If you have even the slightest interest in ghost hunting and the paranormal and reside in the UK, there is a very high probability that you know what Most Haunted is and at least some of the people involved.
For those who don’t, and for those of us who need a little recap, Most Haunted was on our TV screens from 2002-2010 and again from 2014-2019 and amassed an impressive 275 episodes in its time.
It may no longer be on the TV schedule but they are still alive and well and doing ghost investigations either broadcast on YouTube or in person (for a premium) with their Most Haunted Experience up and down the country.
The show starts with a 10-15 minute film on theatres and the ghosts within, showing places Most Haunted has been to and what they experienced, which although interesting we felt should have been at least introduced by a member of the team from the stage, therefore making it feel like the show proper had started, but as it is the film just starts and we basically watch TV for 15 minutes waiting to glimpse a team member. A missed opportunity to fire up the audience early doors.
When Yvette does finally come on stage she addresses the packed house and explains that the rest of the show will be in two halves – the first consisting of members of the team looking back at favourite moments during the series and then giving some insight to how they felt at the time and behind the scenes anecdotes that weren’t seen on the shows, and the second half where some members of the audience will be chosen to sit on stage for a seance or be taken to a part of the town hall reputed to be haunted, where they will call upon anything there to make itself known and see what happens…
And so the show begins. We are introduced to the team (on our night we had Yvette Fielding. Karl Beattie, Stuart Torevell and Mary Beattie – I am uncertain if this changes depending on the show) and were then treated to a countdown of various clips intertwined with chats between the team about what was going on at the time.
It’s nice to be in a room full of like-minded people, there is a shared interest in what they are saying and it’s fun to watch some classic clips.
The time flies by, with dad jokes from Karl, and light-hearted admonishment from Yvette between the showreels, and as we reach the number 1 moment the first half finishes.
After a short interval, we come back into the hall to view the top clip before some of the team come down into the audience to pick members of the crowd to join them for the Seance and Ghost Hunt.
It is a bit disappointing that the people picked are only in the first few rows, or up on the balcony, as this means a large portion of the audience is excluded – it would have been fairer to pick one from each part of the hall, especially as we were sat in the area that didn’t get a look in.
With the Seance happening onstage we get to feel like we are in a Most Haunted episode as we check in with the group conducting the ghost hunt on the big screen from time to time, which is a nice touch and makes for an interesting second half, where we get to see if they are experiencing anything other-worldly.
Speaking of experiences, my only gripe is that parts of this theatre show feel very much like a sales pitch for the Most Haunted Experience, their live ghost-hunting side-line, with multiple mentions of it throughout before asking the audience if they would go on one of them. This makes sense from a business point of view, but maybe fewer mentions and some banners around the stage about it would be a more subtle way of getting this across. Having said that, we had planned to do one of these anyway and will be booking in when we can so keep an eye out for a review.
The show then draws to a close with some questions from the audience, some good, some not so good, but this is always a gamble with this sort of thing and it is a nice way to wind down the whole night.
Overall this was a really enjoyable night out and it was good fun to hang with some of the original members of Most Haunted, who I am sure are responsible for getting a lot of the people in the room that night, and many of you reading this, into the paranormal, and feeling like part of the team for the night.
