Help! My House Is Haunted S4 E1 Review

Introduction

This is the very first review post I've done for The True Paranormal, so it will be slightly different from the others posts so far. I've transcribed most of the episode up to the investigation which I will list below. I will then comment on how the investigation goes, followed by the conclusion of the episode. I will then write a summary of activity, and follow this with my thoughts and overall review of the episode. The aim for these posts will be not only to review the episode of TV, but to also highlight the residents experience, along with what I hope is genuine mediumship, plus findings of an investigation with the paranormal occurrences which accompany it. 

This episode is the first in the fourth season of 'Help! My House Is Haunted' and features Barri Ghai, Jayne Harris, and Ian Lawman. They travel to Peterborough, which Jayne notes has been a settlement since the bronze age, because Kevin and his wife Lisa have been experiencing some strong paranormal activity. Their house is from the 1970's and they had been living in it for four years, along with their children. Below you can read Kevin talk about his experiences in the house, then Ian talk about what he is psychically picking up about the case while they travel there. Then you can read the walkaround Ian does of the property while no one but he and a cameraman are there, followed by Barri interviewing Kevin's wife Lisa, and finally Jayne interviewing a local historian. 

Kevin's Experiences

"When we moved into the property we started to have knocks and bangs, and we'd just keep saying that it's the cats jumping off a bed, but this year, in January, that seemed to be when the activity started to pick up. We was watching TV one night, my daughter goes into the kitchen, she comes running out screaming, saying the cupboard doors are opening. When we went into the kitchen, all the cupboard doors were open and I caught a voice in the hallway at bottom of the stairs; a voice asking to help me. I've got three kids and they will not sleep alone. They always have an adult there with them. Well, one night I was in my daughters room when I felt my leg being moved. Next minute, I was violently pulled out of the bed which left scratches down my leg. About three weeks ago I was in the hall downstairs and it felt like I was being pushed to one side. Took off my top, I have three perfect lines going across my back; same as what was on my leg. I felt terrified and violated, and if that's happened to me, what would happen to anybody else in the family? But I'd rather it pick on me so it leaves the rest alone. It's the only way I can protect my family. I would love the team to come and tell me what it is, to try to control it, or get rid of it, because emotionally I'm just at the end of my tether with it."

Ian's Travel Senses

Barri: 

"So how are you feeling, Ian?"

Ian:

"Ki, kind of shaky. So I, I, I've got, like, vibrations going through my body which indicates, erm, not a good sign if I'm honest with you. So, erm, it's inner nerve, so it's inner psychic nerve, so I feel quite uncomfortable about the location today. So, I think we need to be careful today."

Jayne:

"On guard then folks"

Ian:

"Yeah, we need to be"

Ian's Walkaround

*In the entrance hall* "Hello? That jittery feeling as soon as I walk into this entrance hall, I can feel it. Now the kitchen, for some reason is really pulling my eye" *Enters the kitchen* "Hello? Who's here? Who's in this house? Things have definitely happened in this kitchen. I'm quite confident in saying there's poltergeist activity in this property already." *Enters the lounge area* "You can certainly feel the difference in energies throughout the kitchen into this lounge area. I do feel we're dealing potentially with a poltergeist, but I think there could also be something else." *Goes back to the entrance hall* "What the fuck? Guys..." *Picks up a Minecraft figure from the stairs* "This was not here on this step when I walked in." *Puts the figure back on the step* "So spirit, or potentially poltergeists, have moved this. This could mean two things: it could mean that they're just letting me know they're here, but it also could be a sign for help. I've been left a message." *Standing outside a boy's room* "This looks like a boy's bedroom, but soon as I opened the door I was drawn to the loft lid for some reason. Something is going on with the loft. Now, any kind of energies or anything negative try and hide in corners where they can't be seen." *Enters the boy's room and sits on the bed* "Can you hear me? Now I'm sitting under the loft." *Rustling noises* "Did you hear that? It was clearly a voice. Who said that? Where's that coming from? *Standing outside the parent's room* "Whoa. Well, this is clearly the parent's room, but the energy's just took my breath, and I saw something, shadow form, move off that bed and just disperse into nowhere." *Enters the parent's bedroom* "My heart is racing. Look here. They're clearly scared, they've got a cross and they've got New Testament. Having something like this next to your bed is clearly telling me they need the power of prayer to protect them. I'm so pleased we've got here when we have 'cause this could go dreadfully wrong." *Outside a girl's room* "I'm just presuming with pink being in this room this is a girl's room." *Enters the girl's room and sits on the bed* "There's another bible. This child is using this to pray and just feeling the energy coming off this. So, as well as reading it, this child is clasping on to it. They're petrified, they're really scared. I'm just so grateful, as a team, we've come in to rescue them. It's quite emotional when there's kids involved, isn't it?"

Barri's interview with Lisa, Kevin's wife

Barri:

"Tell me a little bit about what you've experienced in your home."

Lisa:

"We've had footsteps up the, our stairs, noises, bangs on walls. I've heard voices that are not exactly nice to hear."

Barri:

"So do you hear different voices, or are they, is it the same voice?"

Lisa:

"It's the same voice."

Barri:

"Male, female?"

Lisa:

"Male. I've heard growling and I've, um, actually heard a voice in my ear but it was like a grump old man voice. My husband, Kevin, he's had marks appearing on his body; scratches. The first time it happened, he was actually pulled out of bed."

Barri:

"Sorry, say that, hang on, Kevin was pulled out of bed?"

Lisa:

"Yep, and it wasn't until the next day we noticed the scratches."

Barri:

"That's terrifying."

(...)

Barri:

"Are you scared?"

Lisa:

"My biggest fear is that you can't get rid of it and that's my, is that we've got to live with what's going on for... for evermore and that's the hardest part."

Barri:

"From what you've explained to me, we've got poltergeist phenomena taking place. We've got something that could be possibly demonic. We have a male entity in the home as well. There are multiple spirits."

Lisa:

"I think so for sure, yeah, I think, as you say, there's definitely more than the one. It feels that way."

Barri:

"We have a little bit of a battle on our hands, I think."

Jayne's interview with historian Neil Storey

Jayne:

"I know we're not far from our property here Neil, but why are we meeting at the train station?"

Neil:

"Well, there is a rather curious tale to all of this because where you are filming was farmland until about fifty years ago, but they start building and across the way there, well, there was a railway and maybe what you have there is the lost spirit of a railway man that just wants to find his way home."

Jayne:

"So what's this story?"

Neil:

"So, on the shunting yard in 1872, you've got William Wilson, and he was caught between the buffers. The driver had seen his legs spin over and two railway goods wagons were seen to go over the man."

Jayne:

"I'm just curious though 'cause it doesn't really kind of tie in for me because the activity that they're having in the house Neil, is, well it's not nice. There have been scratches. There've been things that seem to have a bit more of a darker undertone. Do you think that someone who died in the way that William did may do that?"

Neil:

"No."

Jayne:

"No, I don't either."

(...)

Neil:

"In the Peterborough Chronical that dates back to the 12th century, there is an account of a demonic hunt that ran across that farmland from Stamford to Peterborough."

Jayne:

"A demonic hunt, what's that?"

Neil:

"The riders were cowled in black, big and huge figures on stallion horses, and curiously; large male goats, which are often associated with the devil. Everything is black. There is a huge *Inaudible* cry. People are terrified by the sight of this wild demonic hunt that ran across those fields. There hasn't been seen for many many years because it, it began to fade you see, with time, and people built on the site, but it sounds like there's something that is drawing out spirits to that location. It could be still the lost soul of a railway man but I fear that there is something far darker, and I'm gonna have to use the word; I fear that it might be demonic."

Jayne:

"My heart's racing now, it's a worrying case."

Spirit Triggers: Kitchen

The Help! Team always does something they call 'spirit triggers' before they investigate the property overnight. This is when they do a rief investigation during the day with those who have been affected to see if they can provoke any responses, and to see where these responses are most prevalent. They start off by sitting down in the kitchen with both Kevin and Lisa and begin a spirit box session with EVP recording. To start, you see Jayne asking "are there any entities in this room that can hear my voice?", "who are you?", and "why are you here?" To seemingly not receive any response. It is only when she asks "can you tell me who this is, who am I sitting opposite?" That the response "Kevin" seems to emerge from the speaker. The team then gets Kevin to ask who opened the cupboards in the kitchen and we hear the response "I did". This is when Kevin says he feels really angry and it is assumed this is because the spirit is affecting him and making him feel that way. Ian advises Kevin to tell the demon, or spirit, to stand back in an assertive way because Kevin is being challenged by this entity. Jayne then decides it's a good idea to take Kevin upstairs to the room where he was pulled out of bed and scratched to see if anything would happen while he was being affected by the spirit. 

Spirit Triggers: Girl's Bedroom

In this room, the team runs an ICT application alongside the SLS camera which shows a stick figure over where it sees a human figure, even if eyes cannot see it. This device picks up a stick figure sitting ontop of Kevin while Kevin is sat on the bed, and Kevin says he can feel it and that it "wants to get in". Ian, who isn't in the room at the time but is watching everything unfold on a screen, says that what Kevin experienced with the feeling of anger was the early stages of possession, which meant the spirit was getting really close. Kevin possibly asks "what do you want" and a very clear response of "you" comes through the speaker. The reason why I say possibly is because there are too many cuts around this point to be sure on if it was Kevin who spoke as you don't see him say it, and there are cuts between the question and the answer so I don't know how long it took for that response to be given or if anything was said between the question and answer. 

Kevin then blames himself for the situation and informs Barri and Jayne, who are in the room with him, that he offered himself for the spirit to hurt him and not his family back when things started. It's at this point that Kevin starts moving his jaw about in a strange way and says it's aching, that he feels angry, and like he wants to attack Barri. He also says it feels like his soul is being pulled forward. He then rises from the bed and grabs Barri while saying it feels like he wants Barri out of the room because he's had enough. Kevin then sits back on the bed and starts crying, at which point Ian sends Lisa up to him "just in case". Kevin says it feels like his soul is being pulled through his head and that he has a pressure in his head, and so Ian enters the room and whilst a dramatic montage of Kevin being in pain is shown with equally dramatic music over it, Ian shouts at the spirit to stand back and leave Kevin alone. Ian then informs Kevin that the anger and frustration was because the spirit was using Kevin as a vessel, but they've "sealed the sanctuary" and so Kevin is now clean but the spirit is in his house. 

The Main Investigation

Kevin and Lisa leave Barri, Jayne, and Ian in their house for the night to conduct the investigation. Barri fits eight fixed infra-red cameras around the house. There is a camera in the livingroom, the kitchen, the downstairs hallway, the master bedroom, the son's room, the daughter's room, along with a camera looking down the stairs, and one in the upstairs hallway looking towards the top of the stairs. Jayne suggests starting in the kitchen as Ian said about there being lots of energy there, plus it's where they started the spirit triggers. 

They start in the kitchen by doing EVP sessions. Barri, Jayne, and Ian are all sat around the table in the middle of the room as they do this. While they listen back for potential EVPs, the fixed camera catches a cupboard door opening and closing. Then Barri says the table moved, and the same cupboard door as before opens and closes again. Barri suggests the demonic entity could be seperate from the poltergeist and that the poltergeist is maybe just a restless spirit. Jayne comments saying the poltergeist could just want the attention. They catch an EVP which says "help me", and from this determine it's human. 

The team then splits up with Jayne going into the daughter's room, Barri going into the son's room, and Ian on the landing. A 360 rem pod is placed on the bed in the master bedroom as no one is in there which means no interference; they know if it goes off, it isnt going off because of them. The team hears a knock and the paratek v3 device says 'devil'. We then see the rem pod going off untouched, and a fixed camera shows there's no one near it. 'Diablo' is also said on a device. The team isn't sure at this point if this is a demon communicating with them, or if it is a human spirit warning them.

Everyone moves into the master bedroom due to the rem pods activity and Ian says he can sense a human spirit is present who is also a gentleman. This is when William Wilson is brought up and the team starts to investigate if it is William who is trying to communicate. Jayne ways William lived on the land in one of the workers houses and died on the land, so it could be him. "Help me" comes through the speaker after they call out to William. The teams nerve centre then loses power and they speculate that the demon has taken the energy it needs to operate. Flies are then spotted on a speaker which they say indicates demonic entities are present. They also say the loss of power is a sign that something is about to kick off. 

Barri goes down to the kitchen, thinking something could happen soon, and it does. As a member of the crew passes by the kitchen window, stuff falls from the windowsill and into the sink. I will talk more about this moment towards the end of this post. Everyone comes downstairs to the kitchen and is informed of what just happened. The next thing we see is everyone sitting in the living room where they are using the SLS camera along with an app called 'Spiritus'. The camera picks up a large stick figure by the door, and 'help' very clearly comes through on Spiritus when the team tries to talk to William. Spiritus also picks up on a female speaking backwards, and Jayne notes that some satanic worshippers recite backwards as a mockery of the Bible. The team suspects the female voice is a demon, they ask it questions, and then a growl is heard through the app. 

Barri decides to go upstairs due to the reports involving the attic. With the SLS camera, he captures a stick figure coming out of the boy's bedroom. This is when he sticks his head up into the attic and feels something hit the ladder he is standing on. You then see clear footage of an item which Barri calls a "large piece of roof tile" fall from the attic hatch. The camera is pointing straight up at the hatch, and is still, so you clearly see the tile appear through the hatch and fall. I will talk more about this moment with the kitchen one, but I think it's impressive. 

Barri then goes back downstairs and you hear a male voice say "she is Nasu" on the speaker which they suspect is William warning them. They also find out that "Nasu is an alluring demoness that takes the form of a fly. She attacks the body and when Nasu becomes triumphant over the soul of the righteous man, she drives it out from the body and makes a place for herself in it. Then the body, for that reason, is called a corpse". The team acknowledges the demonic entity is powerless now that they know it is called 'Nasu'. The investigation ends with Ian banishing Nasu and blessing the house. He also sends William to the light. Jayne burns dragon's blood, which is a potent and powerful plant resin, to ensure no negative energy remains. 

Evidence Presentation

To end the episode, Barri, Jayne, and Ian sit down with Kevin and Lisa to discuss everything that happened during the investigation. Jayne says they went upstairs to find out what had scratched Kevin, and says they got the words 'devil' and 'diablo'. There is acknowledgement that demonic entities will not give their name as you then have power over it, and so they knew any names or helpful information was coming from a human spirit. They say the historian told them about William Wilson, and so suspected he could be present. They play EVPs through the presentation to back up what they are saying, and share the footage of stuff falling from the windowsill. They say the poltergeist was William who was just a positive spirit trying to protect them, and that 'help' referred to William wanting to get rid of the negative spirit. 

The team then says the demonic entity was trying to present through the devices as a very gentle feminine entity, and they discuss the backwards talking. They play the backwards talking in reverse which quite clearly says "the Queen of death". This is where they say about Nasu being a higher level ancient persian demon that was responsible for the scratches, and that Nasu infects and infests both corpses and people. Barri says they don't often encounter demonic entities. Jayne then says she burnt dragon's blood and that it is much stronger than white sage. Finally it is said the smudging and cleansing had removed any lingering negative energies and spirits. 

The whole programme then ends on the message: 

'Three months later Kevin feels like a new person. The family have their lives back and are sleeping in their own beds.'

Summary of activity

1. EVP phenomena

2. Knocks

3. Cupboards opening

4. Stuff falling into the sink

5. Backwards speech

6. Possession

7. Roof tile falling

8. SLS figures

My thoughts

I think, from a skeptical point of view, that the programme tries to do lots right. They have fixed cameras in each room they feel is relevant, they let Ian speak in the car along with at the house to see if both match up, and they seem to be thinking about their own interference with evidence. They even show pictures Kevin had taken of the scratches he had, and showed a video he had taken where you see the cupboards are open and you hear the voice he talks about in his initial discussion of activity. Now, onto the three big bits that happened: the cupboards, the sink, and the attic. The good thing about the cupboard phenomena is everyone seems to stay still. This keeps the conditions the same so that repetition is more likely to happen. However, my big point of criticism here is that you cannot see under the table they are all sitting around. After looking into Barri, Jayne, and Ian, I am inclined to think they wouldn't fake things. However, they don't show under the table which means someone could be under there pulling on string to open the cupboard. If they are heavy doors, a slack in the string could cause it to close. It could also be a potential draught, and no one comments on if there is somewhat turbulent or calm weather outside. The best thing they could have done here is shown under the table, and then asked for the spirit to open different cupboards. If more than just that one cupboard door opened, then that is more convincing. 

The moment where everything falls into the kitchen sink is also sketchy to me. The cupboards I'm putting down to a potential draught, but the sink incident I've watched over and over and it seems sketchy because of the timing of the crew member walking past the window. Everything falls as he blocks the shot you watch through the fixed camera. The thing which is really odd is you see this person's wrist, the one closest to the stuff falling, make a slight motion at the same time everything falls. This could just be him moving his wrist, it could just be the distance the camera is at making it seem like he has moved his wrist, but when you see that moment it is hard not to think he's just pulled something to make things fall. At the very least, his placement in that room is far too convenient. Again, I don't want to think the core team would have faked things... but a crew member may have. What they needed here was a closer and clearer shot of the sink, or even a cameraman standing opposite the man walking into the room so that they filmed him enter and then you saw the stuff fall into the sink on the right. I know it's usually the way though that whenever something happens, you don't usually have the best angle.

The attic incident is really good. I have three criticisms here. One is that you don't clearly see both of Barri's hands. One hand is out of the attic, so that is good, but the other is in there and you only see a finger or two of that hand. It is possible that he could of had something in that hand which he dropped while keeping his wrist still. The item does fall from near his hand, which is in the attic, after all. Another criticism I have is that they don't have a camera in the attic, however I'm aware this may not have been possible due to potentially limited space up there. Although, in this case they still should have shown us how limited the space was so we could rule out anyone possibly being up there to drop something down. They also don't check the stability of the roof. Barri says it's a piece of roof tile which falls, and it could be just that: a piece of roof tile falling. Yes, that's lucky that it fell while Barri was poking his head up there, but it could happen. Looking at the footage, it does seem like it just drops through the hole and onto Barri's ladder. It's a strange one. 

As I said earlier, my overall thoughts of the programme are good, but it will be interesting to see how much is the same from episode to episode. Obviously the structure will be the same, but with things like Ian's car trip and walkaround, I wonder how different it will be. Even with the activity they get, I wonder if it is all going to be stick figures and EVPs generated through an app. I would hope not. I also don't trust the stick figures as I know that can be faked. You can create an animation with the stick figures and place it over a video to make it look like you have captured those figures in real time, but really it can all be fabricated. There is no way to know for sure unless you are there with the equipment doing it yourself live. 

I do like that they showed the evidence Kevin had caught himself, and I really like that they cleanse the house after the investigation. This is the biggest reason, aside from individual credentials, why I think this team doesn't fake things. I can't think of any teams I am currently aware of which show themselves reading prayers and burning plants after an investigation in order to cleanse the home and solve the problems the residents are experiencing. I also find it interesting that dragon's blood was burnt as the commonly known thing to burn is sage, which further boosts my confidence that at the very least Jayne is legitimate in this team. 

I found it interesting that Ian points out all the relevant stuff in his walkaround. He doesn't seem to go wrong, although this could be because of clever editing. I would quite like to see beginning to end him walking around a house without any cuts and hearing what he has to say, then seeing how spot on he is. I don't like how he mentions the case being emotional, it adds an unnecessary level of drama. The same goes for 'spooky imagery' and dramatic music. I know they add it because that attracts views but, from a scientific point of view, it dampens credibility. A paranormal investigation needs to be about the facts. It was also strange that during his walkaround Ian says he clearly heard a voice, but all the camera picked up was light rustling. It was a strange moment.

Another criticism I have of the programme is that is tells you what the EVPs say. I think they should play it, give you a little bit of time, then say what they think it says. Some of them sound like nonsense and others only sound like what the team says because they've said it. Sometimes they're clear, and that's really great, but it doesn't happen as often as what they make out. 

I'm also curious on how much the whole team knows before going to the house. In Barri's interview with Lisa, she mentions Kevin being pulled out of bed and Barri seems shocked by this as though he has never heard this before. Kevin tells this story in his initial experience discussion, and I'm sure they would have mentioned it when reaching out to the team? I'm assuming this could have happened after they contacted the team though, and that the team took the case based on poltergeist activity alone. I also find it odd that the one guy the historian mentions to Jayne ends up being the one haunting the house... that seems too convenient. Again, I would like to see the full unedited interview or some behind the scenes on how they stumbled across William. It would also be interesting to see how close William died to the house because if he didn't die on that spot, I don't know why he is there. It's also odd that they seem to solve a case of early possession just by telling the spirit to back off... it also doesn't seem to take them that long... perhaps it's because Ian is a psychic, but it seems odd to me how easily that was overcome. 

My final thoughts

Having analysed the programme, I think it is definitely worth watching. However, I do think the more you look into it, the more iffy it seems. I know they cut a bunch of stuff as it's TV, and I know they have to make it somewhat dramatic for the same reasons, but it really blurs the line between what is and isn't real. It also makes a fair few things seem really convenient, and I like that Jayne in a way argues with the historian about William being present. I like the fact she doubts it but then they find out through the investigation that he somehow was. It just seems odd though that the historian would have brought him up to begin with. I'm definitely not trusting the stuff fall into the sink. I will trust that the roof tile fell on its own, and that the cupboard door may also have moved on its own, but these instances could have been down to natural phenomena. EVPs aren't solid when done through an app, and neither is SLS. If they captured proper recorded EVPs then this would have been better. Even saying 'Devil' and 'Diablo' isnt great as these things can have a tendency of saying words like that to spook the user. I'm looking forward to seeing the next episode though as I do think this team tries to capture legitimate evidence, and they definitely seem to try and help the residents in these homes. 

Thank you for reading to the end of this post! I really hope you enjoyed it. If you have any comments whether that be about the blog, experiences of your own, or even places you would like for me to investigate, then you can comment and follow on here, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Reddit, and you can email thetrueparanormal1@gmail.com for a quick response to any questions.