Instrumental Transcommunication
"The existence of EVP is not realistically contested. Any reasonably capable person with a device capable of recording audio can expect to eventually record an understandable utterance...
The real questions are what causes the voices, who is causing them (if appropriate) and how they are caused."
The following introduction to EVP was originally written by Tom Butler, who with his wife Lisa Butler is the head of the American Association for Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP), and has been released under the GFDL license.
and the Subset of ITC
Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP)Overview
Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) are anomalous, intelligible speech produced in electronic devices. They may be heard as a real-time output but are more generally heard on review of a subsequent recording. No currently understood physical processes account for the existence of EVP. [1] They typically constitute short utterances of just a few words, often in direct response to questions or comments about occurrences in the environment. Reports of EVP have involved virtually every known technology that is capable of supporting human voice. EVP are typically recorded using audio-recording devices or audio-recording computer software. (See note about other forms of ITC below.)
EVP is a well-established fact; however, the source of the voices, how they are formed and why, remains an important question that requires considerable research. As will be explained in Characteristics of EVP and Theories, the theory most commonly used to explain the voices is The survival hypothesis; (See article) however, two alternative explanations that remain viable in the face of research results are that the voices are initiated by the etheric (nonphysical) (See article) self of the EVP experimenter or that one aspect of a living person is a biologically evolved awareness that survives physical death as a residue of energy which is able to be detected by electronic instruments. [2] This last theory has been described by the Super Psi Hypothesis or the newer Quantum-Holographic Hypothesis.
History
Speculation about EVP can be traced back to the 1920s. In a Scientific American 28 interview, Thomas Edison was quizzed on his views regarding contacting the dead. Edison said that it might be “possible to construct an apparatus which will be so delicate that if there are personalities in another existence or sphere who wish to get in touch with us in this existence or sphere, this apparatus will at least give them a better opportunity to express themselves than the tilting tables and raps and Ouija boards and mediums and the other crude methods now purported to be the only means of communication.” There is no indication that Edison designed or tried to construct such a device.
[http://www.nps.gov/archive/edis/edifun/ edifun_4andup/faqs_fables.htm#talkFrom the National Park Service website for the Edison National Historic Site]:
In 1936, Attila von Szalay, A Californian, started capturing paranormal voices on phonograph records and then in the mid 1950s he was joined by Raymond Bayless. Together they acquired many evidential EVP on their new tape recorders and they published their findings in the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. 30 In 1959, the person credited with bringing EVP to the public, Friedrich Jürgenson, a Russian-born Swedish film producer, after recording birdsong on his tape recorder, heard on playback what appeared to be a human voice. Subsequent recordings contained a message which seemed to be coming from his dead mother. 31 Konstantin Raudive is credited for learning about EVP as a student of Jürgenson and with the actual introduction of EVP to the English-speaking world with the publication by Colin Smythe of Breakthrough 32 Colin Smyth is credited with coining the term, “Electronic Voice Phenomena” (EVP) as a more inclusive alternative to “Raudive Voices,” as the voices recorded by Raudive were referred to. 33
Characteristics of EVP
The following list is extracted from the book, There is No Death and There are No Dead 3
By definition, EVP are unexpected voices that are collected onto digital and analog recording media and that are not explained by currently known physical principles. They appear to be ubiquitous in that experimenters around the world are able to collect them with just about anything that will record human voice frequencies and under just about any recording circumstance. They often vary in nature as the experimenter, recording environment and technique is changed. The following list of characteristics will provide a sense of how EVP sounds and the nature of the phenomenal voices.
1. EVP are distinctive
EVP have a distinctive character of cadence, pitch, frequency, volume and use of background sound. The voices have a distinctive sound that is difficult to describe. For instance, they often have an unusual speed of enunciation; the words may be spoken more quickly than normal speech. Regarding this peculiarity, Konstantinos 2 wrote, “The best way I can describe it is that it’s almost as if each word is spoken quickly, yet the pauses between the words are of a natural length. The combination of these two speed factors makes for the peculiar rhythm and perceived speed.” You may also notice that the paranormal voices often have a hollow and/or monotone quality.
2. Frequency range
EVP are sometimes received at higher or lower time base than normal speech. The enunciation of words is not just faster, but the frequency range of the phrases is sometimes higher than normal human speech.
3. Missing frequencies
Italian researcher, Paolo Presi, 4 has reported that spectral analysis of EVP samples has shown that the fundamental frequencies of voice associated with the human voice box are sometimes missing in EVP. He describes the typical EVP as a “thickening” of the background noise to form the voice.
4. Precursor sounds
Sounds are often heard prior to an occurrence of EVP. Although these vary in nature, they tend to be within tenths of a second of a phrase and are a “popping” or “clicking” noise reminiscent of the “squelch” sound caused when the automatic gain control engages as the “push to talk” button is depressed on a Citizens Band radio. 7
5. EVP show evidence of being limited by available energy
The utterances tend to have about the same amount of audio power in their associated sound wave from one EVP sample to another. That is, a short EVP will tend to be louder than a long EVP. A very long phrase might be composed of two or more average- length phrases separated by minor pauses. Also, an utterance may trail off at the end, as if the energy is being depleted before the message is delivered. Again, this is as if the communicator is attempting to manage available power as “packets” of energy. The evidence is very strong that EVP are energy-limited phenomena. 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. 29
6. EVP are complete words or phrases
Researcher Alexander MacRae has also conducted considerable analysis of EVP messages, determining that a message is typically one to two seconds in duration and is not truncated at the beginning or end. If EVP were crosstalk, they would often begin in the middle of a word. EVP messages are usually complete thoughts, as well.
7. EVP are in a language understood by the practitioner/observer
It is typical for the EVP, no matter where they are recorded, to be in a language that the practioner or an interested observer understands. There have been exceptions to this which were apparently intended as a demonstration, but this can be considered "a rule of thumb." This brings up an interesting point of speculation about psi-based communication. Mental mediums often report that they receive communication from nonphysical entities as images which they must interpret. These images are not just mental pictures. They are packets of information that are sufficiently complete for the receiver to fully understand their meaning. Robert Monroe 8 referred to this form of information as “Thought Balls.”
8. EVP are not ambient sound or broadcast programming (rf)
Alexander MacRae has used his Alpha Device for testing at the Institute of Noetic Sciences Institue of Noetic Sciences (IONS). The device produced EVP in a chamber that was shielded from environmental Radio Frequency (RF) sound energy and light. (9) This demonstration proving that EVP are not stray sound or RF has been made before. 10 One of the problems researchers have faced in the past is that “old proof” is often discounted because of the considerable improvement in instrumentation, experimental protocol and understanding of physical principles. In light of this, it is important that our modern generation of scientists is able to witness demonstrations that adhere to modern standards for research, such as that just provided by Alexander MacRae. As of the writing of this book, we await a response from the scientists.
9. EVP are appropriate to the circumstances
There are numerous examples of EVP that are clearly direct responses to questions recorded just prior to the EVP phrase or to the circumstances. An example of an EVP being appropriate to a circumstance is an instance in which experimenters were trying to figure out how to set up a new tape recorder for an EVP experiment. The tape recorder was finally set up correctly but not before causing a very loud feedback squeal that was recorded. On that recording, a male voice said in a Class A EVP, “Leave it alone” right after the loud squeal.
10. Precognitive responses
Answers to questions may be recorded prior to a question being asked, so that the answer as a phenomenal message is on the sound track followed by the experimenter asking the question. More research is required before informed speculation about this observed characteristic, but the indication is that, while time may be meaningful to us, our time may well be irrelevant to a nonphysical entity. Alternatively, the entity may be sensing what the experimenter is about to ask.
11. EVP are found by playing the soundtrack backwards
One of the more bizarre characteristics of EVP is that it is possible to discover an EVP that seems to be garbled, but that makes perfect sense when the soundtrack is played in reverse. By this, we mean to say that the sound track is played so that the voice of the experimenter can be heard speaking backwards, but the EVP can be heard speaking forwards. 11 As with the ability of communicating entities to anticipate questions by placing answers into recording media before the question is asked, the phenomenon of reverse track EVP provides important hints as to the nature of time.
Needs further explanation
- BOX: (Help) EVP found on the reverse direction of a sound track
- Please use the technique of looking for EVP on the reverse with care. EVP seems to be formed in noise wherever in the spectrum the experimenter might look for the voice. That is probably why some researchers have theorized that EVP are always ultrasonic or infrasonic. However, in reversed sound track EVP, the presence of the voice seems to be more of a demonstration that the communicators are able to do something that is simply not explainable with known physical principles. Also, EVP is considered communication and leaving a message in a place that most people would not consider looking, or do not have the tools to look, is not realistically considered an attempt to communicate.
- Many offered examples of EVP found on the reverse turn out to be nonsensical, and one of the Best Practices in EVP is that, if the message is not meaningful in some way, it should be set aside until supporting material is available. There is also a problem with the value of utterances found on the reverse as evidence. Knowledgeable researchers understand that there are many words that, when heard in the reverse, naturally form other normal words. It is also disconcerting for a researcher to recognize the
staccato cadence of reversed-voice speech in someone’s offered EVP example and reverse it only to discover the person speaking in the forward direction. Considering these issues, it is often recommended that researchers use the technique of reversing a sound track in search of EVP sparingly, and avoid offering examples that are clearly a forward-speaking voice played in the reverse.
12. Vocalized questions elicit more EVP
There is evidence that the communicating entities are able to read our thoughts, as in placing an answer on a recording prior to the asking of a question. However, experiments conducted by Alexander MacRae 5 have shown that EVP responses increase when questions are asked out loud. MacRae conducted a simple experiment during which he ran numerous sessions and did not verbalize questions, and then the same number of sessions speaking the questions. He then counted the number of EVP responses. On the non-verbalized sessions he collected 3.2 utterances per session, whereas on the verbalized sessions he collected 5.3 utterances per session. (MacRae uses a baseline recording session duration of five minutes for such controlled sampling.)
13. The Voices in EVP are often Recognizable
It is common for an EVP to contain the recognizable voice of the discarnate person thought to be speaking. It is also common for that entity to say something that was typical of what he or she would have said while in the physical. Their personality clearly remains intact even though the person no longer has a physical body. 12
14. Mundane voices are sometimes transfigured
A communicating entity will sometimes remodulate or transfigure the experimenter’s words into EVP. In one example, a French-speaking radio announcer’s words were changed, mid sentence, into an English spoken EVP. The EVP was clearly inappropriate for what the announcer had been saying.
- Box: Please note
- One caution about using foreign-language that you do not understand as a sound
sources for EVP is that it is very easy to mistake a mundane utterance as seeming to say something in your language. While this is a characteristic sometimes encountered with EVP research, we discourage the routine use of foreign-language sound sources for EVP experimentation.
15. Party line
Some EVP sound as if they are comments intended for someone other than the experimenter. This is much like momentarily listening in on a party line telephone call. It is not uncommon in both field and controlled recording situations to record comments that seem as if unseen people are discussing the experimenter’s actions in much the same way that you might discuss the activity of someone that you were watching.
16. A Need for background sound sources
Research has shown that the voice in EVP is formed as “a thickening” of ambient sound energy. This is an opportunistic use of sound energy that often results in no or largely missing voice box frequencies and an unnatural arrangement of other frequencies usually formed by the passage of the fundamental frequencies through the mouth. 13 Also, EVP has been recorded by audio-recording devices or processes which have been isolated from ambient sound by such techniques as removing the microphone, and in some instances, acoustically isolating the recording device.” Because of these characteristics, it is standard practice to assure in some way the availability of ambient sound for voice formation, even while isolating the recording device or process from uncontrolled ambient sounds, such as crowd noise.
17. Layered EVP
Experimenters often complain about having several layers of EVP in the same location of the recording media. This is especially common when more than one background sound source is used during the experiment. For instance, if a fan and radio static is used for background sound, a message might be found in the fan noise and a second message might be found in the radio static—both in the same segment of sound track. Transfigured
The term, “transfigured,” is used in much the same way here that it is used in mediumship to describe how an entity transfigures or changes the medium’s features into the entity’s likeness.
18. The “Newness” effect
The experimenter’s excitement in trying a new detection device or recording technique may be the source of improved EVP collection. As the new approach becomes “normal operating procedure,” the improvements generally fade back to a more “normal” Quality and Quantity (QQ) of EVP collection. This suggests that it is important for the experimenter to maintain piqued interest during experiments. This is also one of the reasons it is speculated that the experimenter is an integral part of the recording circuit. The experimenter is apparently supplying the necessary psi energy to enable a nonphysical to physical transfer of energy.
19. Effective devices unique to the practitioner
Exceptionally effective EVP and ITC collecting systems have been developed; however, these typically work well for the developer, but do not work as well for other experimenters. This paradox supports the belief that the experimenter is part of the recording circuit. It has also reinforced the concept that the communicating entity may be specific to the experimenter. Because various devices and equipment setups have worked exceptionally well for one experimenter and not for another, it has been argued that it is a waste of time to try to develop the hoped for equipment that will become the proverbial “spirit telephone” that anyone would be able to use to call up his or her loved one on the other side. 14 This may prove to be the wrong assumption. There is growing evidence that people who have not done well with a cassette recorder are now recording increased QQ EVP using digital voice recorders.
20. EVP can be thoughts of living people
There have been a number of well-designed experiments that appear to have resulted in EVP initiated by living people who were sleeping at the time. As an ethical consideration, such experiments are always prearranged with the person who volunteers to be the sleeping “sender.” In these experiments, questions are clearly answered by a communicating entity, and the answers are appropriate for the sleeping person. This fact of EVP suggests the possibility that EVP can become an important tool for consciousness research. For instance, is it possible that a patient in a coma might initiate an EVP when requested?
21. EVP is found wherever the experimenter listens
This suggests that the source of audio noise is not a factor for EVP, so long as the audio energy is suitable for voice formation. In practice, the majority of techniques for recording EVP involve sound conditioning, rather than unique forms of psi detection. For instance, upscaling infrasound so that it can be heard by human ears or downscaling ultrasound, really constitute techniques of sound conditioning, and the resulting EVP is not evidence that the utterance was formed beyond human hearing, but that it was formed when the audio energy was made available to the recording process.
Theories Proposed to Explain Observed ITC Phenomena
The existence of EVP is not realistically contested. Any reasonably capable person with a device capable of recording audio can expect to eventually record an understandable utterance. A workable protocol for such recordings can be found at http://aaevp.com/techniques/techniques_evp9.htm . The real questions are what causes the voices, who is causing them (if appropriate) and how they are caused. The following list details the most commonly proposed possible answers:
Radio signals, unnoticed conversations and/or light-generated signals
Probably the most obvious explanation is that the voices are recordings of stray radio signals. Inexpensive electronic equipment designed to handle audio signals are designed with “unbalanced” input and output ports, poorly shielded circuitry and what amounts to a “floating ground” in portable equipment. All of these design shortcuts leave the equipment open to detect and record stray radio signals, and if it is possible to pick up a radio station, with a portable radio, then it is also possible to record a stray radio signal. This does not often happen, but it is possible.
The most obvious way to test the possibility that EVP are stray radio signals is to shield the audio recording device from ambient radio frequency noise. One way is to place a turned on, voice-activated audio recorder in a padded metal container, such as a candy tin, place that in a second padded tin, and that in a third padded tin that has a metal strap from the metal side of the tin to a good ground—usually a metal water pipe will do. This will prevent most stray sound, all light and essentially all radio frequency energy from reaching the recorder.
Since research shows that the voices are formed from available audio frequency energy, 13 some noise will be required for this experiment. Inexpensive digital voice recorders usually produce sufficient internal voice frequency noise for EVP formation, but if EVP are not collected in the above enclosure when the recorder is known to produce EVP in the open, it may be necessary to include a sound source, such as a turned-on am radio with the volume set so that the resulting static would not obscure the voice of a person speaking into the microphone. There is a figure at http://aaevp.com/techniques/techniques_evp3.htm that will give a sense of what is a good background noise level.
Variations of this experiment have been conducted by many people. In the simplest version, a recorder is placed in a microwave oven to take advantage of its radio frequency-shielding. One experimenter used a metal paint tin in the desert. 15 Another used a grounded metal oil drum, 10 and Alexander MacRae used the Institute of Noetics’ Sciences ( http:// www.noetic.org /) screened room to isolate his recording apparatus from ambient light-, sound- and radio-frequency energy. 9 All of these techniques produced EVP.
Simple content analysis is usually sufficient to establish that the utterance in question is unlikely to be cross-talk or unnoticed voices from people in the room. Assuming the experimenter is not attempting to provide “scientific” evidence, it is usually adequate to note whether or not the utterances are complete statements, if they are appropriate to the circumstances and if they are understandable. If they were stray radio or television signals, they would contain the tell-tale signs of commercial broadcast, they would often be partial statements and they would usually be nonsensical, considering the circumstance.
Imagination of the experiencer
This is an important possible explanation for any form of phenomena involving unexpected sounds, images or events. Modern technology is capable of producing such a wide variety of unexpected results, often referred to as mundane artifacts, and a person can easily mistake an artifact as phenomenal unless the experiencer is an expert in the use of that technology. For instance, when used in an automatic mode, and with a flash, modern cameras often keep the shutter open much longer than the user realizes. A characteristic of film and digital image detectors referred to as “latency” will cause a moving camera to quickly image a bright light, such as a street light or flash reflected from a bright object in the scene, much quicker than a poorly illuminated background. This can result in a “ghostly” streak of light in a photograph while the background scene seems to indicate that the camera never moved.
The point is that such photographic artifacts are mundane, yet they are often offered as evidence of ghosts. In the same way, sounds in an audio recording can be made by very mundane influences but yet sound very phenomenal. For instance, it is common for a person to take a breath of air just before speaking, and the sound of that breath can be mistaken as something phenomenal when a person is examining every little deviation in the wave form. All aspects of etheric studies are plagued by what is generally termed “the lack of critical thinking” amongst people seeking to experience these phenomena. This is a natural result in view of the complexity of the involved technologies and when the very large population of amateur experiencers is considered. So the casual witness to this field of study should be dubious about individual reports of phenomena, as many such reports are demonstrably misattributed mundane events. It is intellectually lazy to say that all reports of etheric-to-physical phenomena are just the imagination of the experiencer when the evidence for the existence of EVP is reviewed. The fact that the voices can be collected by just about any person with average hearing, access to an audio recorder and sufficient patience to learn how to listen for the voices, provides sufficient reason to discount this argument. A better argument is that following.
Thoughts of the experimenter
Once the possible explanations that would prove the voices to be mundane have been dispensed with, there remains the possibility that the voices are phenomenal, etheric to physical influences, but that they are caused by a physical person. It is here that the argument changes from if EVP is real to who is talking. A number of experiments have been conducted to see if it is possible to record the thoughts of people known to be still in the flesh. Perhaps the most conclusive was conducted by Jacque Blanc-Garin of the French ITC organization, Infinitude. 18 In that experiment, Jacques had arranged with Monique Simonet to attempt contacting her via an EVP experiment while she slept. 16 (It is an ethical consideration to ask permission of the “sender” before conducting such an experiment.) In the exchange, Jacques, in a different part of the house, verbalized the question, “If you answer me, you are maybe in the environment where I record. If that is it, you can then tell me what I currently hold in my left hand?” The recorded EVP was, “It is a crystal” Jacques reported that, “I indeed, had a crystal in my hand. Monique saw me!” Lisa Butler and Sarah Estep also conducted coordinated experiments from either coast of the USA with convincing results. 17 Other experimenters have reported similar results, some possibly impressing their thoughts into recording medium, although this point requires further research.
Current thinking is that the conscious aspect of a person is what survives physical death, and when a person still in the flesh is in some way disassociated from the physical body, his or her conscious self is much the same as the etheric communicator. In other words, it is predicted by some proposed theories that the thoughts of a living person should be able to be recorded in EVP. Probably the real question is whether or not all of the EVP are from living people.
Many of the observed characteristics of EVP could be explained as thoughts of the living. One, the fact that some messages are clearly spoken in response to something the experimenter is about to say, seems to eliminate the experimenter as a source. More convincing are the reports from the AA-EVP Big Circle recording group 19 showing that, on occasion, a member will record the voice of a person, say “John,” who is later shown to be the discarnate son of a person who had not yet joined the Association, but that in subsequent conversations, John’s voice is recognized saying the sort of things John would have said while in the flesh.
Another source of experimental evidence that not all EVP are initiated by the experimenter is the results from the 4Cell EVP Demonstration. 34 In this series of experiments, four people work together to execute the experimental protocol. A Requester decides on a question and relays only the question to the Sender. The Sender asks his or her etheric communicators to give the answer to the Receiver, and then tells the Receiver that a question has been sent. The Receiver conducts an EVP session and asks for the answer that he or she does not know to an unknown question, and then sends any resulting EVP to the Scribe. The Scribe makes the first determination as to what is said in the EVP, and then the group decides on the best response, and all information is included in a report. An example “hit” recorded by 4Cell Infinite is, Question: What are the names of Jim’s Montessori school teachers?” Correct Answer: “Vivian” and “Rosmund.” Class B answer: “Vivian.” Class C answer in same file: “Rosmund.” This is one of the better results, but the 4Cell experimenters are averaging around 69% correct or very meaningful responses.
Cultural Influence
A theory that is gaining in acceptance is that the voices are phenomenally formed, and may be initiated by a discarnate entity, but that the utterances may also be considerably influenced by the practitioner or an interested observer. This theory is based on the hypothesis that the message is formed via a mind-to-mind exchange of information via the etheric aspect of the practitioner and the etheric entity. This is thought to be in the form of image, concept and understanding all wrapped into one gestalt package. The information is thought to be transformed into the physical via the entanglement of the practitioner's etheric Self with the physical body. This is the same path hypothesized for mental mediumship. The result is that the practitioner tends to filter what is allowed into the physical, and subsequently into the recording, depending on expectations.
For instance, the practitioner may expect that any discarnate entity speaking from a cemetery will naturally be earthbound and therefore in distress. In such an instance, the message would come to the practitioner as a gestalt "This is who I am and what I am doing," and come out as the EVP, "Help me," because of the assumption of distress.
There are indications that some EVP are initiated by the practitioner. As is discussed above, it is believed possible to record the thoughts of living, and as such, it is not difficult to think that some thought are spontaneously recorded. This theory should not be taken to say that discarnate entities are not thought to be initiating EVP. It is a recognition that the subject is very complex and the degree to which the practitioner influences the result has not been well examined. At the very least, the meaning of EVP should be based on due consideration of this question.
EVP are “echoes of the past” or residual energy
The Quantum-Holographic hypothesis has been proposed to explain the origin of consciousness, 21 meaning that the personality has a biological origin and the information being accessed via EVP and the other forms of apparent etheric-to-physical influences are either caused by the experimenter or some other physical agent, or a form of residual energy described by physicist David Bohm and neurophysiologist Karl Pribram as a field of energy that underlies all of reality. 24 This field of energy is thought to have three characteristics that might account for the observed etheric-to-physical phenomena. It is thought to behave according to quantum principles, especially that of entanglement which shows that, once certain objects have become associated in specific ways, influencing one object will have a similar influence on the other, even though it may be very far away.
The second characteristic is that this field exhibits the character of nonlocality, meaning that information in it is equally available from any place in the field. This characteristic is required to explain such phenomena as a remote viewer accessing information that is miles away and a medium supposedly getting information from discarnate entities. It is this nonlocality that requires holographic theory, since it is known that any part of a holographic representation of a scene can be used to reproduce the entire scene. In other words, the information is not local to any one part of the photographic plate. The third characteristic of this field is that it is formed of the residual energy of consciousness, and therefore contains all that was ever known, thought and experienced. It is this residual energy that provides the information psychically gathered.
There is growing evidence that some form of field exists, that it is of a subtle energy that is not detected by normal means and that it interconnects groups of life forms. Rupert Sheldrake 23 refers to this field as a “morphic field,” and Dean Radin 22 calls it a “biofield.” However, the existence of a biofield does not assure that Bohm and Pribram’s field is proven to exist, or how such a field might be populated. This author is not aware of experimental evidence showing that residual consciousness does remain in a field. Conversely, the experimental evidence of EVP seems to show that consciousness is local, that it is self-aware and interactive.
Super-psi 25 is a second hypothesis designed to explain observed psychic abilities, but from the perspective of psychology. This hypothesis also depends on a vast reservoir of residual conscious energy which is accessible by people who exhibit the ability to access information that should not be available to them.
Both the Quantum-Holographic and Super-psi Hypotheses may provide important pieces to the puzzle which will eventually explain personal survival and EVP and should not be completely discounted—especially the concept of a biofield. However, neither hypothesis explains the evidence collected via EVP.
EVP are imitated by etheric entities
The primary hypothesis for this is the Survival Hypothesis in which the personality of the person is thought to have evolved from "outside" of the physical aspect of reality. In this theory, the personality becomes entangled with the physical body at the time of the birth of the physical body. When the physical body is no longer able to support "life" the personality is released to once again associate itself with the greater reality.
EVP are thought to be initiated by a personality existing in the greater reality via a mind-to-mind exchange of information between it and the etheric aspect of the practitioner or that of an interested observer. The etheric personality-physical body entanglement permits the practitioner to transfer the information into the physical as a form of embodiment not unlike what is thought to occur with a mental medium. Rather than the mental medium embodying the information as words, the EVP practitioner unconsciously facilitates its formation into words using physical processes acting within an electronic process.
Conducting an EVP Experiment
The following information is intended to provide a technique which is most likely to produce the phenomenal utterances. This is based on the material provided by the AA-EVP in the Techniques section of their website. (26)
Types of Recording Sessions
In controlled conditions recording, it is possible to control ambient noise and supply special forms of background noise. Auric energy is thought to accumulate in a “special” recording area, which is thought to help make contact. In field recording, it is difficult to control environmental conditions or supply background sound, but in known “haunted” locations, the energy helpful for contact may already be present.
EVP formed in an audio recorder by transforming available background sound is referred to as transform EVP. In this, it is sometimes possible to recognize the voice of the speaker. EVP Formed by using computer generated voice fragments for a computer program such as EVPmaker, are referred to as synthesized voice EVP. Using random processes such as a random event or number generator, or detection of “random” changes in environmental energy is referred to as random process EVP and may include speech synthesis. When recorded human speech, whether or not an understood language, or when human speech detected from radio broadcast or the environment is used, it is referred to as live voice EVP. (Researchers will usually not use live voice examples for research because of the problem of undetected false positives.)
Recording equipment
Recording Equipment—Any device capable of recording voice frequency sound. A computer is recommended and a way to transfer audio from the recording device to the computer. The computer can also be used as the initial recorder. Also, the computer should be equipped with an audio management program, such as the open source, Audacity.(27) It is possible to use just the audio recorder, as experimenters have always done before the advent of personal computing, but again, this set of instructions is designed to offer the best chance of success. There are instructions for transferring audio into a computer at aaevp.com in the Techniques section.
Digital voice recorders are recommended for transform EVP. Less expensive models produce more internal noise which is useful for voice formation. High quality units will probably require added background noise. A computer can also be used, but will probably require added noise. There are instructions for transferring audio into a computer here.
Scheduling
Entities will speak at any time of day or night. In the beginning, however, it is advisable to record at a regular time and place. By doing this, the entities learn when there will be an opportunity for contact and expectation of the upcoming session helps focus attention on the process. Try to find a place that will be quiet and free of interruptions. Background sounds are okay, but it is important to be aware of these so that they can be distinguished from the EVP.
Background Sound Source
Research has shown that for transform EVP, the entities use sounds in the environment to help form the words. Most recording situations have some background sounds, but it may be necessary to add noise with something like a fan or running water. Some people use foreign language radio, crowd babble or audio tapes, but the AA-EVP discourages the use of radio static or live voice of any form.
Preparation
Begin with meditation and a short prayer to ask for only those intending the highest good and an invitation to friends on the other side to participate. It is best to recording when personal energy is the highest.
- Special Considerations: It is possible to supply background sound to facilitate EVP formation while recording in controlled conditions. A common household fan will usually do, but one of the reasons the sessions are referred to as “experiments” is that practitioners are always on the hunt for the ideal recording equipment, conditions and background sounds. So, be inventive. In controlled conditions, it is also possible to use high-quality recorders, because you can supply sound.
- Think of EVP as a form of communication. A rule of thumb is that the communicators will leave their message wherever they think someone will listen. Higher quality recording devices tend to record fewer phenomenal voices, and electronic circuits that are strongly constrained by limiting circuits leave fewer opportunities for voice formation. It is a good practice to expect to find the voices where normal human voice would be found, and in noisier conditions.
- It is harder to bring sound for field recordings, and it is for this reason that digital voice recorders that produce a lot of internal noise are so popular for field recording. As a rule of thumb, set the mic sensitivity to medium and the quality to low. Set the volume to medium and then experiment from there. Many people prefer voice-activated recording because it produces less to listen to and more internal noise for voice formation. The communicators can trigger voice-activated recording if there is enough sound to lower the threshold.
Recording
Vocalize your comments during an EVP session. The entities will often come through as soon as the recorder is turned on. These beginning messages may be the loudest, so it is a good idea to turn on the recorder and wait a few seconds before speaking. Questions should be recorded, and a period of time between each comment should be left for the entities to respond--about ten seconds. At the end, ask if the entity has something to say.
It may help to make an “appointment” with the intended entity the day before, during prayer or meditation. Some also provide feedback before the session so that the entities will know what worked in the last experiment. It is not necessary to record in the dark. People often try different devices and energy sources to help the entities communicate. Leaving written questions in the EVP experiment area the day before has worked for some.
Keep recording short. Recordings should be closely examined, at least until it is understood where to find the voices. A best practice for field recording is to use two recorders. As a rule, EVP will only occur on one recorder or sound track, making it possible to avoid mistaking local sounds for EVP (false positives).
Playback
In transform EVP, the voice is usually not heard until playback. Experimenters report that the voices tend to become stronger and clearer as the entities gain in experience, but at first the voices may speak in whispers. Voices may not be recorded in every session and it may take several sessions to discover the first voice. Hearing the voices is a learned ability. It might take thirty minutes to examine a three or four minute recording.
Classes of Voices
Class A voice can be heard and understood over a speaker by most people. Class B voice can be heard over a speaker, but not everyone will agree as to what is said. Class C can only be heard with headphones and is difficult to understand. Class B or C voices may have one or two clearly understood words. Loud does not equal Class A.
Keeping a Log
Maintaining a record of recording results is very helpful. Include the date, time, seconds into the recording, the message itself and the question asked. Be sure to label and save the audio file so that they can be found at a later time. Experimenters report that they feel weather may affect results, but this has not been well studied. The aaevp.com site has geomagnetic and solar reports. There is also a link for moon phase information.
Digital Voice Recorders
Digital voice recorders are recommended for EVP experiments. Today, all sound tracks—digital or analog—should be listened to in a computer and with a headset. Unlike tape recorders, the built-in microphone is usually satisfactory for EVP. There is a selection guide in the Techniques section of aaevp.com. The section includes a setup guide for Audacity, which is an effective audio management program that can be downloaded at no cost.
Computer Recording
A computer instead of a digital recorder can be used for recording EVP. It should have an audio input jack, speakers, headphone jack and sound player application such as Audacity. Most experimenters use the computer to analyze and store examples. If the recorder does not have a USB interface, it is possible to play the recording into the computer while recording with a recorder program. The Earphone jack of the recorder can be connected to the Microphone or Line 1 jack via a cable. The sound source should be set to the correct jack via the pull-down menu in Audacity. Recording with a sample rate of 11025, mono and 16 bit resolution is sufficient for EVP. Files should be edited as *.wav format, but shared as *.mp3.
Analyzing the Recording for EVP
Always use headphones when listening to the recording in a computer. The earmuff style that completely covers the ear is best, but also good are the soft rubber ear buds that are inserted in the channel of the ear.
Assuming a digital recorder is used, the voice is digitized right after it is limited to the required signal strength coming from the input amplifier. If it is necessary to record the sound file into the computer via an audio cable, the signal is turned back into analog, and then digitized again by the computer. There is little or no evidence that an EVP will be changed while in a digital format, but it is possible for change or even new utterance while transferring in the analog phase.
It is possible to reasonably reproduce the average human voice with a sample rate of 8,000 KHz, so it is recommended that the audio file be saved into the computer as a 11025 KHz sample rate, 16 bit word file. Mono or stereo is a personal choice. Once the audio file is in the computer, it should be saved as a *.wav file for storage and editing.
Current best practice for sharing an EVP example on the Internet is to convert the file to mono, *.mp3 format, but using editing tools on mp3 is discouraged.
It is also best practice to provide a raw clip of the EVP, along with a bit of your voice for reference, if possible, followed by a short silence and then the whole clip again with any editing you may have done. Explain what you have done so that your listener will know what to expect.
Finally, ten decibels or so of amplification, perhaps a little noise reduction and high-end filtering is about all that should be done to a sound track to make the utterance more easily understood. It is possible to change the meaning of an EVP with over processing, and the rule of thumb is to discard the EVP if it cannot be understood with only slight enhancement, and certainly discard nonsensical utterances.
A listening technique is to select a few syllables of a possible utterance and then play it over and over to allow your mind to look for familiar sounds. People are trained to recognize common arrangements of sound as words, but EVP are often formed from odd arrangements of sound, depending on what is supplied, and the usual cues are often missing. A very loud, well-spoken phrase could still be difficult to make out for a person not accustomed to hearing EVP.
Storage and sharing
Be sure to set up a method of saving your recordings in your computer that will allow you to easily locate examples. A good practice is to save the raw recording session in a dated folder and then also save clips containing the EVP in the same folder. Field recordings are saved under the name of the location and the date. It is helpful to keep a separate folder for your Class A examples for easy retrieval for demonstration to friends. The AA-EVP follows the labeling practice of: (c)owner_of_evp2008-what_evp_says.mp3. The (c) symbol indicates the intention to protect rights to the example. Using first and last name helps sort many examples in the folder for easy retrieval. The underline and dash symbol with no use of capitals helps assure that computer systems and the Internet accept the name. A 200 kb audio file can be reduced to around 15 Kb when converted from a *.wav file to an *.mps file. This makes it easy for sharing files via the Internet.
- Sharing examples: Use the copyright symbol (c) to indicate your intention to protect your file, and in principle, people must get permission before using the file in any way. If you want to encourage the use of your material and still receive credit, use the Creative Commons (cc) symbol and put the link to which Creative Commons license you are attaching to your file.
References
1 Macy, Mark and Dr. Pat Kubis, Conversations Beyond the Light, Griffin Publishing, Irvine, CA, in conjunction with Continuing Life Research, Boulder, CO, 1995. You can learn more about Mark Macy at www.worlditc.org .
2 Konstantinos, Contact the Other Side, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383, 2001.
3 Tom and Lisa Butler, There is No Death and There are No Dead, AA-EVP Publishing, 2003, http://aaevp.com/resources/books_order.htm .
4 Presi, Paolo, Italian ITC researcher with Il Laboratorio, Bologna, Italy, www.laboratorio.too.it /.
5 MacRae, Alexander, The Mystery of the Voices, Self published CD, 2000, Portree Skye, Scotland. See http://aspsite.tripod.com/ for details about the Alpha Device.
6 American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena, website: http://aaevp.com/examples.htm .
7 Lisa Butler, “Precursor Sounds in Physical Phenomena,” 2002, http://aaevp.com/articles/articles_about_evp9.htm .
8 Monroe Institute, 62 Roberts Mountain Road, Faber, Virginia 22938. http://www.monroeinstitute.com/
9 Alexander MacRae, “Report of an Anomalous Speech Products Experiment Inside a Double Screened Room,” http://www.skyelab.co.uk/review/bb.htm , 2003, as printed in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, http://www.spr.ac.uk/ .
10 Bill Weisensale, “Shielding a Recorder from Radio Frequency Interference for EVP,” Spirit Voices, Issue 3, 1981 http://archive.aaevp.com/spirit_voices/spirit_voices_1_2_3/sv3.htm .
11 Sarah Estep recording, “That is your girl,” http://aaevp.com/examples/examples_voice2.htm .
12 Martha Copeland, I’m Still Here, AA-EVP publishing, 2005, http://www.evpcommunications.com/ .
13 Daniele Gullà, “Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice: The Question of Anomalies Detected and Speaker Identification” http://aaevp.com/articles/articles_about_evp10.htm .
14 Paolo Presi, “Italian Research in ITC,” http://aaevp.com/articles/articles_about_evp3.htm .
15 Steven Beresford, “Tapers' Report,” Spring 2004 AA-EVP NewsJournal, http://archive.aaevp.com/aaevp_news/2004_aaevp_news/spring_2004.htm .
16 Lisa Butler, “French Sleep Experiment,” Summer 2002 AA-EVP NewsJournal, http://archive.aaevp.com/aaevp_news/2002_aaevp_news/summer_2002.htm .
17 “Experiment – Recording the Living,” Summer 2001 AA-EVP NewsJournal, http://archive.aaevp.com/aaevp_news/2001_aaevp_news/summer_2001.htm .
18 Infinitude, http://www.infinitude.asso.fr/ .
19 Big Circle, http://bigcircle.aaevp.com/ .
20 Tom Butler, “4Cell EVP Demonstration,” http://aaevp.com/articles/articles_about_4cell_experiment.htm .
21 Edgar Mitchell, “A Dyadic Model of Consciousness,” September 1995, Institute of Noetic Sciences, Sausalito, California, USA http://www.edmitchellapollo14.com/articles.htm .
22 Dean Radin, http://www.deanradin.com/NewWeb/deanradin.html .
23 Rupert Sheldrake, http://www.sheldrake.org/homepage.html .
24 Michael Talbot, The Holographic Universe, HarperPerennial, 1991, NY, NY.
25 Steven Braude, “Survival or Super-psi,” http://www.survivalafterdeath.org/articles/braude/superpsi.htm .
26 American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena website: http://aaevp.com/techniques.htm .
27 Audacity Audio Management Program, http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows .
28 Scientific American , Scientific American, Inc. New York, NY, http://www.sciam.com .
29 Edison National Historic Site, http://www.nps.gov/archive/edis/edifun/edifun_4andup/faqs_fables.htm#talk .
30 Rogo, D Scott and Raymond Bayless, Phone Calls From The Dead, Prentice-Hall, Inc., New Jersey, 1979.
31 Jürgenson, Friedrich, Voice Transmissions with the Deceased, (German to English Translation, T. Wingert & G. Wynne, 2001) Friedrich Jürgenson Foundation, Sweden (Original work published 1964) www.fargfabriken.se/fjf/
32 Raudive, Konstantin, Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead, New York: Taplinger, 1971. First published by Colin Smythe, Ltd. and still available at www.colin-smythe.com .
33 Tom Butler, private conversations with Colin Smythe. http://www.colinsmythe.co.uk/authors/voices/voices.htm
34 Tom Butler, 4Cell EVP Demonstration, http://aaevp.com/articles/articles_about_4cell_experiment.htm . An example of a good level for background noise. The “Betty’s in there” EVP example is at http://aaevp.com/examples/examples_voice11.htm
This article was originally put out in PDF format by the AA-EVP, and is released under the GNU Free Documentation License Version 1.2.
