Help! My House Is Haunted: 'The Secret Cellar' - Series 5, Episode 4 Review

In the latest episode of the Discovery+ series 'Help! My House Is Haunted,' viewers are treated to an investigation that combines multiple haunting manifestations, and the unsettling reality of living with unknown entities. The episode, titled 'The Secret Cellar,' takes the audience to an 18th-century hotel owned by a couple, Harry and Jason, who are desperate for help.

As Jayne Harris, Barri Ghai, and medium Ian Lawman prepare to unravel the secrets lurking in the haunted hotel, their initial impressions offer an intriguing mix of perspectives. Jayne mentions that the couple are plagued by an entity that makes its presence known by manipulate their sound system to send eerie messages. Barri tells us this is a form of Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC), a technique that uses electronic means to contact spirits, something that excites Barri. Ian, however, dives straight into the 'dark' feeling he has about the case, raising the question, are we dealing with a human spirit or something far more sinister?

Harry and Jason offer a haunting backstory that commences after they discovered a previously-sealed door in the hotel's ladies toilets. Upon opening, they found a stone staircase that led down to a hidden cellar. Harry believes that this act unleashed something that was dormant, as paranormal activities started escalating. From hearing someone shout their names to their music system mysteriously playing sinister songs like 'You're Gonna Die,' and 'Tiptoe Through The Tulips,' they believe they're being haunted by more than one entity.

During Ian's psychic sweep he notes a heavy, unsettling energy, particularly around the bar and the cellar. He feels there might be more to the cellar than meets the eye, expressing confusion over its dimensions - he is of course referencing the secret cellar that Harry found. Later Ian hears a girl's scream, and as his solitary walk-through near its end, he is seemingly locked in a bathroom, supporting his initial intuition that something has been unleashed in the hotel.

Meanwhile, Jayne meets historian Neil Storey to understand the area's history and perhaps make a connection with the events taking place less than a mile from the hotel. Neil tells us the tale of Mariah Tonkin and her children who died in the nearby river. This suggests to Jayne that the little girl seen by hotel patrons could potentially be Florence, Mariah's daughter. Neil also brings up the recurring sinister song, 'Tiptoe Through The Tulips,' popular in the 1930s and according to Neil, associated with the gay community. Could this choice of music point to a spirit harbouring hatred based on sexual orientation?

The initial research of Barri, Jayne, and Ian are just scraping the surface, they attempt to delve deeper by inviting property's owners to join them for their first part of their investigation. Almost immediately, they hear a cry that resembles a little girl's voice. This leads Barri to speculate that it could be 'Florie,' a spirit linked to a drowning incident, raising a significant question: Why would Florie be haunting the hotel they're investigating when it is almost a mile away from the river where Florie purportedly drowned? Unfortunately, this question remains unclear.

When they hear a voice on their EVP that they interpret as "yes," it throws them for another loop. The voice appears male, contrasting sharply with their initial theory about the little girl. The team cautiously ventures into the cellar, where Ian invites any spirits with a connection to the cellar to come forward. Shortly after this, they hear a voice and Jayne notices flickering lights in the toilets.

Jayne pulls out an AliceBox, a ghost hunting gadget which is said to be able to audibly announce responses from the spirits. When the device spews out "60s," the team link it to the 60s rock playlist on the hotel's music system. The team feels this might suggests they are dealing with an 'intelligent spirit.'

Later, Harry tells the team about hearing 'Tiptoe Through The Tulips' playing in his head. Astonishingly, the song starts playing out loud on the music system. Ian questions whether the system is voice-activated. Harry confirms that it isn't, making this as an 'incredible phenomenon,' in the words of Barri.

Once Harry and Jason left, the team's nightlong investigation began. Barri, armed with an SLS camera for structured light sensing and audio recording equipment, headed down to the cellar where he hoped to identify the source of the malignant energy. An SLS camera uses structured light to capture depth and dimensions, often utilised in paranormal research to detect entities not visible to the naked eye.

Jayne and Ian focused their attention on the spirit of the little girl who they believe lurks at the top of the stairs. They were using a REM-Pod and a music box, both of which are motion-activated devices that they hoped would alert them to a supernatural presence.

Both teams experienced phenomena during their investigation. Barri was pelted with a stone in the cellar, heard a growling voice, and had to regroup at the bar to analyse the recordings. This experience backs up the team's belief that they were dealing with an entity that was not just malevolent but inhuman.

Jayne and Ian seemed to have more luck communicating with the little girl spirit, who they believed to be named Florie. Through the use of a ghost-hunting app and REM-Pod, they received what they interpreted as affirmative responses when asking for her name.

The investigation took a twist when Ian questioned the identity of a shadow figure he had seen earlier. Through a ghost-hunting app, the name "Pete" was suggested, leading the team to wonder if this figure was separate from the inhuman entity in the cellar.

The name "Pete" popping up on a device was an interesting development, however, Jayne informs us that no such name is connected to the building. Without corroborative historical evidence, this finding remains inconclusive, although Jayne speculates that Pete could have been a frequent visitor to the property, given its history as a hotel and pub.

Towards the end of the night, the team attempted to deal with the entities. Ian performed a blessing, calling upon divine power to fill the room with "love and light" in order to banish the evil. Barri sealed the door to the cellar, and the team directed their efforts towards helping Florie find peace.

The team's investigation leaves us wondering exactly what the inhuman entity in the cellar is? Was it summoned there, or had it been attached to the property for centuries?