Most Haunted: Series 9

Next week sees the release of the ninth season of the popular paranormal investigation series 'Most Haunted' on DVD. UK Living's extremely popular series finds Yvette Fielding and co-producer/investigator Karl Beattie resume their roles in taking on the UK's most haunted locations and trying to uncover and collect ghostly evidence. Joined by David Wells, the resident psychic, the team spend 24 hours in each of the selected locations to pull together as much auditory and visual paranormal verification as possible.

I've been watching and enjoying the 'Most Haunted' series for a number of years now and like many fellow fans am finding myself getting increasingly frustrated as each investigation unfolds. Maybe it's because even after 9 seasons of ghost hunting, although sometimes intriguing, there still doesn't appear to be 'solid' and 'undeniable' proof of the existence of these so-called astral beings, spectres or poltergeists.

A skeptical eye is cast over each epsiode by parapsychologist Ciaran 'interesting location' O'Keefe. Ciaran's main job is to offer alternative solutions and possibilities for the unusual sights and sounds experienced by eye witnesses on these investigations.

The DVD boxset itself also provides viewers with in depth behind-the-scenes action of how each episode is pieced together and just how much work and man power goes into the making of each episode.

Of course 'Most Haunted' has it's critics. The show is smeared with skepticism, as expected, due to the unusual subject matter yet still manages to entertain it's viewers and provide it's audience with a few scares and laughs along the way. I must admit I had to laugh on occassions at David Wells this season with his fantastic camp reactions to some of the surrounding happenings - 'Shiiiit on a stick!!!'.

But come on guys, we want to believe!!! Lock-off some cameras and try some more controlled experiments. There's too many near misses, and 'just out of shot's etc. to warrant serious beliefs. Hopefully lessons are being learned and certain voiced opinions will help shape the future investigations.

OVERALL SUMMARY
I cannot say I'm a total skeptic, but I am a realist. Unless I can experience such vigil's and experimentation first hand it's difficult for me to conclude whether or not I'm totally convinced by what I'm seeing on screen. But for now, I will continue to watch hoping to catch that ever elusive glimpse of Mr Ghosty.