Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP)

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The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where one ends, and where the other begins...
- Edgar Allan Poe

Electronic Voice Phenomena

There is no questions that a audio recorder is an essential piece equipment in a ghost hunters tool bag. It can be used to keep notes about the investigations and it is also used to interview witness. There have been many times when unheard voices have been captured on tape that can not be explained.

Electronic Voice Phenomena (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 are required to hear the voices more clearly.

Some EVPs are more easily heard and understood than others. They can be either male or female, of any age, tone and emotion. They usually speak in single-words, phrases and short sentences. Sometimes they are just grunts, groans, growling and other vocal noises. EVPs have 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. Others 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.

Click here to view some of the EVPs we've recorded during our investigations.

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--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.

Experimenting with EVP

Caution: DO NOT experiment in a home or business that is not reporting activity as this can cause the property to become haunted.

Use a tape / digital recorder with an external microphone that can be placed away from the unit. You can use a hand held or a large unit. If you use a hand held unit try not to move the unit or the mic around while you are recording as the movement can cause sound that will show up on the recording and you could end up with a faulted recording. I would use a recorder that records straight to a cd/w. The type of recorder that we use is a Memorex IC recorder model MN2054. I have tried several different of recorders and I have found that this has the best sound quality for a hand held unit. If you are going to use a standard tape recorder, use only brand new tapes and are sealed.

I do not recommend recording in random locations. Your recording should be done in a location that is known to be haunted. This will increase your chance of getting a recording.

When you are ready to start, make a note of the: weather, start and end times, location of the room and where in the room the recorder is being placed. (This would be a good time to have a copy of the floor plan.) When you set up the recorder, be sure to place the external mic away from the unit. I would use a three foot area as a guide. Place the recorder on a solid flat surface (on the floor or a table). We use a rubber mat so the chances of it moving is slim.

Set up one or two video cameras in the room to recorded the session. If you have only one that will work, have one camera on the recorder and the other in a corner of the room on a wide angle to view the whole room.

If you have any EMF meters place them near the unit put turn off any audio on the unit. If you have a digital clock, thermometer place them next to the recorder.

When you begin the actual recording state the time, date, location, and anyone who is present during the recording. Have a list of questions that you would like to ask written down and stick to the format during that session. Wait at least 10-30 sec between each questions. Ask simple questions, yes and no answers, ect. Try to recorder no more than a 3 minute session, any longer and it will be very hard to listen on play back. Once the recording is started it is very important that any sounds heard be documented both verbally and written down with the time and type of noise heard.

If you do capture something, have other people listen to it. Do not tell them what to listen for. The human mind has a tendency to fill in the blanks. If you get a response to a question you asked then try to follow up with another session.

Remember that a ghost is using a lot of its own energy to speak so after a while it will not be able to communicate until later.