
On the 28 October 2005 Dr. Ciaran O'Keeffe, Most Haunted's parapsychologist, launched an attack on Derek Acorah telling The Mirror newspaper that "In my professional opinion we're not dealing with a genuine medium. When Derek is possessed he is doing it consciously - all we are seeing is showmanship and dramatics." *
In an article on James Randi's site*, O'Keeffe further elaborated, saying that he mentioned made-up characters to Acorah, such as a South African jailer named Kreed Kafer (an anagram of "Derek Faker") and a highwayman named Rik Eedles ("Derek Lies"). Acorah went on to become "possessed" by the former character, and sensed the presence of the latter. But there's also claims that the entire claim was a fraud in itself: http://badpsychics.com/thefraudfiles/modules/news/article.php?storyid=32
Derek has been lampooned in the comedy TV show High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman.
Derek Acorah has also been exposed by the BadPsychics.co.uk website.
Derek's antics on TV have angered many Spiritualists who believe that he is making a joke of the religious practice of communication with spirits. There is a website that has a discussion forum dealing specifically with him. http://www.doublexposure.co.uk
On December 5, 2005, the British communications regulator Ofcom ruled that Acorah's programmes were not in breach of the Broadcasting Code, as they were obviously produced "for entertainment purposes". *
Books
His books include
- The Psychic World of Derek Acorah: Discover How to Develop Your Hidden Powers ~Derek Acorah with John G. Sutton, Paitkus Books, 2003
- The Psychic Adventures of Derek Acorah: Star of TV's "Most Haunted", Element Books 2004
- Ghost Hunting with Derek Acorah ~Derek Acorah, Element Books, 2005
- Most Haunted: The Official Behind-the-Scenes Guide ~Yvette Fielding, Derek Acorah, 2005
- Haunted Britain ~Derek Acorah, Harper Element, 2006
External links
- Official Homepage
- List of Articles About Derek Acorah
- James Randi on Acorah
- The BP Files - Sceptic site exposing psychics and mediums, including Derek Acorah
- Double Exposure on Acorah
- Most Haunted on Living TV
- Derek Acorah MySpace Fan Resource
- Most Haunted on Living TV
British television personalities | Glentoran F.C. players | 1950 births | Living people
"Derek Acorah"