Electronic voice phenomenon

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Electronic voice phenomena (EVP) is a term coined by Colin Smyth to describe speech or speech-like sounds of paranormal origin occurring on previously unused recording media. It was first reported by Raymond Bayless and popularized by Konstantin Raudive.

Some who believe in the paranormal say that the sounds thought to be EVP are caused by psychokinesis or the voices of spirits, but mainstream explanations of claimed instances include such things as pareidolia or radio interference. According to psychic enthusiasts Alexander MacRae and Judith Chisholm, EVP is a probe of the fifth dimension where spirits reside .. Claimed instances of EVP are typically brief, the length of a word or short phrase, though longer examples are also claimed. They are, without exception, in a language understood by those present at the time of recording.

As with all paranormal phenomena, the existence of EVP is disputed by skeptics and the scientific community and the research programs devoted to EVP are described by the mainstream as pseudoscientific. To date, attempts to replicate EVP under laboratory conditions have generated a variety of inconclusive data and null results, and no peer reviewed literature exists to validate its existence.

History

EVP was not named or defined until the mid 20th century, although it is reported to have been observed in various forms since early in the century.

Von Szalay, Bayless, and Jürgenson

Among the early pioneers of EVP was the self-proclaimed medium, Attila von Szalay (Sealay) who tried various techniques for capturing EVP during the 1930s before joining with Raymond Bayless in the 1950s. Together, they began by experimenting using a 78 RPM Pack Bell record cutter. When the results failed to meet their expectations, Bayless constructed a custom made recording rig consisting of an insulated closet featuring a microphone inside that lead to a remote tape recorder and speaker system in order to to allow the sounds inside the closet to be monitored and recorded.

At times the recording closet was empty, and at times it was occupied by a volunteer. Using this setup, von Szalay and Bayless report having captured many voices on tape that were not not heard through the speaker when the closet was occupied. Records of their experiment were later published in the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research.

EVP attracted further interest when, in 1959, Swedish film producer Friedrich Jürgenson captured what he believed to be the discarnate voice of a Norwegian speaking man on a recording of bird songs that he had made. Jürgenson went on to conduct a number of experiments, including one in which he is reported to have received a message from his late mother. Jürgenson's recordings quickly attracted the attention of German parapsychologist Hans Bender, the head of a research team at the Institute for Border Areas of Psychology and Mental Health (University of Freiburg). After analyzing them, Bender concluded that Jürgenson's tapes were "susceptible to a paranormal interpretation".

In 1960 Jürgenson presented his work to the Vatican. According to his own accounts, in 1973 Archbishop Bruno Heim presented him to the Pope for investiture as Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, an award honoring meritorious service to the church.

Raudive

Jürgenson's experiments were also followed up by Latvian psychologist Konstantin Raudive. Raudive worked in conjunction with both Jürgenson and Bender and became heavily involved in EVP research, conducting over 100,000 recordings under various conditions.

After various experiments, Raudive devised three primary methods for conducting EVP research; Allowing a tape to record in a silent room, recording the static from an un-tuned radio, and recording the static of an un-tuned diode receiver. He also reported that there were four key characteristics that differentiated the voices captured on tape from normal speech.

Voices used a different rhythm to regular speech
Voices used a stunted "telegram-style" sentences
Voices did not obey standard grammatical rules
Recordings may consist of multiple languages

Raudive's recordings were sometimes criticized for not following a pattern consistent with intelligent communication (for example, consisting of an answer that was unrelated to a question posed by Raudive) or because they appear to be random collections of words with no overall meaning. Raudive's interpretations of his tapes were also criticized for being highly subjective in nature.

In 1971 Raudive conducted a controlled experiment in a shielded laboratory that was designed to block out both sound and potential interference from external sources such as television and radio signals. Raudive recorded his own voice for 18 minutes and no other sounds were made or heard. When the recordings were played back, observers are said to have found that 200 other voices were present on the tape.

Spiricom

In 1980, American medium William O'Neil constructed a device known as "The Spiricom", which he claimed was based on instructions given to him by the spirit of deceased Cornell physicist George J. Mueller. The device consisted of 13 audio oscillators, each tuned to an audio frequency between 131Hz and 701Hz (the approximate tone range for an adult male voice), which were fed to the input of an FM radio transmitter tuned to 29.57 Mhz. The resulting broadcast was picked up by a nearby radio receiver also tuned to 29.57 Mhz FM. Through this device, O'Neil claimed that he was able to hold two-way conversations with the spirits of the dead, some of which he recorded and made available to researchers.

The results of O'Neil's experiments were announced at a Washington, DC press conference on the 6th of April 1982, by retired industrialist George Meek, who had been associated with O'Neil since the early 1970s.

Meek and O'Neil went on to found the Metascience Foundation of North Carolina (Metascience Foundation Inc), and to provide the design specifications for Spiricom to researchers for free. However, nobody is known to have ever been able to replicate O'Neil's results using their own Spiricom devices.

In response to the failure of other Spiricom systems, Meek later concluded that O'Neil, a self professed medium, formed a key component of the device. Meek went on to state that he knew of no system for communicating with the dead having achieved success unless at least one member of the team investigating it had psychic abilities.

AA-EVP

Also in 1982, Sarah Estep founded the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena in Severna Park, Maryland, with the purpose of increasing awareness of EVP and teaching standardized methods for capturing it. Estep began her exploration of EVP in 1976, and claims to have made hundreds of recordings of messages from deceased friends, relatives, and other individuals, including Konstantin Raudive, Beethoven, a lamplighter from 18th century Philadelphia, PA, and extraterrestrials who she speculated originated from other planets or dimensions. The messages are said to feature a number of languages, including French and German. Today the AA-EVP is a nonprofit educational association headed by Directors Tom and Lisa Butler, dedicated to the support of people who are interested in or who are studying EVP and Instrumental transcommunication. The organization lists members in 20 countries and maintains a web site that offers examples, techniques and concepts concerning EVP.

MacRae

In March 2003, Scottish researcher Alexander MacRae made a number of attempts to capture EVP in a specially designed labratory belonging to the Institute of Noetic Science, Petaluma, California. The laboratory was described as being "double-screened"; Shielded against electromagnetic radiation; to prevent interference from radio transmissions or near by electronic devices, and insulated against sound; to prevent contamination of recordings by external noise sources.

Over the course of the experiment, MacRae reported capturing a number of anomalies which were subsequently isolated and analyzed. Based on this analysis, and the level of screening against outside interference, MacRae concluded that the anomalies represented distinct speech from a source that could not be explained through conventional means.

Details of MacRae's experiments, methods, and conclusions, were published in the October 2005 issue of the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research.

Baruss

In 1997, researchers with the Department of Psychology at the University of Western Ontario conducted several EVP experiments using Raudive's methods, and the work of Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC) researcher Mark Macy, as a guide.

During 81 sessions, researchers recorded a total of 60 hours and 11 minutes of data in the presence of a neutral volunteer who either sat in silence or attempted to make verbal contact with potential sources of EVP. Over the course of the experiment researchers recorded several non-speech audio events similar to those which some paranormal researchers have previously associated with EVP, but which fell outside the parameters of the experiment because they did not represent a form of communication, and several events which could be interpreted as voices "with a little imagination", but which were deemed to be too few, too random, and too open to interpretation to be usable.

The experiment was deemed to have failed to capture an EVP, and to have provided no evidence validating it as a phenomena. Its findings were published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration in 2001 by Imants Baruss.

Audio Sample

EVP Sample

An audio recording created at Thunderbird Lodge on the east shore of Lake Tahoe

Problems playing this file? See media help.

Possible explanations

Paranormal

There is no consensus as to where the EVP messages are coming from or how best to receive them,however, a number of different paranormal explanations have been put forward in relation to EVP.

Discarnate entities: EVP as the voices of discarnate entities who communicate with the living through electronic devices.Some proponents allege the sounds cannot be heard by the human ear because spirits do not have vocal chords, and instead imprint their voices on the recording media by some unknown method.

Extraterrestrial entities: EVP represent contact with "nature energies" or extraterrestrials.There is also speculation that the beings may originate from an alternate dimension and the communications are the result of some unknown fluctuation in space and time.

Psychokinesis: EVPs are created by the researchers subconscious "mind-over-matter" ability to influence matter or energy without the use of any currently known type of physical means.Some experimenters say they have received messages from a sleeping colleague and feel this may indicate that living humans are capable of creating EVP, a phenomenon which they speculate accounts for some percentage of recordings.

Non-Paranormal

As with all paranormal phenomena, the origins and existence of EVP are disputed, and a variety of alternative explanations have been put forward for the phenomena, including the following.

Interference: Certain instances of EVP, especially those recorded on devices which contain RLC circuitry, represent radio signals of voices/sounds from broadcast sources. Interference from CB Radio transmissions and wireless baby minders, or anomalies generated though cross modulation from other electronic devices are all documented phenomena. It is even possible for circuits to resonate without any external power source by means of radio reception.

Auditory pareidolia: Auditory pareidolia, a condition created when the brain incorrectly interprets random patterns as being familiar patterns. In this case, resulting in an observer interpreting random noise on an audio recording as being the familiar sound of a human voice. The propensity for EVP to be in a language understood well by those researching it, rather than in an unfamiliar language, has been cited as evidence of this.

Capture errors Anomalies created by the method used to capture EVP, such as noise generated through the over amplification of a signal at the point of recording, which is known to cause a variety of aberrations.

Processing artifacts Artifacts created during attempts to boost the clarity of an existing recording through methods such as re sampling, frequency isolation, and noise reduction/enhancement, until they take on qualities significantly different from those that were present in the original recording.

Hoaxes: A percentage of EVP may be hoaxes created by frauds or pranksters.

Trivia

In the 1920s, the American inventor Thomas Edison told a reporter with Scientific American that he was working on a machine that could contact the dead, and the story spread quickly through of the time. However, a few years later Edison announced that he been making a joke at the reporter's expense, and that he had not been working on such a device.

Today, Edison's announcement has achieved the status of an urban legend.

EVP in fiction

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. The main character's mother tries to convince her that the father is communicating with her from recordings after his death/disappearance in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Ubik by Philip K. Dick. The character Glenn Runciter communicates after his apparent death via videophone.

Do Det Ike by Gerry Connelly. A science fiction story published in Dream magazine in 1989 has the electronic voice phenomenon used as a means of interstellar communication.

Ghost in the Machine. A movie starring Karen Allen about a serial killer who transfers his soul into the power grid and continues to murder victims through strange household appliance accidents. The killer also taunted victims through audio and video equipment.

Legion by William Peter Blatty. The 1983 'sequel' to his 1971 novel The Exorcist contains a subplot where Dr. Vincent Amfortas, a terminally-ill neurologist, leaves a "to-be-opened-upon-my-death" letter for Lt. Kinderman detailing his accounts of contact with the dead (including Amfortas' recently deceased wife, Ann) through EVP recordings. The book Breakthrough by Konstantin Raudive is mentioned in the novel, although Amfortas' character and the EVP subplot do not appear in the film version of the novel, Exorcist III.

Ghost Whisperer. In episode 9 of this TV series' first season, a dead woman is trying to reach her son using EVP.
The Electronic Ghosts (ISBN 1846853958) A book about an electronic engineer who becomes involved with EVP who uses a diode and radio frequency machine to contact a sinister entity.

Supernatural (TV series). In a number of episodes, phone messages and tape recordings are found to contain EVP.

The Sixth Sense. The Bruce Willis character realizes that audiotapes of his past patient interviews include the voices of dead people.

White Noise. A 2005 movie starring Michael Keaton about a man who experiences the death of his wife and decides to try to contact her using EVP. In addition to contacting his wife, 3 sinister figures that could be interpreted as Shadow people make contact. The filmmakers assert at the end of the film that 1 in 12 EVP messages received is threatening in nature, a figure disputed by many in the field.

Giving Up the Ghost: The Walk-In. A real-life novel threading together paranormal events, research on the walk-in phenomenon, and EVP recorded by the author, a member of the AA-EVP.

White Noise 2: The Light. A 2007 movie starring Nathan Fillion. An indirect sequel of the 2005 movie. The protagonist's wife and child are killed in a seemingly random shooting, leading him to attempt to take his own life by overdosing. His heart stops and he is revived by high voltage defibrillation. After recovering, he seems to be suffering side effects, including generating electrical interference and being able to see white auras on certain people. He soon learns that he sees the auras on people that are about to die. He decides to use this ability to save lives, but soon learns that his actions have deeper and more sinister consequences..

References

http://parapsych.org/glossary_e_k.html#e Parapsychological Association website, Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Retrieved January 24, 2006
^ "About the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena: What is the Survival Hypothesis?". American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP). Retrieved 2006-12-01. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) Cite error: The named reference "AAevp1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ Chisholm, Judith (2000). "A Short History of EVP". Psychic World. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
^ Baruss, Imants (2001). "Failure to Replicate Electronic Voice Phenomenon" (PDF). Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 355–367, 2001. Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
http://www.skyelab.co.uk/review/bb.htm
^ MacRae, Alexander (October 2005). "Report of an Electronic Voice Phenomenon Experiment inside a Double-Screened Room". Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. Society for Psychical Research. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
"EVP Question Time". Fortean Times. Retrieved 2006-12-01. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ "EVP". Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 2006-12-01. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) Cite error: The named reference "skepdic1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
Bayless, R (1959), Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 53#1, 35–38
Bjorling, Joel (1998). Consulting Spirits: A Bibliography. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 68. ISBN 0313302847. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
Chisholm, Judith. "A short history of EVP". The EVP and transcommunication society of Great Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 2006-12-01. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
Jürgenson, Friedrich (2001 (German to English translation; original work publishsed 1964)). . Sweden: Friedrich Jürgenson Foundation. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Raudive, Konstantin (1971). Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication With the Dead (Original title: The Inaudible Becomes Audible). Taplinger Publishing Co. ISBN 0800809653. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
Poysden, Mark (1999) This is EVP: A Look Behind the "The Ghost Orchid" CD, The Anomalist
Smith, E. L (1974), "The Raudive voices–Objective or subjective? A discussion"m Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 68, 91–100
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http://www.worlditc.org/h_07_meek_spiri_000_007.htm
Meek, George. (1988), “Report from Europe: Earthside instrumental communications with higher planes of existence via telephone and computer are now a reality” Unlimited Horizons, Metascience Foundation, Inc, 6#1, 1–11.
Basic EVP Recording Technique, butler, T, Butler L, AA-EVP
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Estep, Sarah, "Voices Of Eternity", page 144,
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Jahn, Robert G. (1987). Margins of Reality: The Role of Consciousness in the Physical World. San Diego, California: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 0151571481. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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^ Paul Tipler (2004). Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Electricity, Magnetism, Light, and Elementary Modern Physics (5th ed.). W. H. Freeman. ISBN 0-7167-0810-8.
Wiggins Arthur W. Wynn Charles M. (2001), ”Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction: Where Real Science Ends...and Pseudoscience Begins”, National Academies Press, ISBN 0-309-07309-X
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