Everything You Needed to Know About EVP

EVP PART 1

EVP is an acronym standing for Electronic Voice Phenomena and is used to describe a phenomena
caught on audio recording devices which many believe to be the communication or voice of a spirit,
entity, demon or other anomalous sources. In definition EVP would be the detection of voices of
unknown origin by electrical or electronic means.

EVP has been around for many years and today is becoming a widespread and more common technique
practiced by many to capture potential evidence of life after death and of other unknown existences
within the paranormal realms. I personally feel that the practice of this phenomena by investigators
and researchers is a very valuable resource and greatly worth the extra time and effort.



Thomas Edison

The known history of EVP dates back to the 1920's and to the famous American inventor Thomas Edison.
Mr. Edison attempted to develop a method to communicate with the dead after his own mother fell
deathly ill. After he started devising methods to communicate with the dead his mother passed away
and made Mr. Edison more eager to perfect a method to communicate with her. In October of 1920, an
article appeared in American Magazine entitled "Edison Working to Communicate with the Next World"
and other similar headlines made it across the globe. Later, Mr. Edison was quoted as saying "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" to a reporter from American Magazine.

With help from his assistant, Dr. Miller Hutchison, he started to physically build what he intelligently
devised in theory. While his devised machine was started, it was never finished by Mr. Edison due to
his death in 1931. This machine which was later named the Thomas Edison Communicator (TEC) is
believed by some to have been completed by others through experimentation and using Mr. Edison's
surviving notes.

Other stories, more paranormal in nature, claim that in 1941 Mr. Edison reportedly made contact at a
séance held in New York. Mr. Edison's spirit reportedly said that the plans for the machine were with
three of his assistants. According to the story, the machine was finally built but it did not work.
Another story tells of how Mr. Edison made contact at another séance giving a few suggestions for
changes to his machine. One of the people supposedly present at this séance was J. Gilbert Wright, the
inventor of putty, who later claimed to have made the changes Edison's machine and then used it to
contacted the spirit of Charles Steinmetz, a deceased inventor, who gave Mr. Wright further
suggestions for improvements to the machine. Wright reportedly continued to work on the machine
until 1959 when he passed away and once again the machine supposedly vanished.

However, this machine and it existence falls into the grasp of the modern day conspiracy theory and
much surrounding controversy as the Edison National Historic Site has this published on their website
at: http://www.nps.gov/edis/edifun/edifun_4andup/faqs_fables.htm#talk

"Did Edison make a machine that could talk to the dead?

This seems to be another tall tale that Edison pulled on a reporter. In 1920 Edison told the reporter, B.F.
Forbes, that he was working on a machine that could make contact with the spirits of the dead.
Newspapers all over the world picked up this story. After a few years, Edison admitted that he had made
the whole thing up. Today at Edison National Historic Site, we take care of over five million pages of
documents. None of them mention such an experiment."

To date, Mr. Edison's machine or his notes concerning such have ever been found. Did his machine
really exist or was it a mere joke he played upon a reporter in the 1920's? We may never know.

Marcello Bacci

In 1949 using an old valve radio, Marcello Bacci began recording voices with unknown sources which
he claimed was the dead. People traveled far to Bacci's home in Italy with hopes to talk with their dear
departed relatives.

In an article written by Professor Salvatore Mario Festa, a physicist, who witnessed Bacci's Phenomena
first hand it is stated "It is thank to this privilege, that today I could “analyse” the phenomenon through
many different angles and facets, therefore acquiring immediately the certainty of its authenticity. The
phenomenon of the voices of Bacci is authentic, there is no trick of any sort! After approximately 30
minutes of waiting, during which Marcello moves the tuning knob between 7 and 9 MHz looking for a
zone of white noise, the silence is broken by Marcello’s voice announcing that “he hears them”.
Immediately after that something sensational happens: in the zone of white noise above mentioned, all
radio signals stop and one, predominant, noise takes over. This sound is similar to the noise of the
wind. Marcello then talks to the radio and calls out “FRIENDS” we are here, can you please make
yourselves heard? And them, who are waiting for nothing else, they do exactly that and with such
determination! I am not going to run through what happened thereafter, because all the experts are well
familiar with what happens: clear and convincing messages are heard, messages filled with esoteric
content and answers more or less in line with the questions asked. What can be said about the voices
of the “youngsters”, who always generate the most extraordinary emotions amongst those present?
When the “youngsters” talk, a heart warming and all embracing atmosphere is created in the room and
the emotions (and often tiers) take hold of those directly related to them."

The full article can be viewed on line at: http://www.worlditc.org/h_01_bacci_particular_experiment.htm

Fredrich Juergenson - Father of E.V.P.

In 1959 Fredrich Juergenson, a Swedish opera singer, painter and film producer who is considered by
most to be the "Father of EVP", was recording the songs and noises of birds while out for a stroll. When
he played back his recording he heard his deceased mothers voice saying "Friedrich, you are being
watched” and “Friedel, my little Friedel, can you hear me?" After realizing what he captured, Mr.
Juergenson entered into a recording frenzy in hopes of recontacting his mother and other deceased
relatives.

Before his death in 1964 he recorded an innumerable amount of tapes in which many more voices of the
deceased were collected. They were tested by scientists, radio experts and sound technicians -
however, no one of them could find a valid technical reason for this phenomenon. Mr. Juergenson also
published two great books before his death: "Voices From the Universe" and "Radio Contact with the
Dead."

Post Juergenson Era

Dr. Konstantin Raudive, a Latvian psychologist, heard of Juergenson's experiments several years later.
Although a skeptic, he tried Juergenson's techniques himself and wound up recording many voices,
including that of his deceased mother.

In the 1960's and 1970's American researchers George and Jeanette Meek and psychic William O'Neil
recorded hundreds of hours of EVP with radio oscillators and EVP started to become a widely practiced
arm of paranormal research.



One of the most controversial questions surrounding EVP is "How does the voice get on the recorder
or instrument?" This is a very hard question to answer, as there are many theories concerning this.
Remember, we are dealing with the unknown and no one has the definite answers.

Some people think that a spirit or ghost simply just talks into the microphone of the recorder or
instrument. However, a ghost or spirit is just pure energy and lacks the vocal cords required to
transmit the pressure waves needed to vibrate the molecules in the air for a person to hear it through
their ears. Most people who capture EVP will tell you that they do not actually hear the voices or
sounds until after they play back the recording. As such, this basic belief is ruled out on the most part
by many.
Electromagnetic phenomena which is widely associated with paranormal activity seems to be one the
leading theories. In recorders that use tapes, the head is a small electromagnet which transfers
various magnetic fluctuations to the tape and imprints the noises recorded. The electromagnetic fields
associated with paranormal activity may possibly cause similar fluctuations as well which could imprint
the paranormal communication on such tapes and devices similar to the head of a tape recorder. It must
also be noted that other electronic devices, such as digital ic recorders, have the capability of
receiving electromagnetic energy via the internal circuitry inside them.

Another leading theory involves the remodulation of existing sounds. This is the belief that the spirit
uses existing sounds around them such as fans, frogs, human voices, static, running water, "white
noise", etc., and somehow remodulates their wave patterns into words that they want the listener to
hear.

Other less common theories speculate that the person attempting the EVP and holding the recorder is
actually working as a medium for the spirit or other paranormal activity which uses telepathy or psycho
kinetic energy to transfer their message through the person then to the recording device.

Another less common theory involves the "residual" placement of the sound or voices from the past
into its environmental surroundings such as walls, the ground, etc. which causes the surrounding
elements to act as a storage device similar to the way a tape stores the magnetic fluctuations and then
later plays them back or releases them when the conditions are right. If this is the only correct theory
then all EVP would be only residual in nature and no recordings of intelligent spirits would be captured
which most within the paranormal field would disagree as many times intelligent answers are captured
to the human questions asked.

The more skeptical or scientific try to theorize that the voices and paranormal sounds captured are just
merely stray radio waves, cell phone transmissions or “bleed over” from such transmissions. However,
an analog tape recorder is not designed to receive and record such signals which are generally very
weak in nature.

I will simply state that I believe that many of these theories can explain how such recordings of the
unknown are captured. I think various sources may use different resources at hand to get their
message across to the living. With just using my past experiences capturing EVP and conducting
subsequent analysis I personally believe that all of the above apply to this phenomena.

I have personally captured recordings in which the voice does use background noises to get their
message through which is supportive of the remodulation theory . I have also captured voices just as
clear and loud as a real human out of silence which supports the electromagnetic theories and in even
one or two cases I have actually heard parts of the voice captured, but not with my ears, it was more like
just a partially garbled voice placed inside my head which seems to support the less common theories
involving the use of telepathy or psycho kinetic energies. Lastly, I have also captured what sounds like
a residual events of some nature which in return supports the residual theories as well.

Communication or Voices from What?

I will also note that I personally still can not state with one hundred percent certainty that the voices
captured are from disembodied spirits. However, I can state that they are paranormal in nature and they
indeed do exist. Just what these voices or communication are is another area of debate as well.
Even though I have recorded names and other minor tidbits of information, I still have not recorded
enough of the same voice to soundly state that is is the voice of a disembodied spirit or from someone
who has passed on. Most EVP recordings are very short in nature and most commonly just one to three
words. Not enough substance from one voice has been captured enough to give me enough detailed
information for my conclusion it is from someone who passed on. I am sure some of these may very well
be but for some reason they also seem to lack enough energy or ability to communicate for long periods
of time or leave messages of significant length giving the details needed for proper conclusion.
These captured communications are definitely paranormal in nature, but the exact origin or source of
who or what they come from is open to unlimited possibilities which include spirits, ghosts, demons,
nature spirits, inter dimensional beings, aliens, from the other side of portals or vortexes and the list
goes on.

Hopefully someday someone will have all of the answers to this phenomena and everything surrounding
it. Until then we, the individual investigator, researcher, skeptic, etc., are a very crucial element
concerning this phenomena. It is we through our current experimentation and documentation that will
help others down the road to come to a finite conclusions surrounding EVP.



Now you know about the history and theories surround this amazing phenomena. With that behind us,
we will now move on to the fun part! How you can capture your own EVP.

Equipment Needed

First you will need to equip yourself with the basics. I will try to help with listing some of that here for
you.

–Computer with an 8 bit sound card minimum.

–Audio Editing Software for your computer such as Wave Pad, Gold B, Accusticia, Adobe Audition, etc.
(Price varies from free to $400 plus, try with a cheaper product and if you enjoy capturing and analyzing
EVP then upgrade accordingly. Remember, you get what you pay for. Adobe Audition is my personal
favorite for superior results, but the less expensive ones work very good as well for the beginner.
Although such software is not necessary, it is highly recommended).

–1/8th inch patch cord (stereo preferred) (Not necessary if using a newer digital ic recorder with usb
adapter and your computer also has an usb port, however many in the field still prefer transferring
audio from these newer recorders with patch cords vs. usb cables out of fear of audio loss or
reconfiguration.)

–Line in Jack on your Computer or Computers Sound Card. (not necessary if not using the 1/8th inch
patch cord above).

–Recording Device such as a cassette tape recorder or newer digital ic recorder.

–Cassette Tapes if you are using a cassette tape recorder. (High bias preferred).

–Microphone (not necessary if your recorder has an internal microphone and highly advisable if you are
using a cassette tape recorder as such have a high hiss associated with their internal microphones).

–Headphones (not necessary, but makes your listening and analysis much easier).

–Batteries for your recording device. (Not necessary if you have a power adapter, however if you want
to be portable then don't forget the batteries and extra batteries. Remember the paranormal sometimes
drains batteries and this included recording equipment as well – I have had it happen to me!).

Methods & Techniques for Capturing EVP

Now that you are all equipped and ready we will go though some more common methods of capturing
EVP. Remember, there is no wrong or right way and everyone will tell you they do it a different way as
well. These basic methods will start you off and with success you will modify and develop your own.

Basic Rules

Before we start on the methods and techniques, I will list some basic rules which should be followed at
all times no matter what the method used.

–Always respect the unknown! Try asking them if you can record them, use “please” and “thank you”
and in general be courteous to what you are trying to record.

–When asking questions or before leaving a recorder to sit at a location, explain to the unknown what
the recorder is and what it does. Also, let them know where they need to speak into it at if they want to
be recorded. When I use a portable digital ic recorder I will state “This is a recorder to record your
voice, when the red light is on you can speak into the silver box if you want to be heard. Thank you for
allowing me to visit you and for trying to talk to me.” If you are using an external microphone that is
black then you can ask them to speak into the black stick, etc.

–Identify all living human parties at the location on the recorder and allow each one to state their name
into the recorder so you have a sample of their voice for later reference.

–Verbally date and time stamp the tape or recording with your voice and if you want include the location,
conditions and other notes pertinent to your investigation.

–Never whisper around your recorder and remind others not to as well. This will add confusion during
your final analysis if it is a person or EVP. If you need to talk or communicate with someone else then
speak your normal tone and possibly note afterwards it is you to simplify your final analysis.

–If you leave a recorder in a room of a house or somewhere outside, then notify others in your party
where it is located and ask that they verbally announce their entrance into and exit from that area so it
will be captured on the recording, then scuffling, breathing, stomach growling, etc. don't make you
think you have recorded a spirit or demon later when you play it back.

–If you are with your recorder when attempting EVP then verbally note any odd background noises,
movement, people in the background talking, etc. Such as Jim in your group coughs. If your recorder is
recording instantly state “Jim, Coughing”, so you know later what that noise was. The same would go
with a camera or equipment that makes noise as well. If someone takes a picture while you are
recording then say “Picture” right after it is done so you know later what that weird click or electronic
noise was.

–If you are being interactive and asking questions during the session then allow 20 to 30 seconds for
the possible spirit to give an answer before going to the next question. Many times it will take a spirit
some time to get out an answer. Almost like they have to power up then discharge the answer.

–If you are being interactive then try limiting your sessions to 3 to 5 minutes maximum then restart a
new one. Analyzing various smaller segments is much easier than trying to keep up with the analysis of
a 30 or 45 minute continuing session.

REMEMBER- Following these basic rules will help with the validity and accuracies of your final results.

Methods & Techniques

Now we will dive into the various methods and techniques of capturing EVP. Like I stated earlier, these
are basic methods and with practice you will develop the right combination that works for you.

Passive

The passive method involves just placing your recorder in an area and leaving it (stationary) and the
other would be just carrying your recorder around while you walk without asking questions (moving).
In the passive method you do not interact and you just let your machine record the ambient surrounding
for later analysis. You may want to utilize your voice activation feature, especially if placing it in a room
for hours, if you have one so the recorder only records when it is sensing something. Otherwise you
may end up with hours of audio to analyze.

I am personally not an advocate of using the voice activation feature because I feel that you may miss
something since most spirits can only say a few words then it may not activate fast enough to capture
the full phrase and only leave you with a word or part of one, if that.
Remember if you practice the passive method while moving verbally note any sounds, equipment,
scuffling, and other noises to simplify your final analysis.

Interactive

The interactive method involves human interaction where you will try to ask the unknown various
questions. You can do this either stationary or while moving. I do not recommend using the voice
activation feature during this method at all and I personally have missed out on parts of EVP's when I
first tried using it when I started recording EVP.

Remember to allow the 20 to 30 seconds after your question before asking the next one and to abide by
the earlier mentioned basic rules of respect, etc.

What Questions to Ask?

The questions you ask will vary per each location and investigation where you can interject specific
ones that may apply to the specific environment or legend of the haunting.
However a good set of versatile ones which are generic for all locations can include:
Ones specific to document of an intelligent existence and possibly identify the spirit or entity such as:

–Is it o.k. if we come in here and talk to you?
–Is there anyone here who would like to speak to us?
–My name is ________, I (or we) am (are) not here to harm you (introduce people with you) can you
please tell me yours?
–I am ___ years old, how old are you?
–Are there others here with you?
–What color is your hair?
–What color are your eyes?
–Can you show yourself to us?
–Can you knock on the wall 2 times for us?
–Are you married?
–I have ___ children and their names are _______ (if you have any or mention grandchildren, etc.) then
ask Do you have any children? What are their names?
–This is a nice place, Is this your home?
–How long have you lived here?
Questions to identify the possible era or time frame the entity is from or perceives, such as:
–What year is it?
–Who is the President of the United States?
–Do you have a car?
–Do you have a buggy?
–Do you like baseball? Who won the World Series?
–Who is your favorite boxer?
–What is your favorite song?
–What church do you go to?
–What school did you go to? When did you graduate?
Questions to validate geographic location can include:
–What Street do you live on?
–What city or town do you live in or close by?
–What State do you live in?
Other Generic Question that can prove valuable if answered are:
–Would you like us to leave?
–Do you want to leave here?
–Can I (or we) help you in any way?
–Do you have a message for someone?
–Do you want to tell us something?
–Did anything bad happen to you? What happened to you?
–Are you lonely?
–Are you or were you ever a human like us?
–Do you com from somewhere else? Where are you from?

The above are just some basic questions that can help you identify the existence of an intelligent spirit
or entity and also some information about them if they are able to answer. Remember when you are
done asking questions let them know that you will listen to your machine and if you can hear them that
you will try to come back and let them know (only if you plan on going back to that location). Be polite
and respectful and thank them for talking to you and allowing you to visit them and say “Goodbye”.
If you know more about the history, legend or further details about the site you are at and its related
haunting then you can ask specific ones to that location of possible identified spirits there.

Best conditions, places and time for recording EVP attempts?

This is a question asked many times. I think you will receive enough answers to cover every possible
condition, place and time. Personally I have had luck at varied times in known places with paranormal
activity. Some have luck while in their house, at work or even in their car. Some people will state they
have better luck after an electrical storm , when the humidity is high or during a full moon. Yes, many
factors may increase the ability to detect and communicate with the paranormal. Trying speculate the
best conditions, place or time would be the same as trying to speculate the winning lottery numbers.
Grab your recorder and go out when you feel like hunting for EVP and remember do not get
discouraged to quickly if you do not succeed the first few attempts. Try different times, places, under
different conditions and you will eventually find the right combination for you to have success. Also,
don't hesitate in asking around if you know others that have paranormal interest and if you do not know
anyone then try on the internet to find a local paranormal or ghost hunting group and email them or look
for their online message board or forum.

As with anything paranormal the elements are unknown and the circumstances can change from one
place to another or from one person to another. With the “unknown” you have to be cautious and
prepared for the unexpected.

I am currently exploring theories in which I feel that EVP may come with some of the same dangers as an
Ouija Board, séance, scrying, etc. Though it may be rare, I personally feel that there is the possibility
that the person doing EVP may indeed be inviting or opening themselves to the unknown. As such, one
should be spiritually prepared and bring a strong mindset of whatever faith they believe in for
protection. This can include icons or jewelry representational of such belief and can even include
prayers, ceremonies or rituals involved with your faith. If you are doing EVP and start to feel physically
or mentally ill then immediately cease your attempts and seek help from your faith or medical
practitioner.
I also have developed theories and may actually have a first study case involving the the playing back
of recorded EVP. I feel that there may be a slight possibility that if the paranormal is successfully
recorded on audio then playing it back may help that specific paranormal entity to manifest at the
location where the EVP is being played or possibly create an environment in which other paranormal
entities may be attracted to the specific area of play back.

Myself and Missouri Paranormal Research is going to study these areas further and keep the
paranormal community updated with our findings. When dealing with the unknown everything is a
possibility, never forget that simple rule. Be alert, cautious and prepared at all times.

I wish you the best of luck and if you need to email me concerning anything EVP or paranormal related
then feel free to do so. I will update and add to this article as time permits including uploading your
recording onto your computer and further specifics concerning EVP audio characteristics,
classifications and basic analysis.

I would also like to take this time to personally thank Todd Bates and his awesome crew at WWW.
HAUNTEDVOICES.COM who have been the inspiration for my passion with EVP's. If there is a true
"expert" with this phenomena within the paranormal research and investigative field then Todd Bates is
that person.

Greg Myers, President
Paranormal Task Force

© Copyright 2006 Paranormal Task Force – All Rights Reserved