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It’s extremely rare for the top TV shows of competing
channels to join forces. But that’s what happened
when Living TV’s cult paranormal investigative programme
Most Haunted spent the night at Granada TV’s studios
in Manchester to investigate the ghosts that haunt the Coronation
Street set.
Although Studio 1, which houses the Rivers Return, Kabin,
café and cab office sets, and Studio 2 are relatively
new buildings, both are reputed to be badly haunted, possibly
as a result of a German bomb exploding on the site and killing
many in the second world war.
Certainly, since joining Coronation Street as a storyline
writer in October 2004, I’ve heard many stories of
apparitions seen in Studio 1 particularly. And although
I haven’t seen anything there myself, it’s true
that studio 1, bustling when filming is happening, has an
eerie and watchful atmosphere when it’s empty. Like
most of my colleagues, I hate being there alone.
The stories of Coronation Street’s ghosts attracted
the attention of the Most Haunted team and they invited
a small number of cast and production staff to join their
investigation to discover the truth about the alleged hauntings.
And so, I found myself joining Sue Cleaver (who plays Eileen
Grimshaw) and Simon Gregson (Steve MacDonald) on that balmy
Saturday evening back in July as we became honorary Most
Haunted investigators for the night.
For those who haven’t seen it, the splendid Most
Haunted – presented by Yvette Fielding and produced
by her and her husband Karl Beattie – has a balanced
team of paranormal investigators, ranging from psychic mediums
Gordon Smith and David Wells, through a historian Richard
Felix, to the sceptical parapsychologist Dr Ciaran O’Keeffe.
They’re a hugely experienced, likeable and professional
team – almost a family now that most of them are in
to the seventh series of investigations – and their
integrity is apparent from the outset. Yvette and Karl,
in particular, go out of their way to make any newcomers
to their show feel welcome. And they probably sensed our
apprehension about what lay ahead from the way they kept
reassuring us!
A measure of just how honestly the team approach each investigation
was the lengths I noticed they took to keep Gordon Smith
and David Wells apart until they’d done their respective
walkabouts around the building. This was so that Ciaran
O’Keeffe could compare objectively what they sensed
as they moved around.
Another indication of their integrity came in the first
thing David Wells said to me when we were introduced: “Please
don’t tell me anything about this place,” he
said, “I don’t want to be influenced by anything
you may tell me.” So much for those who accuse mediums
of cold reading.
It turned out to be a memorable night and by the time the
investigation finished at 5:30am the next morning, I believe
each of us had experienced something that cannot be explained
by rational means.
To document all those happenings here would spoil the programme
for fan before it is broadcast. But, to give a taster, I
can reveal some of the things I experienced and saw. This
included taking part on one or two simultaneous séances
in Studio 1 during which, and unknown to each other because
we were too far apart, the two groups came up with the same
name at the same time. A temperature drop – so sudden
and sharp that even Dr O’Keeffe was at a loss to explain
it – was recorded. And I took part in a séance
outside the dressing rooms (positioned between Sue Cleaver
and medium Gordon Smith) where we encountered definite raps
on a picture frame in direct answer to our questions.
It was spooky and impressive. But did I really encounter
the ghosts of Coronation Street that night? I’ll leave
you to decide for yourselves when you see the show.
But I did come away convinced of something: the cynics
who’ve accused Most Haunted of faking evidence are
wrong. These guys don’t fake anything. They don’t
need too.
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