Electronic voice phenomena (EVP) are "spirit voices" that are said to manifest themselves on audio recordings. Though there are a number of EVP proponents who insist that the phenomenon is inexplicable by conventional science, skeptics argue there are prosaic explanations for the phenomenon that do not require communication from ghost or from other paranormal sources.
EVPs are the most well known and used method of finding evidence of existence of the paranormal. With the use of a digital or standard voice recorder, it is possible to pick up voices or noises that can not be explained. If you choose to attempt to get an EVP it is wise to find a nice quiet area where paranormal activity has been reported. The size of the group that you chose to accompany you dose not matter, as long as they all understand a few simple rules.
*No soft whispering. Always speak in a normal tone.
*No excess movement or noises
Extra noise can cause a great deal of confusion and frustration when you play the tapes back. If by chance someone or something dose make a noise (cough, car passing) mark it on the tape.
For example:
We took a group of four investiging a location at night. One of our members whispered something that none of us caught at the time, so we did not mark it on the tape. On play back, it sounded like an EVP. This caused much excitement. However once we cleaned up the recording, it was clearly recognizable as our follow investigator’s voice. We wasted a lot of time over nothing.
Its also good to have a video back up, that way if any questions arise, then you have the video to fall back on.
Before starting EVP work, it is best to talk out your plan of action. Choose a person to ask questions, and plan what questions should be asked.
Make sure the questioner dose not speak in past tense. This is very hard but necessary. Most ghosts do not know they are dead and it may cause confusion and you will not get any responses.
Most important, never be disrespectful or rude. You do not want a negative response. Getting slapped, whipped, or physic burn is not fun or funny. It is very painful and annoying. (do not confuse this with getting touched. That can be very neat)
Now when you start recording it is always good to make an opening statement on the time place and room and or floor you are recording in. It will help you keep track of active spots.
It is also good to tell the ghost that you are there and ask permission to be there. The following is a transcript of one of RIP’s EVP sessions.
- Hello, we are members of RIP. Do you mind if we record here for a while?
- How many of you are with us?
- Could you tell us your name?
- Are you male?
- Are you female?
- Are you an adult?
- Are you a Child?
- Could you tell us how old you are?
- Could you tell us what year it is?
- Do you live here?
- Do you work here?
- How long have you been here?
- Thank you for speaking with us. Be at peace. Good-bye
Leave a 15 to 20 second gap between questions. It will give them time to respond. And do not forget a closing statement. You wouldn’t just hang up on a friend when talking to them on the phone. It is rude. If you stay polite, you may get more EVPs later.
To review the recording afterwards all you need is a really good set of headphones and a nice quiet spot. If you pick something up mark the time in a notebook and return to it later. Cleaning up the sound is highly recommended. There are several computer programs out there that are made to help. I have listed them at the bottom of the page.
Now if you don’t pick up anything on your first try, don’t be discouraged. You just picked a bad day, when activity was at a null (at its lowest point) just keep trying. It will happen.
Don’t forget to check out our evidence link to check out some of our groups findings.
Audio Editors
Until recently, when it came to purchasing a software program for editing EVP files, the top choice of AAEVP had been Cool Edit 2000 ($70.00) or Cool Edit Pro ($400). Although there was quite a difference in price, the difference in features between the lesser priced CE 2000 and CE Pro was minimal, at least in regard to the features we used for editing and filtering EVP files. However, that changed when Adobe purchased the company that created and marketed Cool Edit. Adobe dropped CE 2000 and rebranded Cool Edit Pro as
Adobe Audition.For those who can afford it, there is good news because Adobe dropped the price to $299, but for many others who cannot, the option of paying $70 for a really great program is no longer available. I can say that I've seen all three versions for sale on eBay and some of them are priced pretty low. One caution if you decide to purchase through eBay, make sure you are getting an unopened copy to ensure it comes with the software key to register and unlock all the features. For those not familiar with Cool Edit Pro (now Audition), there is a free 30 day demo available at the Adobe website. Adobe requires you to register before you can download the software.
Although losing Cool Edit 2000 and it's reasonable price is a setback for many of us, there are some good alternatives that are actually priced even lower than Cool Edit 2000 and they all have downloadable demos. Here's a list along with information on Adobe Audition:
Adobe Audition 1.5 - $299.00
www.adobe.com/products/tryadobe/main.jsp#product=92Supported Platforms: Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000, XP
Demo Limitation: Full Version but expires in 30 days
AVS Audio Utilities 1.5 - $29.95
Supported Platforms: Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP
Demo Limitations: Can only save the first 20 seconds of the file
This program is very similar to Cool Edit in appearance as well as functionality. In fact, it is so much like Cool Edit that a new user could follow the Cool Edit tutorial on the AA-EVP web site under
Techniques almost step by step. The Audio Editor is one of five programs included in the AVS Audio Utilities package. In regards to EVP, it is the Audio Editor that is of interest to us. The only thing I found slightly less than desirable in the program is that the "Undo Edit" feature does not list what is being "Undone," making multiple "Undo" commands an adventure since you will end up guessing what it is you are undoing. This is a small annoyance which wouldn't stop me from purchasing the program. All of the other programs listed in this article list to be undone, but each has their own drawbacks which in my opinion makes this software second only to Adobe Audition and at a fraction of the cost.Audacity
FREEAudacity makes an audio file editor that is compatible with both Macintosh and Windows. This is an open source program, meaning that it has been written by many programmers using code that is available to the public. Audacity is not as visually appealing as some of the programs you pay for, but it does work well and it is free. The AA-EVP is trying to put together "how to" material for this program with the intention of making it the recommended entry level program for people just trying out EVP.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/Acoustica 3.1 - $29.00
Supported Platforms: No info on web site but from my experience: Windows 98, 98SE, ME 2000, XP
Demo Limitations: Full Version but expires in 30 days
Acoustica 2.25 - $19.00
Supported Platforms: No info on web site but from my experience: Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME 2000, XP
Demo Limitations: Full Version but expires in 30 days
Both Acoustica 2.25 and 3.1 are really good and although the newest, version 3.1 has a few more features, both are more than adequate for editing EVP files and in my opinion the time/pitch feature is actually better than all of the Cool Edit/Audition versions. The one big drawback to me is the way the highlight/trim/cut feature works in both versions, though this might be because I am used to the way these features function in Cool Edit.
Bias Peak
Bias makes a Macintosh compatible audio file editor that has been recommended to us. The full version is in the range of $450; however, they make a "Lite" version for around $90 According to AA-EVP member and Mac user, Matt Driskill, "... that has everything that you need to discover and process EVP. I use a Bias VST plug-in called SoundSoap. It performs amazingly at noise reduction and will "learn noise" to specifically cut offensive frequencies to clean up problem audio like a trick."
www.bias-inc.comGoldwave V5.06 - (US$40, Can$55, UK£25)
www.goldwave.comSupported Platforms: Windows ME, 2000, XP (Win 98, 98SE work but are not supported)
Demo Initiations: Full version but eventually will stop working (uses a toll counter that counts down with each command issued)
Goldwave is fine for working with EVP and has a better time/pitch feature than the Cool Edit software; however, it suffers from the same problem I noted with the Acoustica programs. Once again, I'm used to the smoother, more refined (and pricy) Cool Edit so others may not have an issue with the way they handle the highlight/trim/cut features.
Comment:
There is one thing that the Cool Edit/Audition software does that is lacking in all of the above mentioned software. With Cool Edit/Audition, if I hear a segment I want to highlight during playback of a file, I can drag the mouse to highlight the desired portion of the sound track and it will start playing the highlighted section immediately. The AVS Audio Editor just stops playing while the Acoustica and Goldwave programs just keep on playing. Once again, this is a small complaint considering the cost savings but it is a really big feature difference that will become obvious as you play back a recording while searching for EVP.So in summary, Cool Edit/Audition is a great program but there are other audio editing programs available to help us analyze and edit our EVP Files and many are reasonably priced.
Clear Voice Denoiser
This program cost $50.00 for the registered version but you can download a full featured demo version with no expiration date at
www.speechpro.com/eng/products/denoiserkit.html. The demo version is limited to a maximum time length of 30 seconds which will be more than long enough for many of the EVP we capture. I liked the program so much that I eventually bought it in order to be able to process longer segments without having to break them down first.Kristal Audio Engine
We have not used this program, but it has been recommended. From the web site, "KRISTAL Audio Engine is a powerful multi-track recorder, audio sequencer and mixer - ideal for anyone wanting to get started with recording, mixing and mastering digital audio.
"It is designed as a modular system. The main application provides a mixing console, while the audio sequencer, live audio input and so on are loaded as separate Plug-Ins."
Thanks to the AAEVP for the letting us copy the above listing of editors