Derek Acorah’s Most Haunted Experiences: The Pink Mansion

Our columnist Derek Acorah shares his tale of an old American mansion with terrifying secrets

“I have been fortunate enough to take part in investigations of allegedly haunted premises all over the world. One of the investigations that I found most disturbing was when I was invited to the USA to visit what was termed as ‘The Pink Mansion’. This was a magnificent residence in the Hollywood Hills that had once been the home of Jerry Lewis, and had over the years seen lots of celebrities living there.

“As I approached the heavy oak door of the splendid mansion, my first impressions were of a light-hearted atmosphere – memories of happy times, parties and music emanated from the atmosphere. I heard echoes of laughter coming down through the years, and yet there had been deep sadness, too.

“I entered the premises, and as I stood in the hallway at the foot of the stairs, the atmosphere changed. The temperature began to decrease quite rapidly, almost to the point where we could see our breath in the air. There was a heavy and ominous feeling about the place. The layers of the years were peeling back to a time prior to the boisterous and happy Hollywood parties. I looked up towards the stairs, and to my horror I could see a dark crimson mass on the steps leading down into the hallway. I felt a huge and indescribable pain in my head, and I staggered with a massive impact. ‘Shot in the head’ I said, and then saw building up before me the vision of the body of a man lying on the stairs. I felt extreme distress, as I knew that I was witnessing a scene from many years ago where a murder had been committed. My experience was brief, and I was merely picking up a residual energy, but it was enough to make me feel extremely uncomfortable in that area of the house.

“Further into the mansion I went, noticing that the atmosphere had gone beyond the light-hearted one that I had experienced while approaching the house. It still retained the cold hearted feelings of hatred. Now I was embroiled in darkness and violence. I detected sadness, high emotion and the horror of final moments experienced by some visitors to the building. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that women had lost their lives in there, although again, I did not detect any spirit presence, and so could not communicate with the victims. As we went from room to room, I could detect the difference in atmospheres. It was obvious to me that for some reason, certain areas of the house held dark secrets, whereas other rooms had been the scene of happiness, joy and entertainment.

“Throughout my visit to The Pink Mansion, I detected no spirit presence. My experiences were purely of a residual nature. I was later told that at some point in the distant past, the house had been owned by a Mafia member, and there were rumours that it had been used as a bordello. This would explain the dark secrets and violence that had taken place within its walls. At the end of the investigation, I could quite confidently say that the building was not haunted in the accepted sense of frequent spirit presence, but the fabric of the home still retained the echoes of times gone by.”

Meet Derek…

Derek Acorah is one of the world’s most renowned spiritualist mediums, having demonstrated to millions of people in theatres throughout the UK and beyond over his 25-year career in the public eye. For more information, visit derekacorah.com