Most Haunted Starter Kit: Blackpool Pleasure Beach, S1, E11
A haunted ghost-train, Mick Hucknall and a clog-clad ghost await
Pleasure at the fairground on the way
Walk around, be free and roam…
Welcome to the first instalment of our Most Haunted starter pack. If you’d like to watch along, Most Haunted is free to watch (with ads) on Freevee which you access via Prime Video.
Would you like to partake in the recommended musical accompaniment for this post? Please see Fairground by Simply Red.
In all honesty, Mick Hucknall superimposed on to the Big Dipper and dancing is a more frightening spectacle to behold than anything covered within the Most Haunted team’s visit to Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Fairground has a very off-kilter, melancholy quality that kindles unease. I know it was an absolute banger back in the 90’s, in fact it reached number one in the UK singles chart for four weeks back in 1995.
However, re-visiting it today, I notice that it opens with an oddly Twin Peaks-eque ambient noise to set the tone, something I never really registered before, while frontman Mick Hucknall starts baying “I love the thought!” Momentum building, latin-style drum beats that never really wind up into any kind of crescendo also feel oddly placed.
Then there’s Hucknall’s low register almost whispery mutterings in the verses about how “It's always friends that feel so good, Let's make amends like all good men should…” as the song builds up to the chorus and the Big Dipper’s descent in the music video… I don’t know, there’s just something altogether unsettling about Fairground.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love it, if anything analysing it for this piece has made me love it more. And the music video. I could dedicate a whole piece to just dissecting the music video. All the weirdly nostalgic 90’s b-roll lifestyle shots of seductive dancing and people wearing wholly impractical clothes for funfair rides... And how is Mick managing to drive through Pleasure Beach? This isn’t the Vegas strip, it’s… Blackpool.
My first ever holiday was to Blackpool at the tender age of five. I remember seeing the Fairground music video, which is filmed at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, doing the rounds on the musical channels at that time too and experiencing for the very first time that strange wonder of seeing somewhere that you’ve been in real life right there on the TV. Crazy.
And I suppose that happened all over again when I discovered that there was a Most Haunted episode filmed at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in another bygone era - the early 2000’s. Not too long after Hucknall and his crew invaded the fairground themselves.
The trope of the abandoned fun fair is not a new one, ahem, Goosebumps, Welcome to Horrorland anyone? Another early 2000’s gem right there. And while it may not be a new avenue in horror it’s still unsettling and one of the main reasons I really loved this episode of Most Haunted.
The episode begins, as it always does, with Yvette’s stroll through the location. She shares some facts about its history and the supposed hauntings.
In this episode, behind her the rides are running but with nobody on them, the little gift shops are all shut - it really feels quite bleak but you can’t tear your eyes away somehow - a bit like the Fairground music video actually. Then you remember that the Pleasure Beach is actually quiet like this for a significant portion of the year as it closes during off-peak season. Perfect opportunity for ghosts to accumulate and take over the place.
The resident ghost at Blackpool Pleasure Beach is a lad called Cloggy who enjoys haunting the ghost train. I’ll be honest, ghosts are a pretty hard sell at the best of times but when they’re named Cloggy it’s almost like they’re taking the piss a little bit.
His name is Cloggy because, yes you guessed it, apparently he liked to wear clogs. Some of the staff reported hearing his clogs coming up behind them. I don’t know how Yvette delivered that line without laughing. A clog-clad ghost stalking behind the scenes on the ghost train? C’mon.
Anyway, Most Haunted’s medium Derek Acorah (RIP) really isn’t a fan of Cloggy and discusses him with some real vitriol during the team’s initial investigation, proclaiming him to be a ‘nasty man’ with ‘big feet’ - I’m really not making this up.
Apparently Cloggy really enjoyed scaring people for real on the ghost train and continues to do it even beyond the grave - what a dedicated worker. It’s really quite admirable when you think about it, he went above and beyond to ensure people got the scare they were after while they were on the ghost train. And then Derek Acorah is giving him shit about 50 years later?
Well, maybe Cloggy did take things a bit far - considering he allegedly liked to clobber people as they went by on the ghost train. To see what the ghost train (and other Pleasure Beach rides) was like, take a virtual ride here - it’s fun!
In terms of paranormal activity, the episode did sadly disappoint.
After their initial scope out with Derek in tow, the team turn the lights off and explore the location in the dark. This usually results in whispered “Did you hear that?” followed by a scream which never translates to much on the viewer’s side since the camera doesn’t pick up a great deal. Apart from a moment when Yvette is worried that the ghost of Cloggy’s (huge) footsteps are in hot pursuit, unfortunately the team didn’t pick up much.
You may be wondering, if there is no paranormal activity, why is this episode even worthy of the Most Haunted Starter Pack?
A valid question.
While it’s always a plus when the team catch some moments of alleged paranormal activity, the episodes I love the most are the ones that have interesting locations filled with history and stories - and this episode didn’t lack on either of those fronts.
This episode feels like an early 2000’s relic, from the fashion and design right through to the camera quality and the shots of slow-mo and sped up empty rides using those uniquely 2000’s kaleidoscopic filters and slow fading transitions.
I loved seeing Pleasure Beach entirely empty with the rides running seemingly by themselves - almost as much as Mick Hucknall loves the thought of coming home to you!
Next up in the Most Haunted Starter Pack
Next week we’re heading 100 miles north of Blackpool to visit a manor house that has some skeletons in the closet. Why not subscribe (it’s free!) below and get the post as soon as it goes live?
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