Bodmin Gaol Most Haunted REVIEW

CHRISTINE MILLER reviews a particularly infamous Most Haunted episode when the team took, what would become, a rather eventful visit to Bodmin Gaol

Episode Title: Bodmin Gaol
Location: Bodmin Moor, Cornwall

Series: 6 Episode Number: 66
Originally broadcast: 2005

Main Mediums: Derek Acorah & David Wells
Parapsychologists: Dr. Ciaran O’Keeffe & Louie Savva

Hangings and Hangers On at Bodmin Gaol Most Haunted Episode

The team head to Bodmin Gaol in Cornwall. Originally built in 1779, it was designed to hold up to 100 inmates, but a population surge meant that soon the prison was badly overcrowded – leading to miserable living conditions for many. 

Criminals weren’t just housed here – numerous hangings were carried out at Bodmin over the years by some of the country’s most notorious hangmen of the day. 

The reasons inmates were condemned to death were many – ranging from murder to stealing a cow. 

How many of these souls still linger on within the building? 

A variety of paranormal activity has been reported at Bodmin, from objects flying around the cells as if thrown with some force by unseen hands, to spine-chilling screams being echoed throughout the dank, ominous building. Even the prison chapel is not immune to ghostly sightings, as a priest has been seen by staff and visitors alike – his presence is usually accompanied by a feeling of total despair which lingers in the room. 

Ominously, historian Richard Felix tells a tale of a visitor having called at Bodmin Gaol and strongly feeling that he was being followed throughout the prison by an invisible entity. When he returned home, for a fortnight the same intense feeling of being followed by the “something” remained. 

Could it be that the spirits’ only chance of release from Bodmin Gaol is to latch on to the living? The team had better watch their backs tonight… 

The Walkabout Commences

During the initial walkabout, medium Derek Acorah becomes aware of a spirit of a murderer called William Lightfoot who roams the entirety of the prison building with his brother – also jailed at Bodmin for the same crime. 

Continuing throughout the building, Derek picks up on feelings of intense negativity and brutality within one of the upper cells, where prisoners were tortured by one particularly malicious man. He believes the man to be of South African descent, but stops short of naming him. 

Kreed Kafer Makes His First Appearance 

Ciarán attempts to ask Derek to name the horrible man he so strongly picked up, but Derek appears to have become possessed. He paces up and down in one of the cells and shouts “Kreed Kafer”, after Yvette repeats Ciarán’s question. (Hyperlink for ‘Kreed Kafer’? https://www.spookyisles.com/derek-acorah-moments/) Derek promptly storms out of the cell and paces as if extremely agitated and then topples a table with his hands. Director Karl asks Derek to “‘come forward” and to remove himself from his possessor. 

The event leaves Derek exhausted, so second medium David Wells is brought in to continue the walkabout with Yvette and Ciarán. 

When The Lights Went Out 

With night-vision now on, David immediately picks up on a mother and a young male child within one area of the gaol. He explains that the woman tells him that she was punished for the crimes of her husband. Tragically, her young child died in the gaol and it is this grief that keeps her at the gaol, forever unable to rest. 

After a few hours, Derek is now able enough to revisit the location of his earlier possession. Immediately, Yvette is hit on the foot with what appears to be a piece of plastic which lands on the ground. After this, Derek wants to “get out of the atmosphere” of this particular area again for a time. When he returns he picks up on the South African man who he feels is ready to pounce on the group at any moment and very much wishes to hurt the group. Promptly becoming possessed again, Derek screams “KREED KAFER”. 

Karl quickly comes in to calm Derek once again. 

Meanwhile, part of the group decide to investigate the naval prison located in the grounds but unfortunately they get little activity when calling out, except for a few small unaccounted for noises. However, they soon hear what they believe to be the jangling of keys, resulting in them screaming and running away.

Yvette and the team then decide to conduct a seance in the hope of making contact with any willing spirits. She starts by asking out for William Lightfoot to help to move the glass, which it slowly does; however, after an hour having yielded little evidence they decide to conclude the seance. 

Part of the group return to the naval prison where the jangling of keys was earlier heard to begin a seance at this location instead. The movement of the glass indicates to the group that the spirit driving it was a prisoner who was not guilty of the crime of murder which he was executed for. The group soon collectively hear a buzzing in their ears which they believe sounds similar to a ship’s siren and take this as a sign from the spirit. 

Next, the team take a walk around the naval prison where Yvette immediately thinks she hears a shuffling noise behind them. Asking aloud if there are any spirits around them, Karl thinks he sees a shadow, which is quickly followed by an unexplained noise. Yvette then becomes adamant that something touched her hand. 

With that, the Most Haunted team decide to call their investigation of Bodmin Gaol a night. 

Headline Making Controversy Surrounds Acorah’s Bodmin Possession 

This particular episode of Most Haunted will go down in the paranormal TV history books for all the wrong reasons. Back in 2005, British newspapers were awash with front page headlines denouncing Most Haunted’s resident medium Derek as a fraud due to his possession by a fictional character – “Kreed Kafer” is an anagram of “Derek Faker” which was a plan allegedly concocted and then fed to Derek prior to filming by parapsychologist O’Keefe, allegedly on the orders of director Karl Beattie. You can read more about the controversy here.

Tell us your thoughts on this most memorable Bodmin Gaol Most Haunted in the comments section below.