When Most Haunted started in the UK it was beautifully promoted as Psychic TV - I even passed the TV guide cover on to Genesis P. Orridge via a mate who was his label boss at the time. Scouse medium Derek Acorah was a hoot, and even went on to do his own show, but we gave up on Sky TV a year ago in favour of Freeview, so I'm not sure what's on these days. Last I heard Most Haunted was still going, with Yvette Fielding screaming around the place and banging on about orbs, and whilst I found it entertaining at first, especially on dark stormy winter nights by a blazing fire, I soon got bored with, what is, quite a tired format. From the above posts it sounds like the other shows follow this too. Most Haunted was always interesting for the locations, and some of the background history & folklore from the people who lived & worked in those places - and always nice to see behind the scenes in the Blackpool Pleasure Beach, or Soutar Lighthouse.

Back in May I started up a Folkloe: Ghosts thread on the premise "...ever watched Most Haunted or any of the such-like programmes that litter the sky-channels these days? I used to believe in the supernatural until I started watching those... That said, from where comes our ability to fear such things if they don't exist?"

May was hardly the time for Ghosts of course, but here in rain-lashed September with nights drawing in... Oo-er - time, I think, to dig out my tapes of Michael Hordern reading selected tales of M R James!