REVIEW: Derek Acorah's The Past Hunters - SE2 EP1 - Thackray Medical Museum - Never Aired On TV

At the start of this year (2020) after a brief battle with illness, Derek Acorah died.

I wrote a piece about Derek on that day, you can read that here.

But just when you thought Derek was out of your life, almost like a Phoenix rising from the flames, Derek is back from the afterlife and gracing your screens once more!

Many of you will remember that Derek did a show that aired on "YourTV", but unfortunately that Station was closed down by it's owners, and the second season of The Past Hunters was left on the scrap heap, never to be aired, never to be seen again.

But out of nowhere the "ghost hunting" group that appeared on the show with Derek have decided to air the show on their youtube. And since it is Halloween and there is no other similar ghost hunting show out there to watch, that features an entertaining fake psychic on it, I thought I would review this instead. After all whats the worse that can happen? Derek ain't gonna come after me..... Or is he? No he is not. He has had his chance to haunt me, and he has decided to leave me alone.

Anyway on to the blurbage of the show.

Derek Acorah's, The Past Hunters investigate Thackray Medical Museum, believed to one of Leeds most haunted buildings. Workers claim to have witnessed constant paranormal activity in the museum and one claim is that two Victorian ghosts are trapped inside of the location.

Now before you read my review, you can watch the whole episode on the embedded player below, or you can go to the youtube page itself to watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-8ZQ1dwDNE

As the opening theme plays and the obligatory screams, and over acting from Derek is previewed, I just feel so at home.

And first thing you will notice is the half decent production value, so rare these days, and then there is Rebecca Palmer, also known as "The Nigella of Ghost Hunting".

She has everything you need in a good female host, the good looks, the hair flick, and the seductive looks to camera. 

Anyway they are in Thackray Medical Museum, a 19th century medical museum. Just about as spooky sounding as you can get. We get a nice little package covering the location, it's history, and the fact it is known as "Leeds most paranormally active location", a claim that you could literally give to any place in Leeds, mainly due to the fact that ghosts do not exist.

After the package finishes, we get a truly unique and excellent scene in what I assume is Derek's minivan. Yes really! I wonder if Gwen was driving?

We get our first full hair flick from Rebecca, or Bex as she likes to be called. A perfect drinking game for those watching, down a shot for every hair flick.

We learn how someone who works at the museum decided to contact The Past Hunters for help to find out what is going on. Of course this is a totally genuine call for help, and not an attempt to get some publicity for what does look like being an excellent museum. Derek does his best "I have never heard of this Museum", despite it being billed as Leeds most paranormally active place, and that was literally Derek's job to know about places like this! But let us be fair here, if Derek said "Oh yeah I know Thackray Museum, was there last week with Gwen", then that wouldn't be as much fun.

There is a third person in the car, I assume it is Sean Reynolds, if Wikipedia is to be trusted, for some reason only Bex had her name pop up on screen, and Derek truly needs no introduction.

I should also say that there is a good chance that I have in the past had run ins with either Bex or Sean, I say that not because I remember any run in, but because a lot of these ghost group types tend to mix around, and I have argued with so many of them other the years, made fun of them and so on, and they are such touchy people, that there is a good chance I have pissed off both of them, so if that is the case I will happily apologise right now, and I give you both a completely fresh and clean slate. I cant remember what you have done in the past, it was forever ago that I watched previous Past Hunter episodes, so I will give you the benefit of the doubt, and know that me making fun or having a joke, is purely done in a light hearted manner with no offence meant. And if you are offended, tough.

Right I reckon that will cover me for a bit.

After some more talking in the Fiat Scudo Panorama Diesel Estate, they arrived at the location.

Frustratingly we can't see who was driving? Was it Derek, or was it someone else. These are questions that need to be answered! Our first true unexplained mystery of the day.

Now I am never one to comment on people's trousers, for I have an unusual taste myself, and I like bright colours, however.....

These trousers are unacceptable!

I do however fully approve of Derek Acorah and his Rupert The Bear scarf. 

Oh God we are only five minutes in and I am already referencing Rupert the Bear.

The team get introduced to the museum by the man who called them in, and they are shown around. 

Derek talks about residual energies, and 4 different levels of activity. No idea what that means, but it sounds good.

We start the investigation and Sean appears with a creepy "haunted doll" that says "I'm watching you" when you press it, along with some motion detectors. 

He sets the doll up next to some museum mannequins, which are creepy as hell in their own right. 

We now cut to a "baby centre" and he has another doll, a less creepy one this time, and he puts a vibration sensor inside the doll, all of these dolls have static cameras filming them, which is a smart decision. Because if anything happens, I want to see it.

Bex and Sean lead Derek to a room and they have some items placed on a table, Derek is asked to do some "Psychomotrising" on them. Basically he is gonna handle them and say what he feels. He describes a fat old man, and describes his character. This is some classic Derek. He is a fun story teller. And I think everyone can enjoy Derek here, you can tell he is enjoying himself, and regardless of your beliefs it is fun to watch. Derek comes up with the name ALFRED, and we get a note on screen confirming that an Alfred has been connected to the Thackray Museum.

I would suggest that the name Alfred would have been incredibly common in the 19th century, so that on it's own is not so impressive.

Derek is now talking to Alfred while holding his bag, I always love the way that Derek reacts to the ghosties, almost like a grandparent would when on the phone to someone and his hearing is starting to go. Here is a question for you all, has there ever been a famous deaf medium? I know there has been blind ones, but a deaf one? Answers on a postcard please.

We now have a ghost called Christina who has appeared, a screen overlay confirms that a Christina has been confirmed to have been an old inmates housekeeper in the early 1800s.

Derek on a roll here!

Bex does a good job here of questioning Derek, asking him what he is experiencing, what he sees and so on. 

Derek starts to play with one of the contraptions.

"I feel like I have got white powder, it's not drugs, but it is a drug, but it's not drugs"
Glad that has been cleared up.

We get another overlay on screen, confirming that the contraption has been confirmed to have been used to make tablets. Wow! Derek is right again. How does he do it! It is almost as if he has visited a medical museum before.

The items used for "psychometrising" are now moved to another table, and they are going to conduct a seance.

Sean want's to ask questions to the ghosties, but Derek stops him, and says that the ghosts react better to a woman's voice, and asks Bex to speak out to them. Derek is very smart here, he knows that Bex makes better TV. 

Poor Sean.

I suspect Derek might be building up to something here. We can only hope.

A ghost is now stroking Derek's cheek, Christina is stroking Derek's cheek. (His facial cheek you filthy perverts!)

Nothing else happens so they move on to a recreation of a Victorian Street, apparently it stinks, so I wonder if Most Haunted had filmed there previously?

They hear a noise and we get this awesome reaction from Bex!

Bex is the Queen of the reaction shot. I feel a bit sorry for Sean here, as Bex moves right in front of him and blocks his shot to camera.

Poor Sean.

A few more noises and Bex gets a bit scared so quickly grabs the most manly and safe person in the room..... Derek.

Poor Sean, this is not fair. He is her Husband (Maybe fiance). It's those pink trousers. He needs to wear more manly trousers.

They keep investigating, they hear a breathy noise, and some cold breezes. The usual stuff.

"My name is Isaac", A ghost tells Derek, another overlay on screen confirms that the name has been connected on other paranormal investigations. Now that is interesting, maybe Derek's research was not just relegated to the Thackray website, but also other groups who have investigated there.

More hair flicking from Bex, if you are not drunk by now then you have not been paying attention to the drinking game.

And finally we get a bit of old school Derek now as he goes into one of his legendary possessions! COME ON!

Derek is fully in character now, even growling. 

As Isaac he says to Bex "You deserve to be on your back, that's all you're good for".

Sean is trying his best not to laugh here.

Look, if you are not watching, or don't want to watch and are just reading this review, please just watch this bit as it is brilliant, starts about 27 minutes in. 

"Wenchy Wenchy, Witchy Bitchy".

Derek as Isaac is trying to get Bex to have sex with him. I have not laughed this much in a while.

Derek at his best here. 

Poor Sean.

"Your delicious eyes and hair, so be quiet"

Also worth watching Sean as he keeps trying to get on camera.

And before you know it Derek is back. Possibly the best 5 minutes of Paranormal Investigation TV I have seen in over a decade. Just brilliant.

Sean is now filming the camera crew with a thermo cam, however it just looks like his Smartphone that he is holding, so not sure if it just an App, or a real thermo cam here.

He also detects movement, however he is filming through a window, so is it just picking up their reflection. They get quite excited at what they are filming in a room. Personally I cant quite see what they are getting excited about. 

Derek decides to put Bex in a room on her own for a lone "vidgual". She seems a bit scared by the suggestion, but she agrees. 

Bex is alone in "The Pig Room" with a K2 Meter and a Crystal. She is actually filming the room and not up her own nostrils, which is a pleasant surprise.

Just a quick note on the use of night vision. They are using real night vision as opposed to a filter as far as I can see, however it is not really that dark, but they never once claim that it is pitch black or anything, so I wont moan too much.

Unfortunately Bex has bowed to the pressure and decided to film up her own nose.

Blair Witch Project has so much to answer for.

The Queen of the Reaction shot does it again, her K2 meter flickers slightly.

You have to give it to Bex, she is very entertaining. And I think a lot of it is natural as well, you just cant fake these reaction shots.

Derek has come up with another name, Sadie, and yes the overlay confirms that she has also been connected to the location, but only by other paranormal investigators.

Sean hears a noise and grabs Derek for protection, Derek doesn't flinch, what a professional. No ghost is gonna scare Derek.

Poor Sean.

Bex gets scared, screams and calls for help. To be fair it seems like a real reaction, a bit of hysteria that you can easily create for yourself when in the dark, especially when you are supposed to be in a haunted place. Hilariously she comes back to the group and the first person she hugs is Derek. 

Poor Sean.

And with that the investigation is over, and they are now sat in an office discussing the events of the investigation.

Looking back at the episode I want to point out that nothing was thrown. There were no obviously faked events, noises, things being moved and so on. The investigation as a whole was a fair and honest investigation. Now obviously things like the K2 Meter are evidentially worthless. I am a bit suspicious about the Thermocam which looks like an App you buy from the App store. But we have to be realistic, sometimes you need a few gimmicks to make things interesting, and although Bex reacted to the K2 meter going off, and Sean claimed to be seeing something moving on the thermocam, this was not necessarily them trying to con the viewer, instead it was them reacting to the equipment they were using. So you can blame the equipment here. I did not think at any point that they were trying to con the viewer or make claims that were too over the top etc. 

Remember a 100% legit investigation, with 100% scientific legitimacy, would be the most boring thing ever.

Now I did just say nothing was deliberately faked, yet we had Derek being possessed by Isaac and trying to have sex with Bex. Was Derek really possessed by a ghostie here, of course he wasn't, but what do you want him to do here? Derek is a performer, he is famous for getting possessed. Think of it like employing Carol Vorderman to be on your show, and she wears loose fitting clothes, and refuses to do any maths, everyone would be pissed off.

There is no point for me to slate Derek now, to prove him a fraud, to go on a deep dive of his claims, and so on. Believers of his will always believe, and skeptics of his will not. Instead think of Derek Acorah as a character createdby and played by Derek Johnson, a psychic medium who gets possessed by the dead, are you entertained by his act? If yes then enjoy him. If not, then do not watch.

Summary:

The Good

Well produced episode, Derek was at his best, and I genuinely laughed out loud at his possession, it was classic Derek. Bex is great, her reaction shots are almost perfect, she is like-able, and does her job really well.

The Bad

Pink jeans. Sean trying his best to get on camera, and grabbing Derek when he heard a noise. Sean needs to man up!

Overall

I thoroughly enjoyed the episode. Often when reviewing these types of shows, I find myself bored shitless, I end up rambling on just to fill an article, this episode I actually enjoyed, and would have happily watched even if I didn't write the review. It is only 45 minutes long. And if that is too much for you, just watch 5 minutes from27 minutes onwards, you wont be disappointed.

8/10

Review by Jon Donnis

If you would like to show your appreciation for me sitting here for hours writing this, then why not donate an Amazon Email Gift Voucher to me to show your appreciation. I do this for free and I will never try to get you to sign up to a Patreon or other monthly subscription, so the only way I get anything out of writing, or running this site is if people donate. And the more people donate, the more motivation I have to do more.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-Gift-Card-eGift-Voucher/dp/B006AUF6X0/

Just click the link above, and you can donate anything from £1 to £1 Million!

Just send any voucher to webmaster@badpsychics.co.uk

This is the best way to show your appreciation for the work I do. So if you enjoy the site, then how about donating me a voucher, and I promise I will only spend it on good stuff like video games or whiskey! And if not that's ok. I will keep doing my reviews regardless.

After your donate feel free to drop me an email and I will say thanks.

Please leave your comments below.

Tweet me directly on @JonDonnisShow and send your abuse to @TheBadPsych

You can also join the Forum and share your thoughts there.

We are also on Facebook, just search BadPsychics and you will find us, we have a Facebook Page you can like and a Facebook Group you can join.