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Original poster

Derek Acorah has died

91 replies

MoiraRose · 04/01/2020 05:16

His wife Gwen announced on Facebook not long ago. He'd had this flu bug going round. Whether you believed in what he did or not, he seemed a nice man and it's sad news to start the new year off to

OP posts:

Ironmanrocks · 04/01/2020 09:09

I know these days they suck you in by trawling the internet BUT a good friend of mine decided to have a girly party, probably in the early 80's when she had just got her first flat. She picked up an ad in the local newspaper and Derek Acorah showed up at her party. This was way before he was famous obviously. Also before they could research you. Apparently he was amazing. Knew all sorts of stuff. I think the fame might have ruined/cheapened the whole thing, but I still wonder if he was able to see/feel something....

sashh · 04/01/2020 09:40

She picked up an ad in the local newspaper and Derek Acorah showed up

I don't understand this? What do you mean?

longwayoff · 04/01/2020 09:41

Disgusting way to make a living. No doubt he's on the phone to the Sun from the afterlife already.

WhentheRabbitsWentWild · 04/01/2020 09:43

@sashh

The friend saw an advert in a local paper for a psychic medium I guess and it was Derek.

sashh · 04/01/2020 09:46

Thanks for the clarification.

WhentheRabbitsWentWild · 04/01/2020 09:58

No worries

Feminazgul · 04/01/2020 10:31

I love how the ability to research didnt exist pre-internet.

Saucery · 04/01/2020 10:45

Research just took a lot longer and involved more interpersonal skills.
Small village or town? Find the local ‘hub’, hang around in it, pretend you are buying a house in the area, go to the local church and see what announcements there have been, electoral roll etc.

Ironmanrocks · 04/01/2020 10:57

Yes it was that. The ads in the back of the paper.

ParanoidGynodroid · 04/01/2020 11:23

but I still wonder if he was able to see/feel something....

No, he couldn't. How they "do it" is very well documented.
As per a couple of PPs, I've also seen Derren Brown live. He held a mini mediumship show in the middle of the act. He told a woman all about her late father: his name, age, hobby, appearance, his nickname for her... it was impressive. But nothing to do with being psychic, as DB made very clear!

Somanysocks · 04/01/2020 11:39

Bet he doesn't come back and reconnect with his loved ones as he peddled a load of old tosh.

Pinkarsedfly · 04/01/2020 11:52

Bet Yvette Fielding’s bricking it.

SchadenfreudePersonified · 04/01/2020 11:53

Derek Acorah showed up at her party. This was way before he was famous obviously. Also before they could research you. Apparently he was amazing. Knew all sorts of stuff. I think the fame might have ruined/cheapened the whole thing, but I still wonder if he was able to see/feel something....

Read "The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading" (Ian Rowland) and "Tricks of The Mind" (Derren Brown) .

They'll tell you exactly how it's done. If you want a psychic/ medium/ tarot reader/palmist - that's fine, but be aware that it is all just clever psychology and responding to tiny "tells" from the person you're reading for.

I read Tarot myself (don't charge) ,and make it clear to people that it is for entertainment purposes only. I'm not up to professional standard of reading people's responses etc, but I can make a reasonable fist of it.

EggysMom · 04/01/2020 12:07

Next spiritual meeting in the Northwest ... "I'm getting a message for somebody, it's a letter G, I have a 'Derek' here with a message for you"

IncrediblySadToo · 04/01/2020 12:10

I have no time for the shite he doubted/did, but obviously feel sad for his wife/family/friends 🌷

Will0wtree · 04/01/2020 13:27

He was once paid to attend a shop I worked in to do a talk. He was vile and rude to all the staff.

torthecatlady · 04/01/2020 13:46

It's always sad to hear of someone dying and my sympathies are with the family and his wife.

Like a previous poster said, I was surprised to hear that he had died as I thought I had read about him dying a few years ago. Perhaps there was a hoax going around online.

I mentioned it to my friend and she said "His career died years ago, so maybe that's why you were confused". True... but

isseywith4vampirecats · 04/01/2020 14:06

its sad that hes dead at a young age but I went to one of his live shows he targeted me by saying someone with a gaelic connection I have red hair my name is very common in Scotland so he said I was named after someone close family yep my grandmother, he then went on to say my gran was very homely didn't go out to work stayed at home was an amazing cook, short in stature and comfy shaped , no she was five feet ten a size ten worked as a department manageress in a store in sauchihall street, dressed immaculately with not a hair out of place nails done the works and not a very good cook , so he got everything wrong about her

crosser62 · 04/01/2020 14:16

Saw him last year at a local venue. Booked it for my mother who is into that kind of thing.
He was absolutely dreadful, shockingly, embarrassingly awful.
People were leaving through it and at the half way mark my mum asked if we could leave so we did.
Worse present I’ve ever bought her.

There were some hardcore followers of his there who were obviously very very convinced but he failed to make any meaningful sense and clearly just rattled off a well rehearsed dialogue before and during it.
Anyway, he seemed to make a good living out of it.
We all have to go sometime and he made money out of that.

FarTooSkinny · 04/01/2020 16:40

When he first starting getting famous when he started Most Haunted he bought a house on our street, around Christmas time he started inviting the neighbours round for drinks. I popped round one evening and the door was on the latch, we’d been told to go through on arrival so I walked in to the living room, no one about but gifts on the table. I thought they might be for the neighbours so I picked one up, it was squishy like a jumper and said “To Derek, Happy Christmas”, another one was stiff like and book, and one which was a cylinder, a can of beer I’d guess. All with “To Derek, Happy Christmas” written on them.

Anyway, the he didn’t show himself and it felt a bit weird and creepy standing there alone in someone’s house so eventually I left and went home. For through the front door and my Mum said “Did you see Derek?” I said “No, he didn’t seem to be in, but the entire time I was there I felt his presents”

Excitedforxmas · 04/01/2020 16:42

Seen an update that it was sepsis that killed him

Saucery · 04/01/2020 17:04

FarToo

NoWordForFluffy · 04/01/2020 18:07

I've no doubt his 'skills' were fake but there was a rumour that he'd paid for somebody's shopping in our local Tesco when they'd forgotten their card, or something like that. That was a nice thing to do.

ParanoidGynodroid · 04/01/2020 18:19

but there was a rumour that he'd paid for somebody's shopping in our local Tesco when they'd forgotten their card

A rumour, eh? I wondered who started it and who benefitted from such a rumour.🤔

Even if it were true, it was probably just a temporary burst of conscience after cynically conning vulnerable, bereaved people out of their cash.

NoWordForFluffy · 04/01/2020 18:25

DH told me. I've no idea where he got it from.

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