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What is electronic
voice phenomena?
Electronic voice phenomena - or EVP - is a mysterious event in which human-sounding
voices from an unknown source are heard on recording tape, in radio station
noise and other electronic media. Most often, EVPs have been captured
on audiotape. The mysterious voices are not heard at the time of recording;
it is only when the tape is played back that the voices are heard. Sometimes
amplification and noise filtering is required to hear the voices.
Some EVP is more easily heard and understood than others. And they vary
in gender (men and women), age (women and children), tone and emotion.
They usually speak in single-words, phrases and short sentences. Sometimes
they are just grunts, groans, growling and other vocal noises. EVP has
been recorded speaking in various languages.
The quality of EVP also varies. Some are difficult to distinguish and
are open to interpretation as to what they are saying. Some EVP, however,
are quite clear and easy to understand. EVP often has an electronic or
mechanical character to it; sometimes it is natural sounding. The quality
of EVP is categorized by researchers:
* Class A: Easily understood by almost anyone
with little or no dispute. These are also usually the loudest EVPs.
* Class B: Usually characterized by warping
of the voice in certain syllables. Lower in volume or more distant sounding
than Class A. Class B is the most common type of EVP.
* Class C: Characterized by excessive warping.
They are the lowest in volume (often whispering) and are the hardest to
understand.
The most fascinating
aspect of EVP is that the voices sometimes respond directly to the persons
making the recording. The researchers will ask a question, for example,
and the voice will answer or comment. Again, this response is not heard
until later when the tape is played back.
Where do the
voices come from?
That, of course, is the mystery. No one knows. Some theories are:
* They are voices of people who have died.
This is why many researchers go to cemeteries seeking EVPs (and often
with great success). In this context, the phenomenon is sometimes called
instrumental transcommunication or ITC.
* They are from another dimension. It is
theorized that there may be many dimensions of existence, and somehow
beings from some other dimension are able to speak and communicate with
ours through this method. A good question is, however: How do they know
English and other languages of our dimension?
* They come from the researchers' own subconscious.
It's been suggested that somehow the researchers' thoughts are projected
onto the tape.
* Some people believe that these voices are
angelic or demonic in origin.
* Skeptics assert that there is nothing to
EVP at all - that the "voices" are either hoaxed, random noise
interpreted as voices, real voices already on the tape, or voices picked
up from radio, cell phones and other such sources.
How did EVP
begin? A short history...
1920s. It is not generally known that in
the 1920s Thomas Edison tried to invent a machine that would communicate
with the dead. Thinking this was possible, he wrote: "If our personality
survives, then it is strictly logical or scientific to assume that it
retains memory, intellect, other faculties, and knowledge that we acquire
on this Earth. Therefore … if we can evolve an instrument so delicate
as to be affected by our personality as it survives in the next life,
such an instrument, when made available, ought to record something."
Edison never succeeded with the invention, obviously, but it seems he
did believe that it might be possible to capture disembodied voices with
a machine.
1930s. In 1939, Attila von Szalay, an American
photographer, experimented with a phonograph record cutter in trying to
capture spirit voices. It's said that he achieved some success with this
method and got even better results in later years using a wire recorder.
In the late 1950s, the results of his experiments were documented in an
article for the American Society for Psychical Research.
1940s. In the late 1940s, Marcello Bacci
of Grosseto, Italy claimed to be able to pick up voices of the deceased
on a vacuum tube radio.
1950s. In 1952, two Catholic priests, Father
Ernetti and Father Gemelli, inadvertently picked up EVP while recording
Gregorian chants on a magnetophone. When the wire on the machine kept
breaking, Father Gemelli looked to heavens and asked his dead father for
help. To the shock of both men, his father's voice was heard on the recording
saying, "Of course I shall help you. I'm always with you." Further
experiments confirmed the phenomenon.
In 1959, Friedrich Juergenson, a Swedish film producer, was recording
bird songs. On playback, he could discern his mother's voice saying in
German, "Friedrich, you are being watched. Friedel, my little Friedel,
can you hear me?" His subsequent recording of hundreds of such voices
would earn him the title "the Father of EVP." He wrote two books
on the subject: Voices from the Universe and Radio Contact with the Dead.
1960s. Juergenson's work came to the attention
of a Latvian psychologist named Dr. Konstantin Raudive. At first skeptical,
Raudive began his own experiments in 1967. He too recorded the voice of
his deceased mother saying, "Kostulit, this is your mother."
Kostulit was the boyhood name she always called him. He recorded thousands
of EVP voices.
1970s and 1980s. Spiritual researchers George
and Jeanette Meek joined forces with psychic William O'Neil and recorded
hundreds of hours of EVP recordings using radio oscillators. They allegedly
were able to capture conversations with the spirit of Dr. George Jeffries
Mueller, a dead university professor and NASA scientist.
1990s to present. EVP continues to be experimented
with by a number of individuals, organizations and ghost research societies.
You can try to pick up EVP by recording radio "white noise"
or directly by recording sound at a location such as a cemetery or old
house.
* Most researchers suggest using a cassette
recorder that has a remote microphone; that is, one that connects to the
recorder by wire. This is preferred to an in-machine condenser microphone
on the recorder because it is more likely to pick up motor noises from
the recorder itself.
* Buy name-brand audiocassettes (not the
cheap-o, no-name kind) to ensure quality. Tapes that are labeled "normal"
are fine, but many researchers recommend using "high-bias" tapes
for best results.
* To use the radio method, tune the radio
between stations where you can hear only static or "white noise."
Be sure there are no distant stations coming through, however faintly.
Make sure the room is otherwise quiet with no TV sounds in the background,
people talking in the house or other audible distractions.
* To use the direct method, take your equipment
to the cemetery or other location where you think you might pick up EVP.
Make sure the location is as quiet as possible with no traffic noises
in the background to interfere with your session.
* If your recorder has a counter, reset it
to zero.
* Begin recording and announce the date,
time and location.
* Record for a few minutes. Some researchers
say you should even announce that you wish to communicate; ask them to
speak to you. You can even ask questions every minute or so. Record for
a few minutes.
* If you're on location, try different spots,
keeping a record of where you are and what the counter number is when
you begin at that spot.Later you can listen to your playback and see if
you captured any EVP. Rewind the tape, of course, and listen carefully
to your sessions. You may need to turn up the volume a bit because the
voices can sometimes be faint. You may not succeed the first time. Try
it at different times and at various locations. It might take several
attempts before you succeed, although there is no guarantee of success.
When you hear what you think might be an EVP voice, make a note of the
counter number so you can easily return to it. Listen carefully to what
it might be saying. Before you declare it to be an actual EVP, be sure
you rule out any other explanation: real voices in the background, radio
transmissions, etc. Be skeptical. You want to be as certain as possible
that you have a genuine EVP.
Keep a journal of your recordings. Present them or send them to researchers
who have experience with EVP for their opinions.
It would be very interesting to hear what readers might have picked up.
Was the voice familiar? Did it respond to your questions or otherwise
seem that it was aware of your presence?
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