JAY HOLLIS takes a look back at Most Haunted: Levens Hall
Episode Title: Levens Hall
Location: Kendal, Cumbria
Series: 1 Episode Number: 17
Originally broadcast: 2001-2002
Review: This one hour special (episodes were only half-an-hour long in the first series) from 2002 starts off with an introduction by Yvette Fielding in which she gives a brief account of Levens’ 700-year history and lists its various ghost sightings. Especially interesting are the interviews with the owners and two new parapsychologists (who chose not to return for series two), who we later see conducting baseline tests around the hall and one of them gives a good explanation as to why this is necessary.
The investigation begins with a tour of the Hall with Derek Acorah who, we are told, has had no prior knowledge of the location. Straight away, he picks up the spirit of a Countess and gives the name of her father. Subtitles confirm his accuracy and it turns out he is uncannily accurate throughout the rest of the tour, picking up on all the activity we have already heard about from the earlier interviews. A little later, Derek has his jacket tugged in a corridor, but we don’t actually see it happen. In a similar vein, we then have Karl Beatty and Rick Fielding being very nervous in the garden, “What was that? Did you just touch me?” Again, no evidence is recorded, only their reactions.
Back inside the house, the lights are off and Yvette faces her fear of the dark alone in the corridor. While she is talking to herself, apparently very frightened, a bathroom door creaks open by about three inches. She does not check to see if anyone is behind the door, but nervously closes it. Meanwhile, Karl and Rick are now holding a séance in one of the bedrooms and we are shown footage of some orbs that appear during the session by the foot of the bed, where we are told that ghosts have often appeared. The action goes back and forth between the bedroom and the corridor, presumably to create tension for the viewer. The bathroom door opens again and Yvette calls the control room to be told it’s probably caused by a draught. However, when the door moves a third time she runs off screaming!
The investigation ends and we see the hall in daylight while Yvette sums up the night’s events. She tells us that orbs are often caused by moths, dust or moisture but then states that the light anomalies they filmed at Levens Hall were not caused by any of these but were ‘genuine orbs’. Given subsequent revelations about Most Haunted it’s difficult to accept much of what we have just seen as genuine. However, taken as purely a piece of entertainment, this was an enjoyable episode to watch.
