POP UP PARANORMAL HOTEL OPENS ITS DOORS FOR HALLOWEEN

At last, a different paranormal show from the UK other than Most Haunted comes to our TV screens next week, and boy is it threatening to be a showbiz supernatural spooktacular.

It's a simple recipe for TV these days, get some celebrities to together and watch them implode, explode and meltdown, but what if you added the scary world of the unknown into the mix and got some celebrities together, invite them to stay in a haunted hotel in a haunted village and watch them literally scare themselves silly (and probably implode, explode and meltdown)

Celebrity Haunted Hotel opens its doors to a menagerie of celebrities for 5 nights from 27th of October and for a couple of hours a night we can watch the spooky shenanigans unfold. As this is a live show, for 5 nights, there are no preview tapes available but with all reality/celebrity based shows you can expect the unexpected and this will be even more so by adding the scare/fear factor into the mix. Hosted by Christine Lampard, yes Frank's missis ably assisted by Matt Richardson and Jamie East the Hotel will be LIVE on W (formerly known as Watch and now known as "Wooooooh" during the hotel's five nights residency)

"Working in the paranormal on a daily basis can be quite frustrating as these kind of shows have a habit of dividing the already divided paranormal world more than ever"

Personally, we see the paranormal as entertainment, we love the buzz, the vibe and the craic. Haunted Magazine are not in this to prove that ghosts are real, nor to counter-claim that they aren't real, truth of the matter, is that we really don't care. People have been trying to prove / disprove for many years now, that's upto them, we just love the paranormal full stop.

It's quite frustrating when they bring some kind of paranormal know-it-all on as an apparent know-it-all of the paranormal who we've never even heard of.  BUT, this show is different, for the producers have reached out a hand of appreciation the people involved in the paranormal world and invited them into their celebrity filled TV world and for once IT'S PEOPLE THAT WE KNOW!! Normal people involved in the Paranormal on a daily basis.

Left to Right: Alex Duggan, Jolene Lockwood, Barri Ghai,
Alex Gibbs, Miki York and Emily Exley

UKTV kindly let us have a quick chat with the experts and here is what they had to say.

Alex Gibbs (Medium)

If you could read for anyone who would it be and why? I’m really interested in missing persons and the detective side of the psychic mediumship, it’s not a route police will generally go down.  It’s normally families with missing persons who go to physics. 

Alex, as the only recognised medium on the team, what are you hoping to happen during the live shows? I just hope that we get as much activity as possible. As a viewer if you are a sceptic but you decide to tune in for Halloween you want to see what can happen – I like the element of surprise it gives people, the impact it has.  Bouncing off different energies and being somewhere that is the most haunted place in the UK I really do feel confident that we are going to tap into something.

Alex, there are more mediums and psychics than ever before, is there potential for anyone to be a medium? Yes I believe so. I don’t feel like I’m any different from anyone else, I do feel people are more tapped in and in-tune than others but I feel that’s because of life circumstances and environments you’ve been brought up in. 

Barri Ghai (founder of GPS: Ghostfinder Paranormal Society)

What is the scariest place that you have investigated and why? Bodmin jail down in Cornwall - it is a beautiful place but it is creepy as hell. It’s so atmospheric; every time I go there I get physically sick, I’m overcome with this feeling of nausea. I also went to an abandoned lunatic asylum just outside of London - that was really bizarre, really creepy. I was the first person to venture in there since it was boarded up.

If you could investigate anywhere in the world, that you haven’t been too, where would it be and why? I would love to go to America. I’ve never investigated any of those famously haunted places along Route 66, there are so many places there that have history and real evidence that’s been gathered over the years.  The abandoned ship the Queen Mary that is docked outside of LA has had so many paranormal experiences reported by so many people, investigators and the general public alike.

What has the changed the most in the paranormal world over the last five years? I think people’s perception of the paranormal has changed; the fact it’s now entertaining means more and more people are into the paranormal.  It’s almost like it’s come round full circle – ten years ago it was a taboo subject and all of a sudden there was a peak and everyone wanted to be a ghost hunter and go out and do investigations.  I think people’s understanding of what is meant by paranormal investigations and ghost hunting has developed.

I think a lot of people are excited about this show, but what are the advantages and disadvantages of a LIVE paranormal ghost investigation? The advantages are spontaneity; the way people react to situations, and genuine fear coming over. I love the idea of there being celebrities that have never done this before, confronting their own fears and really they can react in any way, shape or form.  The downsides are people could mess up on camera - hopefully the nerves won’t overcome us!

Jolene Lockwood (owner of events company Phantasmic Paranormal) What is the scariest place that you have investigated and why? I’ve had a couple of really scary experiences. One was at Revesby Abbey where it was pitch black inside. We were calling out to spirits and out of nowhere the chair moved across the room of its own accord - you can hear it on the recording at the time. Another time I suddenly became locked in a coal shed on a paranormal investigation; I had my full body weight on the door and it wasn’t budging. I did feel the presence of a gentleman in there, he smelt of stale alcohol.  I yelled out and someone opened the door. That’s when panic kind of sets in for you.

If you could investigate anywhere in the world, that you haven’t been too, where would it be and why? I would love to visit Alcatraz; it’s steeped in history. So many famous prisoners were housed there and they have quite a lot of paranormal activity.

You run your own paranormal events company, is it a good thing that the public can now investigate our amazing haunted locations? I think it’s amazing that the public have events companies that run these investigations.  We run our events in a paranormal investigation way, there is no time limit on our experiments, and we also give our clients access to our equipment - we’ve had some fantastic results. It gives people a greater understanding of what happens on an investigation that I think is paramount to the paranormal still being investigated in years to come.

What are you looking forward to the most about Celebrity Haunted Hotel? I’ve never been to the village and I’m not looking in to the history of it because I’m looking forward to working with fellow medium Alex Gibbs and seeing if we pick up on the same things.

Emily Exley (works with Jolene at Phantasmic Paranormal)

If you could investigate anywhere in the world, that you haven’t been too, where would it be and why? Amityville house – I would love to investigate there.  A house has a lot to say, it’s a personal place, somewhere that people should feel safe but unfortunately it’s not the case there.

Emily, is there a danger to Ouija boards, are there any safety tips that people need to know about? There is danger linked with the spirit boards, if they aren’t used in the right way.  You have to be careful. It is a must that you use spiritual protection and ground yourself before opening the board, and should always close them down after. If unsure seek expert guidance.

Miki York (paranormal investigator, one half of UK Haunted)

What is the scariest place that you have investigated and why? A castle in North Wales. We were there investigating at night, and reached the ‘postman gate’, the back entrance in to the castle… for some reasons I just couldn’t go down there, I couldn’t walk down the stairs. I was so scared. The following year I want back to the location to overcome my fear.

One word to describe how does it feel to be taking part in Celebrity Haunted Hotel? AWESOME

Miki, as it’s LIVE TV, is there a worry that things might not happen, or because it’s live does it make it more exciting? Live TV is a lot of pressure - anything can happen and you just have to go with it. You can’t plan it. It’s definitely more exciting - it’s the unknown.

You normally work as a two-man team with Alex D, how will it feel to be part of a bigger project in terms of numbers? We are so used to working together but on a location like this with so many different areas to cover it’s great to work with a team.  There is a breadth of skills between us all that really complement each other.

Alex Duggan (paranormal investigator AND the other half of UK Haunted) If you could investigate anywhere in the world, that you haven’t been too, where would it be and why? Alcatraz, it’s an island on its own. I think the energy there would be incredible; the things that have gone on there are unimaginable and because it’s enclosed by water spirits can’t leave.

One word to describe how does it feel to be taking part in Celebrity Haunted Hotel? HUMBLED

If you could only take one gadget into an investigation with you, what would it be and why? The spirit box. Over all of our investigations, the most activity we pick up is over a spirit box; audio phenomena by far outweigh the visual that we have caught.  Those are the wow moments, when you ask a question and you get an intelligent answer; it’s incredible.

Alex, as you know, anything can happen on LIVE TV, what are YOU hoping for over the five nights? I hope that everyone will have an experience. I’ve seen so many things I can’t explain, and I hope that the celebrities can come in and experience for themselves something we can’t explain and leave with more questions than answers.

Do you think social media plays a big part in the paranormal these days? If so, why so? We like to bring people into our investigations, social media interaction allows that.  It’s great to get all our fans and followers involved.

Celebrity Haunted Hotel LIVE starts on Thursday the 27th of October 9pm and runs for 5 nights, ending (obviously) on Halloween Night. More details will be revealed later, keep watching and whatever your beliefs on the paranormal lets get behind a NEW UK Paranormal Show, the UK needs it, it's been a long time.

"TRIP ADVISOR are already recommending this hotel saying that the bar area is full of spirits and you got to check out the exorcise room, it is out of this world"

DON'T BE NORMAL, BE PARANORMAL!!!!