Help! My House Is Haunted S4 E2 Review

Introduction 

This is my review of the second episode of the fourth season of 'Help! My House Is Haunted'. In this episode, Barri Gai, Jayne Harris, and Ian Lawman travel to the city of Derby, England, to help Asha and her daughter Zaria. In the car on the way to the house, which has been Asha's home for four years, Jayne notes that it is the only city in England to be named by the vikings. I'll do this review exactly as I did the previous one in regards to format, so I'll include a number of transcripts from the episode, followed by notes on the investigation, then a summary of activity, then followed by my overall thoughts and review of the episode. I found this episode quite interesting as it highlights a question I often wonder about when it comes to the paranormal, which is 'can all faiths co-exist?' By this, I mean that similar things exist in different faiths, for instance the example here is the jinn and demons. So, the question is are these creatures both the same and can be dealt with in the same way, or are they actually completely seperate entities which require different methods to deal with them? This episode delves into that, and I think they catch some good evidence if you don't think too much about it.

Asha's Experiences

"This activity has been going on for a while, erm, we didn't take much notice of it when we used to live in Birmingham, but it just feels like whatever it is, it followed us here as well. I woke up one night with a sound and it just shook me up, and when I opened my eyes I saw this dark figure. It had a cloak-like garment on, really tall and really dark standing in the corner of my bedroom. We do hear noises as well. It's not just like a knock, it's like something is walking about, or somebody has just like opened the wardrobe door, and you feel 'what was that?' It makes me feel really uncomfortable. I just get very shaken and frightened. I do feel unwell. I feel lethargic, you know, tired and drained all the time. I wake up with many rashes, and they do hurt. They'll disappear, say, for a week or so, and then they'll come back with a vengeance. So, I'm hoping that you guys can find out what it is, offer me protection, or even a prayer, or even get rid of whatever is happening to us."

Ian's Travel Senses

Ian: "Guys, my guides are going, um, crazy. They're, um, making me feel really funny and they're giving me the sign of the cross which is indicating to me that we're gonna have to have our faith today for some reason. So we're going into something that is quite serious."

Barri: "Do you think is potentially a demonic case?"

Ian: "The feeling's I'm getting, most definitely, but I'll know better once we arrive at the house, but I, I feel really nervous. There's just something that doesn't feel right at all. Is it, is it the land, or...?"

It's important to note here that once the team arrives at the house, Ian comments on a veil being around the house. He says it's like a web. Jayne asks him if it's something he can physically see, and he says he can and that it's like spider's webbing all the way around it. They then get out of the car and stand a little closer to the house. Here, Ian says he feels uncomfortable and that the veil feels like a thick sheet. He also says that the closer he gets to it, the more it's like a blanket rather than a web.

Ian's Walkaround

"Hello, hello? Now, this door upstairs, a landing door has just opened. Why has that door opened? I'd like to go upstairs because I can see a shadow above the sockets on the staircase, and it could be a curtain or something, but it's just drifting like this" *sways from side to side, then walks up the stairs* "Hello? Who's there? My name's Ian. I can't" *clears throat* "My breath on this landing has just been taken away from me. It's almost as if somebody's punched me in the stomach and, and winded me, it's..." *exhales* "I'm really breathless, I've got a really dry mouth, and I feel like a veil's been put over me as I'm walking around. Something doesn't want me here." *Enters Asha's bedroom* "Instantly in this room again, ugh" *clutches his stomach* "My stomach, and it's pushing into my heart as well. It's almost as if I feel I'm having a heart attack. The pain is immense." *Sitting on the bed* "That's crazy, somebody in my ear is shouting 'I cast you, I cast you'. Somebody is casting something on this property or on the home owner. This is one serious case, one serious investigation. 'I'm casting, I'm casting, I'm casting'; that's all I can hear." *In Zaria's bedroom* "Somebody's laughing at me, somebody's making a mockery of what I do. It's almost as if they're challenging me. Do you know what worries me is something is speaking to me, but a lot of this energy is residual. Now, if I'm feeling this residual energy like this, once that homeowner comes back sparks are gonna fly." *At the base of the stairs, by the front door* "The energy from upstairs is now down here. It's following me absolutely everywhere." *In the living room* "I don't like this seat." *Sits in a chair* "When I sit here, I just see black. It's almost as if something's trying to take control or clear my memories in my mind. Something is wanting me to leave this property because it doesn't want me in here."

Barri's interview with Zaria, Asha's daughter

Barri: "Can you tell me a little bit about what has been going on in the house?"

Zaria: "From the moment I walk into that house, it's the energy is just so intense, I feel like something's with me straight away, following me. Something's touched me physically. I don't know what it is, but I've seen something with, like, black wavy hair, like, sort of like a witch."

Barri: "So, what do you think it is?"

Zaria: "I believe that it's a dark entity, something that wants my mum to live alone. She is being affected quite severely. It's stopping her from wanting to leave the house, actually."

Barri: "What, she's becoming agoraphobic?"

Zaria: "Yes, anxiety, agoraphobia, yeah. Something stops her from wanting to do anything."

(...)

Barri: "Where do you think this has come from?"

Zaria: "I feel like someone has cast a spell, maybe."

Barri: "What, a curse, I guess?"

Zaria: "A curse, yeah. I believe it's a jinn that's been sent to attack my family."

Barri: "So, you said it's a jinn... I mean, throughout the ages, jinns are considered to be negative spiritual, you know, entities that have a power similar to a demon. You know, they can cause mischief, mayhem, pain, suffering, all these things. So, where did the jinn come from?"

Zaria: "The person who inflicted this curse."

Barri: "So do you think this jinn has been conjured?"

Zaria: "Definitely, most definitely."

Jayne's interview with exorcist and jinn expert Mohammed Ahmed

Jayne: "Thank you for meeting me. I wanted to have a chat with you because the case we're working on at the moment is quite unusual. The family seem to think that they may have a jinn affecting them, so first of all; what is a jinn?"

Mohammed: "A jinn is a being, so is a, is a creature made from smokeless fire. In the Quran, Allah refers to them made from marijin min nar. Marijin min nar means fire. Jinn's enter the body to possess. One of the issues is that the jinn, er, they want the person to suffer."

Jayne: "So if this is what they're dealing with; how would you be affected by a jinn?"

Mohammed: "The person, er, would, might feel tired. They want to be alone, isolated. They always want to stay in their room. They will have pains in their bodies. Some people get scratches, they will wake up, they have these scratches on their arms or parts of their body."

(...)

Jayne: "Can jinns appear to people in different ways, different, take different forms? Shadow figures, for example, or tall figures in the doorway, that kind of thing?"

Mohammed: "Yes, they do that, but even when a jinn shows themself as a tall figure or shadow, that doesn't mean that's actually what they look like. This is a figure that they show to scare the person. There are jinns as well that will, er, take forms of animals; cats, snakes, dogs, and they can even take the form of a human."

Jayne: "Do you think that someone could curse someone by sending a jinn?"

Mohammed: "Yes. So, the person does magic, witchcraft, er, or they go to a sorcerer, or a magician. Then, the magician will send their own jinns to deal with the person. If they want them to suffer, if they want them to have emotional breakdown, depends what the, the situation is."

Jayne: "Do you need to discover the identity of the person who has sent it in order to expel it?"

Mohammed: "Does not matter because now we're dealing with this entity who's living in the property which they don't have a right to, and doing whatever they're doing."

Jayne: "So once we start our investigation this evening Mohammed if we feel we need your help, can I call you?"

Mohammed: "Of course, definitely."

Jayne: "Thank you."

Spirit Triggers: Living Room

 

The team starts off their investigation by conducting what they refer to as 'spirit triggers'. This is where they do a brief investigation of the house during the day, with the homeowners present, to see if they can narrow down what they are dealing with and trigger activity. To encourage the triggering of activity, Jayne lights a small fire pit on the table due to the jinn apparently being born of fire. They start off in the living room and use a spirit box plus an evp recorder. 

Barri asks 'what are you?', 'were you conjured?', and 'who are you affecting?' At which point Asha begins to cough, seemingly as a response to Barri's question to say that was her who was being affected. Zaria, Asha's daughter, then says she doesn't feel comfortable in the chair. She's sitting beside Asha on the same chair, and it's the same chair Ian said he didn't like during his walkaround. Ian says Zaria is feeling really uncomfortable because Asha's aura is black and jumping between her and Zaria. 

Barri then asks for Zaria to call out and to leave space for responses. She asks 'who has sent you?', and 'how long have you been with our family?' A response comes through on the spirit box as it says 'Ash' and 'careful'. Barri then asks for Asha to call out, and so she asks 'why are you here?' The spirit box responds again with 'up' followed by 'stairs'. 

Spirit Triggers: Asha's Bedroom and Zaria's Bedroom

After hearing the spirit box say the equivilant of 'upstairs', the team decides they need to move their investigation. They split into two teams in order to cover both Asha's bedroom and Zaria's bedroom, but still do a joint investigation. Ian and Asha go into Zaria's bedroom and Barri, Jayne, and Zaria go into Asha's bedroom. They decide for Ian to call out questions while Jayne is in the sepreate room to him wearing headphones connected to a spirit box. That way she can't hear Ian's questions but could hopefully answer them by saying the responses from the spirit box. While they do this, Barri controls the playback. 

Ian asks 'what are you?', and 'who sent you?' No response is provided, but Zaria then says she can feel something around the back of her head. Ian then asks 'can you name somebody in this house?', and Jayne, who still can't hear him, says she just heard Asha. Barri plays it back and Jayne confirms it says Asha. Ian asks Asha how she's feeling and she says she's feeling angry. Ian asks her to explain and she says she feels like she wants them to stop what they're doing. Ian asks her how she feels when she looks at him, and she says she doesn't like to look at him. 

Barri then asks Ian to continue asking questions, but before he does Asha says she's got a black haired woman in her mind with long hair who is really angry and showing her teeth. Jayne says the spirit box said 'evil' and so Barri plays in back. For this playback, we can hear what it says whereas for the previous playback they kept it in Jaynes headphones. When it says 'evil' Barri asks Zaria if she can hear it. 

Ian asks Asha how tall the woman is and Asha replies by saying she's quits tall and angry. Barri urges Ian to ask another question, and Ian says 'the lady that is close to Asha, whatever you are, or who you are, can you tell me your name, can you identify yourself?' There isn't an audible response to this, but Ian says he heard a laugh and that he heard her say she changes, which he says means she can come in many forms. Barri asks for confirmation on the entity being female, and Ian hums to indicate she is. 

Asha then says the entity is sometimes walking on air and flying about like a spirit with long black hair and nails. She also says the entity scares her with her teeth. In response to this, Ian calls in Jayne and asks her about the jinns and Jayne tells Asha that they can appear as her worst fear. Ian asks Zaria if she's seen anything similar and she says she did when they lived in Birmingham, plus in their current house. She describes the sight as a witch digging her nails into Asha. From this, Ian concludes that it's something that's been summoned, or sent, or manifest to the family like a curse and that's what they're seeing. Asha interrupts to say she sees the witch on a regular basis and starts to tear up. Barri then reassures her that they'll get rid of it, and Jayne says they've triggered it. She also tells Asha that her and Zaria get to go away from the house and have a break from it while they investigate. 

Nerve Centre Discussion

After Asha and Zaria leave for the night, Barri says it's going to be one of their most challenging cases yet, and they all gather in the nerve centre to make a plan. Barri tells the team he has eight fixed infra-red cameras across the building. The cameras on the ground floor are in the lounge area, the dining room, the conservatory, and the kitchen. Barri says his placement of the dining room camera is good because it can see into the lounge. It's also said that the spirit triggers took place in the lounge and Jayne speculates that a heavy energy could be in the same corner as the chair. The cameras on the first floor are placed at the top of the stairs looking down into the hallway, Asha's room, Zaria's room, and the brothers bedroom. Ian comments that there is lots of negative energy and that he was conscious of things following him around. Jayne recounts Asha saying she felt something behind her and touching her in Asha's bedroom. Ian then points out Asha saw the witch in Zaria's room. Finally, Barri asks where they should start and Ian says the lounge as there's a lot going on there and there's a lot of emotion.

The Main Investigation

Barri begins the investigation by placing the REM pod on the stairs to detect motion while they call out from the living room. Jayne suggests that they should try again for EVPs to establish if there's still something in the house, or if it's left with Asha. Ian asks the entity to give them a sign if it's still there, and Jayne asks if it knows why they're there. They listen back to see if they caught anything on the voice recorder, and after Ian's question you can hear some sort of noise which Jayne says sounds like running. After Jayne's question, Jayne says she can hear something in the recording say 'jinn'. Ian agrees with her after it's played back. 

At this point, a narration from Jayne informs us that it was here the team started to wonder if there were any human spirits present due to Mohammed saying it's unusual for jinns to give up their identity. We then see Barri ask for any human spirits present to tell them more about the entity. A female voice says 'Demon' through the spirit box, and Jayne points this out to the team. The REM pod then starts making noise and Ian is the only one in this moment to stay calm. He stays seated and casually points in the direction of the REM pod. Barri and Jayne both jump at the sound, which is understandable, but both rise out of their seats. Barri goes to see what the sound was and Jayne asks what the noise is and asks if it's the REM pod. 

Ian asks where the spirit is, and 'up' is spoken again through the spirit box. This leads to Jayne going upstairs by herself, and Ian and Barri both watch the cameras in the nerve centre. During this part of the investigation, Jayne uses an app on her tablet called 'Necrophonic' which she describes as having a phonetic bank of sounds that spirits can manipulate into words. Jayne calls out and asks if the entity knows why they're there. 'Allah' is spoken through the app and this repeats after Barri says he thinks he heard it say 'Allah'. After it says this the second time, it's Jayne who points it out and she asks the team why the demon would say that, or if it could instead be a human spirit saying it. 

Ian says it could be a human spirit trying to pray for them, and when Jayne asks if the family needs protecting 'demon' is spoken through app. Again, Jayne points this out and Barri agrees with her. Jayne asks who is with Asha, and 'demon' is spoken yet again. Jayne is also the one to point this out again. Ian says that if the app keeps this up then they'll have to bring Asha back. Jayne asks again who is with Asha, and this time the app says 'jinn'. Everyone agrees that it says jinn, and then they hear it say 'hurry'. Jayne says it was a human spirit who said hurry and suggests that they quickly bring back Asha and Zaria. Ian agrees with Jayne and thinks Asha and Zaria are in a very vulnerable and dangerous position where they are. Jayne agrees with him. 

Jayne then provides a narration which tells us they think human spirits are present and are trying to help and protect the family. She also says that the jinn is attached to Asha as they've not detected it since she's gone away for the night. This all causes the team to bring Asha and Zaria back, and Ian tells Asha that there is a jinn connected with her and so they've brought them back because the connection is to her. He also tells her that they need to expel what's in her. Jayne calls Mohammed to do an exorcism, and Ian says you've always got to go to the root of the infection first, which in this case is Asha. Asha agrees to all of this, and so they proceed.

Barri provides a narration saying that Mohammed has done hundreds of exorcisms. The team watches Mohammed from the nerve centre, and Mohammed says he's going to read from the Quran. Ian tells the team that he would read from the bible if he was doing this to exorcise demons. It's a different faith, and so a different book is used. Mohammed asks Asha how she's feeling, and she says angry. Mohammed reassures her that this is normal as the entity wants to attack him because they know he's there to fight them. Ian repeats this, and Zaria, who is sat beside Asha, says she can feel something on her shoulders. Mohammed asks if it's behind her, and she hums to indicate yes. 

Barri and Jayne comment that Asha is really quiet through all of this, and ask why. There isn't any answer given to this, but next Barri and Ian notice that Mohammed is spraying something and wonder what it is. Ian presumes it's holy water. Asha then says she's got pain in her left arm and after Mohammed asks her where it is specifically, she says it's all along her arm. Jayne says she's worried about Asha, and Ian agrees. Zaria then asks Asha how she's feeling, and she says she's still angry. Barri then says to his team that he thinks it needs a combination of the prayer Mohammed is reading from the Quran and what they would normally do regarding an exorcism. Ian and Jayne both agree to this, and so they all join Mohammed as he continues his prayer.

Ian then starts guiding Asha with a visualisation technique by asking her to close her eyes and to picture her mum and bring her forwards. A narration is then provided by Ian which says he believes that love conquers all, and so bringing past loved ones to help is the most powerful tool they can use. He says to Asha that her mum's love is really powerful and strong, which then causes Asha to start crying, but Ian says to her that she needs to let it out. Ian asks Asha if she can still see the witch while she is focusing on the happiness with her mum, and she says she can. Ian asks where the witch is, and Asha says she's behind her. Ian then asks Asha if she thinks she's strong enough to face the witch, to which Asha says she is, and when Ian asks if she can still see her, Asha says the witch is now hovering behind her. Ian reassures Asha that Mohammed will expel it as he continues singing the prayer. 

Ian again asks if Asha can still see the witch, and after she says she can Ian tells her that in her mind she needs to shout at the witch to leave her family alone in order to protect her family. Asha visualises this, Ian asks what the witch is doing, and Asha says she's just standing there. Ian asks for clarification on if the witch is grounded, and Asha confirms it. Mohammed now asks what the witch is doing, and Ian says she's grounded, at which point a narration is provided by Ian saying that she can't fly anymore which means she's getting weaker. Mohammed asks what the witches face is like and Asha says she's very angry. Mohammed then says this is good because she's suffering and doesn't know what to do. 

This is now the part of the exorcism where Barri decides to use the structured light sensor camera to get visual evidence of the jinn. Ian says to Asha she needs to turn around and face the witch. Asha corrects him by saying the witch isn't behind her anymore, but is instead in front of her now. Ian says this is good and says on a count of three they're going to walk to the witch face to face. This is all done in the visualisation technique and neither move from their positions. Ian tells her not to be frightened and to stay strong, then counts down and says they're in front of the witch. He asks what the witch is doing, and Asha says she's walking back. Ian asks if she's walking backwards, even though Asha has just told him she was, and Asha says yes. Ian says this is good because the witch is going backwards and Asha is going forwards. 

Ian says Asha is winning the battle and Mohammed asks how far the witch is from her. Asha says she's close to the window, which is on the other side of the room from her. Asha then starts to say she's going to be sick, and Ian says it's ok and to let it happen, as does Mohammed. Ian keeps saying they're getting closer to the witch. He also says it's ok because the witch is weak and asks who else Asha has lost who she truly loves. Asha says her dad, and Ian asks her to bring her dad forwards. He also asks if she can see him, which she can, and asks if she can see her mum, who she can also see. Ian then asks Asha to push her mum and dad infront of her, which she says ok to, and then he asks where the witch is again. Asha says she's still by the window, and Barri picks up a figure by the window but it then disappears. He says this to the group, and Asha says the witch doesn't stay there and that she's "here, there, and everywhere". 

Ian says she's running and moving around, asks where she is, and Asha says the fireplace. Upon hearing this, Ian shouts "by the fireplace" and Mohammed says she's trying to get away. Mohammed then goes to the fireplace and sprays it while singing. Asha then says the witch is by the door, Mohammed asks for clarification on which door and is told the front door. Ian asks if the witch is smaller, and Asha says she's smaller and screaming. Ian asks what she looks like, and Asha just says smaller. Ian relays that she's smaller to Mohammed and Mohammed asks what size. Asha says dog size and Ian relays this to Mohammed who says this is good and that they're doing well. 

Ian then asks Asha if she can see her and Asha tell him that she's under the table now. After Ian asks what size she is, she says cat size. Mohammed is the next one to ask where the witch is and Asha says she's on the corner of the table. Ian points to a corner and asks if it's that one and Asha says yes. Next Asha says she's gone under the sofa, and Ian clarifies that she's small. Asha says she's very small and slithering which causes both Ian and Mohammed to clarify that she's a snake now. Ian says that she's got no legs, and Mohammed says this is good. Ian asks Asha to tell her to come forward before taking out his own holy water. He asks Asha if the witch is out and where she is, and Asha says she's in the middle. Ian asks for clarification on where and then douses the area with holy water. Meanwhile, Barri stands to the side holding out a cross towards Asha. Ian asks how big the witch is, and Asha says mouse size. He asks where it is, and Asha says by the door, which leads him to dousing the door in holy water. Ian then asks Asha to ask her dad to stand on it, and says to tell her dad he needs to do this for his family. Asha does this, Ian asks if it's dead, and Asha says it is. Ian then hugs Asha and says well done and that she did it. 

Evidence Presentation

Once the exorcism and investigation are over, the episode then cuts to the next day where the team share their findings with Asha and Zaria. When the mother and daughter sit down at the table opposite the team, Jayne comments on how there are plenty of smiles from the two. Ian asks Asha if she's slept well, and she says she slept like a baby. Ian then asks how she feels in comparison to the previous day, and she says she feels like a different person and like something heavy has been lifted. This is now where the evidence presentation begins. Jayne recalls that Asha coughed at one point during the spirit triggers and then plays an EVP recording of something Jayne claims says 'she's choking'. Ian comments that this audio clip indicates that the spirit/the jinn was very close to her. 

Jayne then tells Asha and Zaria that she went upstairs and into Ashas bedroom alone after they had gone. She then plays the audio of the app saying 'jinn' and 'a demon'. In response to hearing this, Asha says she knew she was ill all the time, and saw the witch, but didn't believe it because she was in her 60's. Ian then replies by saying that's what jinns do. He says that they want you to think you're going crazy to start wearing your down which then causes depression and anxiety. Jayne then says these EVPs confirmed what they were dealing with. 

Barri then shows two SLS clips which he captured during the exorcism. The first shows a stick figure behind Asha while she was sitting in the chair and saying the witch was behind her. The second clip shows two stick figures standing by the window while Asha was saying about the witch being by the window. Ian says the second, larger figure, is Asha's father coming to help them. Asha then says she feels so light, bright, and wants to smile all of the time. 

The episode then ends with the message: 

'Three months later, Asha feels like a new person. She's happy, healthy, and feels like she's got her life back.'

Summary of Activity

1. Feeling of being touched

2. Electronic voice phenomina

3. Communication through necrophonic

4. Three SLS stick figures shown

5. Possession

6. Exorcism via prayer, holy water, and guided visualisation

7. REM pod made noise

My Thoughts

I'm going to be completely truthful here and say I found this episode to be a slog to get through for this post. A couple of points i haven't mentioned yet are that before Jayne' interview, she says they rarely deal with demonic attachments, before the spirit triggers Ian says he felt like he was having a heart attack as he went around the house as his chest was really tight, his arms had pins and needles, he felt depressed, he had dark thoughts, and he didn't want to be there. Another point is that he says there is something not right about Asha, that her eyes are telling him a story, and that he feels uncomfortable. My big issue with what Jayne says goes back to something I've fairly recently seen on Facebook, and contemplated myself, which is the question of 'why is everything now demonic?' I suppose the easy and simple answer would be because the demonic attracts the views, but regarding Jayne's statement of rarely dealing with demonic attachments, so far this season both episodes deal with demonic attachments. Granted, different faiths, but still similar entities; so this seems like a big contradiction, and this is an issue. A contradiction like this puts into question everything they say, and you need complete transparency, especially when it comes to the paranormal due to how scrutinised it is. 

Another issue I have with the episode is the reaction given by Jayne and Barri when the REM pod goes off. I'm really glad I've looked into Jaynes credibility because she really gets the short end of the stick in this episode with her responses to things. Ian reacts absolutely fine in this moment, he just sits and calmly points. Barri jumps up to see what it is, which is OK because it can be startling, but not OK how panicked he seemed. Jaynes reaction is the worst through as she not only jumps out of her seat, but asks what the noise is. A REM pod has a very distinct noise. They all knew one had been placed on the stairs. As paranormal investigators, the sound of a REM pod should not raise question in this manner. I get it's probably for dramatic effect to get views, but in my opinion it hurts the credibility of the team and makes Jayne, and to an extent Barri, look like this is their first time doing an investigation. 

A similar point can be raised for when Mohammed is performing the exorcism. The team sits back and watches, which is understandable and good to see as they're dealing with a different faith in this case. What wasn't good to see was them providing obvious commentary. Mohammed would say something, or do something, and they would question it even if it was something they should have been familiar with. For example, when Mohammed starts flicking holy water, Barri and Ian discuss this and ask what he's flicking. Ian says it's holy water, but Barri should know this. He works with Ian, an ordained exorcist. Again, it could be for TV purposes, but this could have been included in a narration before the exorcism took place. 

The episode also seemed to be stating the obvious far too much. Before the spirit triggers, they knew about the potential jinn, Ian had said something was off about Asha, and they knew it had followed them from Birmingham. Without any investigation, they could infer that there was potentially a jinn attached to Asha. They even knew about how it was effecting Asha, and that it was seemingly only Asha being affected. It was a really obvious case which should have been resolved with ease. Really, the team should have just interviewed Asha and then called in Mohammed for the exorcism if the pattern lined up. I don't believe there was any need for the spirit triggers as it was attached to Asha, and I don't think there was anything of use from their main investigation before the exorcism took place which they didn't already know. The only evidence they captured from these moments were EVPs from the spirit box, an app, and a voice recorder. None of these EVPs were convincing to me. A couple you could make out because they'd said what it supposedly said, but they weren't class A. It also wasn't great that Jayne kept excitedly shouting out what she thought it had said. Really, each member of the team should listen, write down what they thought they heard, then share what they've written. If it all lines up, then they've all heard the same thing without influence.

I wouldn't even say the evidence they caught in the episode was convincing. I've already mentioned the EVPs, but aside this the only hard evidence they've got is the three stick figures. This is, on the surface, impressive as their positioning lines up with where Asha is saying they should be. However, Asha eventually says the witch is 'here, there, and everywhere' which means they could capture a figure anywhere and it would line up with what she says. Also, the stick figures can be faked. You can create the image of a moving stick figure and place it over something you are recording. This means they could potentially have faked these moments. Instead of showing these during the evidence presentation, they should show them during the investigation to help limit suspicion over them faking it. 

My final criticism is over the end message. It's almost word for word of what the message was from the previous episode regarding having their life back and feeling like a new person. This isn't so much a criticism of the team or investigation, rather production of the episode, but it's still valid. It just seemed really copy and pasted and not unique to this particular case in question.

Now to end this section on some praise. I really like that they addressed a jinn instead of a demon. I also like that they touched on the question of if a demon and jinn are the same, but just known by different names due to them being from different parts of the world. I also quite liked the hybrid exorcism they conducted as it kind of emphasised that maybe the jinn and demon are one in the same which needs a unification of faiths to expel. I didnt so much like that they felt the need to adjust what the man who had conducted many exorcisms, and who was a jinn expert, was doing. However, I do like that it highlighted that faiths can be combined. 

My Final Thoughts

I really don't think this episode does the 'Help! My House is haunted' team any favours. Judging them based on this episode, they seem like they're new to investigating because they don't know what a REM pod sounds like, they don't know what's involved in an exorcism despite having an exorcist in their team, and they overreact too much which could affect their results. Now, as mentioned earlier I've looked into their backgrounds and I'm glad to say their history and experience outside of this programme redeems them. This leads me to think a fair bit of planning goes into each of these episodes, and to an extent rigging. I'm not saying the activity is faked, but how they react to things, and their dialogue, probably is. I don't think they should have done this case as an episode. They didn't capture much evidence, definitely not anything convincing, and it could all have been avoided by just using the information they had pre-investigation to call Mohammed to conduct the exorcism. 

There is also the point which is the placebo effect. Going through an exorcism is a lot. It's dramatic, it can be lengthy, and it's a lot of effort to sit through. So, I wonder if she was genuinely expelled of a jinn, or if she simply believed she was and due to the placebo effect she then felt better. She may have fallen into a depressive rut, ended up believing a jinn was behind it, and then the exorcism acted as the placebo to cure her even though nothing had happened. It's a really skeptical view on the matter, but I think it could be the case. Even when Asha was there, the team didn't seem to be getting an overwhelming amount of responses through the spirit box. 

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.