The Psychic Adventures of Derek Acorah: Star of TV’s Most Haunted. Derek Acorah
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and see what else I can uncover. I still maintain that more than one person was behind what I would describe as ritualistic killings. I feel that five of the murders were carried out by the same man but there was at least one other murder for which another individual was responsible.
The Euxton Mills Hotel
Following our investigation of the killing fields of Jack the Ripper, we travelled north and based ourselves at a hotel in Leyland, which is a suburb of the old Lancashire town of Preston.
The Euxton Mills Hotel is a 300-year-old establishment which was once a coaching house which accommodated travellers on their journeys from Scotland and the north of England to more southern areas. The manager, Keith Burgess, had kindly agreed to allow the ISPR team to conduct an investigation of the premises. Although Mr Burgess was sceptical of mediumistic abilities, he was interested to see whether the ISPR team could shed any light on the strange goings-on experienced by members of his staff.
Immediately I walked into the lounge area I was aware of a spirit man standing in the centre of the room. Wearing a dark cloak and stovepipe hat, he had the appearance of a Victorian gentleman. He said nothing but as he gently faded from my view Sam told me that his name was George Chapman and he had frequently visited the hostelry and enjoyed his stays there. He was a jovial soul who enjoyed the company of women and had a tactile nature. Indeed, to this day, employees of the hotel talk of being touched by an unseen person.
As the spirit form of George Chapman disappeared, Linda, Peter and I were simultaneously drawn to the washroom area at the rear of the lounge and in particular to the ladies’ toilets. As I entered the toilet area I had the feeling that things were not quite as they should be. It was a ladies’ toilet but I felt a distinctly male influence and that George would have visited these facilities when he arrived at the hotel in his earthly life.
At that moment, the temperature began to drop dramatically and a lady in a long Victorian-style dress and hat walked past and through us and exited through the door into the lounge. She seemed intent on what she was doing and appeared to be keeping a very tight hold of a small bag. I was not given her name nor was I told the reason for her continuing to visit the hotel, but it was confirmed by the staff that a ‘grey lady’ is often seen in the ladies’ toilet area.
Our investigation continued in the cellars. I was immediately aware of a male presence and knew that the male in question was not the jovial George Chapman. This was a different personality—not angry, but certainly mischievous.
‘You have problems down here,’ I said to Keith. ‘In particular I feel you have problems with the beer lines. There’s spiritual interference here. A man comes down and plays with the lines and I feel you could have experienced the gas in the kegs pushing back.’
Keith laughingly confirmed that on many occasions he had experienced just that and had been forced to go up and change his shirt because of the soaking he had received.
‘Well, the next time it happens, tell Tom to stop it,’ I advised.
I had the distinct impression that Tom had at one time worked at the public house and was still jealously guarding what he considered to be his domain.
Tonge Hall
Tonge Hall in the Middleton area of Manchester was built by the Tonge family in 1594. It is a beautiful Tudor-style black-and-white building and is owned by Norman Wolstencroft, who was our amiable host for the next investigation.
The main room of Tonge Hall, where Norman was seated with our expert for the day, Mr W. John Smith, was cosy and welcoming after the cold and rain outside.
I had only been standing in this room for a few moments when I became aware of a gentleman. ‘I have a man with me,’ I told Dr Montz, ‘and he wants to talk to me. He tells me his name is Richard and he’s very proud of his staircase! He’s asking us to follow him!’
We all hurried out, following Richard as he took us out of the lounge and past a staircase to a part of the house which was undergoing renovation. ‘There,’ Richard said, pointing towards a set of stairs which the team had been unaware of, ‘these are the stairs that I designed and I’m extremely proud of them!’
Mr Smith, our expert, confirmed that Richard Tonge had indeed built a second staircase and noted that this set of stairs was unusual for the time in that they were built out of wood.
‘There are two men here now,’ I said, ‘both Richards! They’re different generations. One is very much younger than the other. And there’s a William too—he has a very bad limp. William seems very fond of the younger Richard.’
Mr Wolstencroft was able to confirm that William was the father of the younger Richard. He had received a bullet wound to his leg in the First World War but wouldn’t allow amputation, so he spent the rest of his life with a limp. He also told us that his grandmother had five sons. Four of them were wounded but Uncle Dick had been particularly badly hurt and also limped. This must have been the Richard who had shown himself to me earlier.
We were all drawn to the upper levels of the old house and all felt compelled to enter one particular bedroom. As soon as the door was opened I immediately became aware of a young girl, eight or nine years of age, with red hair in plaits. Almost simultaneously Linda and I said the same name: ‘Ann!’
The child seemed afraid and upset. I felt that she had passed to spirit as the result of an illness, certainly not as the result of an accident or anything more sinister. Nevertheless, she seemed to be frightened.
Suddenly there was a huge drop in the temperature in the room. The reading on the gauge which Dr Montz was holding decreased dramatically and Linda and I became aware of a male presence who seemed to be more malevolent than the kindly souls we had experienced earlier. He was not at all pleased at our being at Tonge Hall. Linda, a gifted and experienced healer, attempted to calm the spirit, but he was not going to be so easily placated. Dr Montz’s electromagnetic field metre needle swooped backwards and forwards. I stood next to Linda. I knew that it would take the strength of both of us to send this unpleasant spirit man on his way.
Suddenly, Linda stumbled. ‘He pushed me!’ she shouted. Dr Montz and I grabbed at her arms to steady her. We were at the top of a steep set of stairs and the last thing we wanted was for Linda to go tumbling down them. I braced myself and moved forward towards the entity. Too late I realized that I had allowed him to get too close to me. I felt as though the wind had been knocked out of my lungs and I doubled over coughing and choking, fighting desperately for breath.
Slowly I managed to stand upright once more. As I did so, I saw the outline of the angry spirit man fade and disappear. He had warned us! He was not going to allow us to interfere with his home!
We were all completely shocked at what had happened. Meanwhile, little Ann was still standing in the bedroom. She had not moved and seemed to be waiting for us to help her in some way. ‘She’s lost,’ Linda murmured. ‘She needs to be sent to join her mother in the light.’
We turned and looked through the doorway to the bedroom across the hall and straight over to a window through which could be seen the dying rays of the April sun. Through that window I could see a lady, very peaceful and calm, with her arms outstretched towards Ann. Linda and I mentally took Ann by the hand and led her towards the lady who would take her into the light of the spirit world and eternal peace.
Norman was later to explain that his father had a sister named Ann who had succumbed to a childhood disease at the age of eight. She had red hair and long red pigtails!
Live at the Liverpool Empire
The day which I had long awaited had finally arrived. Tonight I was to be appearing for the first time at the famous Liverpool Empire theatre.
As I would be conducting a demonstration of clairvoyance and mediumship for two hours, it was decided that the rest of the ISPR team would carry out an investigation of the theatre without me. I am happy to be able to report that