TV ghost hunter once played for Liverpool and spoke to ex-boss from beyond grave
Liverpool are renowned for producing some of English football's greatest ever players.
But the Anfield talent factory is far lesser known for once having British television's most famous spirit medium and acclaimed ghost hunter in their ranks. The late Derek Francis Johnson, who died in 2020 after being known professionally as Derek Acorah, was a pioneer for spiritualism and mediumship on TV, but not many know that he played for Liverpool's schoolboy team in his youth.
Born on Merseyside in 1950, Derek was signed by the Reds aged 15 - much the dismay of his Everton-supporting family members. Although he didn't make a senior appearance for Liverpool, the Bootle-born star went on to represent historic clubs such as Wrexham and Stockport County before heading out to Australia.
Having moved Down Under, Derek turned out for Adelaide but hung up his boots when he was 27. After embarking on a change of career, he claimed that none other than legendary ex-Liverpool boss Bill Shankly had spoken to him from beyond the grave before his new life gained him celebrity status and propelled him to stardom in the early 2000s.
Acorah said that the encounter with Scottish icon Shankly, who was in charge of the Reds when the future TV star was signed, took place during a reading at a spiritualist church. According to Acorah, Shankly told him to forget football and embrace being a psychic.
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However, the former midfielder didn't totally leave the sport behind once he shot to fame by presenting shows like 'Most Haunted' and 'Derek Acorah's Ghost Towns'. He claimed to have predicted that none other than Sir Kenny Dalglish would return to Anfield for another stint as manager, and he did exactly that in January 2011.
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Derek Acorah claimed that Bill Shankly told him to hang up his boots and become a full-time medium (Getty)"His lovely wife came for a private reading at my office with another footballer's wife," Derek claimed in an interview with talkSPORT. "In the last part of the reading before the lady stood up I said, 'You know what I'm getting here?'
"It's that your husband, Kenny Dalglish, will be coming back to Liverpool to rescue them and he will restore it all. They were my last words to the lady and she's got that on tape."
Further recalling his Liverpool days, Acorah - who died of pneumonia in 2020, having later developed sepsis - also recalled a chat with Shankly after warning the late Emlyn Hughes to be careful when he picked up his new car ahead of a players' lunch.
Derek Acorah shot to fame with the show Most Haunted (Unknown)"When he eventually got there it didn't take a minute to get round that he'd smashed the car up and it was a write-off," he told LFCTV. "Shanks got me into the office and said, 'Son, where did you get all this from? You leave that at home, you just bring your boots here and play football'."
Although he didn't stay in football forever and forged a new path in the netherworld, next time you flick an episode of Most Haunted on, remember that Acorah could well've been haunting opponents himself on the hallowed Anfield turf.
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