Evp

Gillo

Last night I watched white noise, and was amazed by EVP and the idea that you could pick somethign up through radio waves. I'd heard of it before and never really given mcuh thought to it

Yes, I know it's a film and it's got Hollywood written all over it, as a horror it's not even that scarey, but it did get me thinking.

Has anyone here ever tried it?
Is it taken as a credible method of contacting the other side (no I'm not talking northside / southside here)?
Is it actually meant to be as dangerous as the film suggests?

Zillah

EVP is widely considered to be quite a compelling phenomena. The best cynics can say is dismissing it as improbable, but possible random interference.

And no, its not dangerous in the slightest. I did a lot of research on EVP before and I never turned up anything that suggested there was the slighest risk involved, which is interesting considering how over the top believers can get with their protections and cleansings.

The largest EVP organisation is the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena: http://www.aaevp.com/

I'm fairly sure their site has some good samples, if not I'll turn up something in a moment.

EDIT: Heres some interesting samples: http://www.ghostpix.com/gis/E.V.P.html

6th

Zillah wrote:

.....And no, its not dangerous in the slightest. I did a lot of research on EVP before and I never turned up anything that suggested there was the slighest risk involved.....

Of course there's always a risk. some people may get results that they are not able for. if someone tried it for a laugh and got results they may get nightmaares and it could affect them psychologically. Even if nothing happens our imaginations can be dangerous.

Riamfada

6th wrote:

. Even if nothing happens our imaginations can be dangerous.

It is important to remember that . Its also possible that with all aspects of paranormal investigation one could see or hear what they want and be affected in that way

stormkeeper

That's quite true... the thing about paranormal stuff is that when you are in a haunted location, your perceptions are increased... thus you start to associate more stuff as "paranormal". It's important not to fall into this trap.

Ziycon

how dangerous it is depends on the person themselves, its as dangerous as any other method to contact the other side!

If the person is not in a fit mind to accept and examine the results with a level head and level grounding then it can be dangerous, the person using EVP must not have any mental illness or there can be a dangerous side, not from what may occur but the danger comes from the person themselves mis-interpeting the results!

stormkeeper

Ziycon wrote:

how dangerous it is depends on the person themselves, its as dangerous as any other method to contact the other side!

If the person is not in a fit mind to accept and examine the results with a level head and level grounding then it can be dangerous, the person using EVP must not have any mental illness or there can be a dangerous side, not from what may occur but the danger comes from the person themselves mis-interpeting the results!

That's true, and even those of us with "mild" mental illnesses could easily do the same thing too...

Riamfada

Kennett wrote:

those of us with "mild" mental illnesses could easily do the same thing too...

the voices tell me not to listen to you.:D

stormkeeper

Grimes wrote:

the voices tell me not to listen to you.:D

lol!

I'm not saying anything, for fear of incrimination...

solas

when I was younger my father (who was a paranormal buff) had recordings of evp on record, I remember being about ten and he had put them on to have a listen, scared the bejesus out of me and consequently I try to avoid listening to evps

stormkeeper

Amazing how childhood experiences can affect us long into adulthood...

Of course that is a conversation for another forum altogether, so I'll say no more on this topic.

solas

psychology perhaps?
I thought the same thing when reading the responses, so far the thread seems to be more of a psychological analysis of paranormal perception.

I've had more recent experiences with evp, think I posted about them before.

solas

gillo wrote:

Has anyone here ever tried it?
Is it taken as a credible method of contacting the other side (no I'm not talking northside / southside here)?
Is it actually meant to be as dangerous as the film suggests?

I haven't actually tried it, but I've heard a few recordings.
In so far as a credible method for contacting the otherside I think it would come under the term of "residual hauntings" residual being the operative word of the week you can find more about the term here

A residual haunting is a playback of a past event. The apparitions involved are not spirits, they are "recordings" of the event. I believe that this will be the first type of haunting that main stream researchers will recognize and study. There are numerous theories on how these residual hauntings come to be. The main one will be discussed here.

in effect these recordings would be little more than echos, caught on tape so I'm not sure it could be considered "contact" with the otherside, or at least in a real time sense
If you listen to evp recordings often the messages can be very mundane and not very relevant, maybe someones last words echoing through time, in other instances if a particular scenario was volatile thoe last words can range from "now it's time to die" to "please help me".
I'm not sure how dangerous these things might be, but needless to say sometimes listening to that kind of information can be rattling as much so as it would be to hear someone calling out in distress in real life.
It would be good to bare in mind that what you see in movies is usually a distorted version of events, for entertainment value

[edit:I've heard some stories where people claim to have recieved direct mesages via phones or speakers which they consider spirit contact, although thats another for another time maybe.]

stormkeeper

solas wrote:

psychology perhaps?
I thought the same thing when reading the responses, so far the thread seems to be more of a psychological analysis of paranormal perception.

Looks to be that way, wonder if it is permitted to make a thread about it here, or should we take this to the psychology forum?

Any input on this Psi or any other moderator?

I've had more recent experiences with evp, think I posted about them before.

When I get a spare moment, I'll have to dig them up at some point...

Ziycon

solas wrote:

I haven't actually tried it, but I've heard a few recordings.
In so far as a credible method for contacting the otherside I think it would come under the term of "residual hauntings" residual being the operative word of the week you can find more about the term here
in effect these recordings would be little more than echos, caught on tape so I'm not sure it could be considered "contact" with the otherside, or at least in a real time sense
If you listen to evp recordings often the messages can be very mundane and not very relevant, maybe someones last words echoing through time, in other instances if a particular scenario was volatile thoe last words can range from "now it's time to die" to "please help me".
I'm not sure how dangerous these things might be, but needless to say sometimes listening to that kind of information can be rattling as much so as it would be to hear someone calling out in distress in real life.
It would be good to bare in mind that what you see in movies is usually a distorted version of events, for entertainment value

[edit:I've heard some stories where people claim to have recieved direct mesages via phones or speakers which they consider spirit contact, although thats another for another time maybe.]

I sort of agree there, if objects can hold traumatic events in memory why cant the EVP just be something that was said a hundred years ago in that area, maybe an old wall or something held the memory/sound! but on the other side how can some of the 'replies' be so exact to the questions asked!

For example: you ask "What is your name?" and you get a name back on the recording not another question or an answer like "Did you that the dog for a walk"!??

solas

For example: you ask "What is your name?" and you get a name back on the recording not another question or an answer like "Did you that the dog for a walk"!??

k, I havent heard these kinds of evp's, just recordings that were taken in rooms or buildings which were supposedly haunted.
It sounds very similar to the direct messages I was going to discuss.
Interesting topic.

6th

Solas has only tackled the evp which may be recordings of past events stating that:

[edit:I've heard some stories where people claim to have recieved direct mesages via phones or speakers which they consider spirit contact, although thats another for another time maybe.]

With regards to echos or past events replaying i think stone tape theory is very interesting.
http://www.iopr.org.uk/4832/66801.html?*session*id*key*=*session*id*val*

there is plenty about this on the net, its a case of looking for the good info and not picking the first result on Google.

btw Solas, ur pm box is full

solas

well the direct messaging I'm refering to come under the term of "direct voice phenomena"
can read about it here:http://www.xs4all.nl/~wichm/dirvoic3.html

[edit]interesting site 6th, never heard it the term stone tape before but ye, describes what was talking about.

Zillah

6th wrote:

Of course there's always a risk. some people may get results that they are not able for. if someone tried it for a laugh and got results they may get nightmaares and it could affect them psychologically. Even if nothing happens our imaginations can be dangerous.

Yeah but its not dangerous in a paranormal sense. Its no more dangerous than anything that might upset a mentally unstable person.

Oryx

Zillah wrote:

Yeah but its not dangerous in a paranormal sense. Its no more dangerous than anything that might upset a mentally unstable person.

Sorry, Zillah, but to throw one of your own questions back at you... you know this for a fact?

Zillah

I'll quote myself to answer the question:

And no, its not dangerous in the slightest. I did a lot of research on EVP before and I never turned up anything that suggested there was the slighest risk involved, which is interesting considering how over the top believers can get with their protections and cleansings.

So, to the best of my knowledge.

Oryx

Thanks for the qualification

Btw, I thought the movie was awful. Interesting thread about an interesting topic, tho.

Zillah

I havn't seen it actually. I recognised some of the EVPs in the trailer though, they really were actual EVPs, I had heard them on the AAEVP site not long before.

Reaphoenix

Hiya,

I read a book years ago that if you take a tape recorder into the forest and press record and just leave it alone for as long a tape as you have that you can hear the little peole talking!!!:p

Never tried it but sure why not. Must get a recorder

Seeya:D

Reaphoenix

New_Departure06

Anyone had any success in communicating with the dead through Electronic Voice Phenomenon? I am considering using it to talk to my aunt.

GuanYin

Threads Merged

6th

New_Departure06 wrote:

Anyone had any success in communicating with the dead through Electronic Voice Phenomenon? I am considering using it to talk to my aunt.

Its not something i've tried yet but from what i know the recording has to be manipulated (the frequency raised/lowered or slowed down/sped up) to get results. Also in many of the pieces i have listened to it seems to be more of a echo of the past as oposed to a method of 2 way communication.

I'll be holding of til i have the equipment and software to get the best out of any recordings i make.

GuanYin

I actually watched the film on sky last night.

It wasn't a very good film, but it did send me to re-read this thread today and something interesting struck me.

In qualifying that there are no reports of anything bad happening through EVP, it doesn't address the claim by the film (unfortunately unsourced, I googled but can't find the source material) that

"1 in 12 "confirmed" EVP communications are hostile".

Now that would suggest that the messages are hostile rather than anything bad actually happening.

Anyone have anymore on this? If you consider one of the more debated explanations for ghosts and such (in the parapsychology circles anyway) that ghosts are residual transmitted energy from strong emotions (such as anger or pain at death) then you'd think it would be more than 1/12 hostile recordings.

6th

I'm planning on using a few lunch breaks a week to go to different churches in town and try get EVP, its not somnething i've been into in the past but i'm gonna throw myself at it!

New_Departure06

6th wrote:

I'm planning on using a few lunch breaks a week to go to different churches in town and try get EVP, its not somnething i've been into in the past but i'm gonna throw myself at it!

Graveyards are probably best to find them - especially at night -but I would be too scared to try it at this stage. You are very brave 6th. Remember at the start of the recording to ask for contact from spirit persons.

I also understand that it works better when you have an external microphone plugged into the recording device. Digital recorders also cut out much of the "hiss".

6th

New_Departure06 wrote:

Graveyards are probably best to find them - especially at night -but I would be too scared to try it at this stage. You are very brave 6th. Remember at the start of the recording to ask for contact from spirit persons.

I also understand that it works better when you have an external microphone plugged into the recording device. Digital recorders also cut out much of the "hiss".

If you were dead would you hang around a graveyard? I'm sure many concious entities wouldnt.

And as for echos, or hauntings were its a recording of the past: I'm sure nothing much extremes happens in graveyards to leave that much of an impact in the atmosphere?

Of course these are just my opinions.

As for asking the spirits to make contact, thats one way but sometimes i just like to "think" to them or anyone who's around.

External mics are good or digital cos you dont pick up the sounds of the internal workings of the recorder.

i dont think anything i do is brave as i genuinely dont believe spirits would or could hurt us. I mean when i die not only do i think i wouldnt hang around a graveyard, i also dont think i'd go around chucking knifes at people or pushing them down stairs

New_Departure06

If you were dead would you hang around a graveyard?

Jim Morrison...

http://www.rockandrollbadboy.com/hollywood_diaries/ghost_of_jim_morrison/

stevenmu

psi wrote:

I actually watched the film on sky last night.

It wasn't a very good film,

No, it started quite well I thought, but got a bit silly towards the end.

psi wrote:

"1 in 12 "confirmed" EVP communications are hostile".

I never came across anything like that when I looked into either. The only thing I can think of is that if something bad happened in a location, say one drug dealing stabbing another, that some very negative energies could be imprinted in that location. We've talked on the forum before about how these energies could be linked to fluctuations in electromagnetic fields, if these fluctuations could be picked up by microphones (I'd imagine these could be sensitive to fluctuating fields ?) or antennas they could result in recordings which appear to be threatening messages.

(ok, that's stretching it a bit, even for me)

New_Departure06

Originally Posted by psi
I actually watched the film on sky last night.

It wasn't a very good film,

Are you referring to "White Noise"? Excellent film. Don't knock it!

GuanYin

New_Departure06 wrote:

Are you referring to "White Noise"? Excellent film. Don't knock it!

Its a travesty of a film. I haven't been that irritated by a waste of a film since Jeepers Creepers (honest, the first half was really good).

stevemu - thats exactly what I meant (the far fetched bit)

my_house

6th wrote:

With regards to echos or past events replaying i think stone tape theory is very interesting.

an another interesting theory on the stone tape theory is that water has memory, and since most objects have a high moisture content (especially stone walls) then it could be the water within the object doing the playback. begs the question if something has a memory has it got a concious mind to go with it, but thats another thread ...

Zillah

my_house wrote:

an another interesting theory on the stone tape theory is that water has memory, and since most objects have a high moisture content (especially stone walls) then it could be the water within the object doing the playback. begs the question if something has a memory has it got a concious mind to go with it, but thats another thread ...

The problem I have with that theory is that its based on rivers and lakes etc. But the water in a river is completely changed within minutes. I don't know how long it takes lakes to completely "update" its water but its porbably only a matter of a few years for the vast majority of it. Which means that the water that has "remembered" is now in the Atlantic ocean, or has landed as rain in southern Spain...

6th

But mh is talking about the moisture content of the bricks, wall etc - at least i think s/he is?

Oryx

Zillah wrote:

The problem I have with that theory is that its based on rivers and lakes etc. But the water in a river is completely changed within minutes. I don't know how long it takes lakes to completely "update" its water but its porbably only a matter of a few years for the vast majority of it. Which means that the water that has "remembered" is now in the Atlantic ocean, or has landed as rain in southern Spain...

I dont know a thing about stone tape theory but I have a theory of my own in relation to running water. In a similar way that an electrical current creates a magnetic field, could running water create a similar field? And ok, this is a big 'suppose' but suppose such a field, whatever its composed of, could tap into past events either thru some kind of memory effect, or by influencing us, and our perception and allowing us to access some kind of collective conciousness? (No idea how this relates to scientific fact, Im not scientific, Im blonde.;) )

my_house

6th wrote:

But mh is talking about the moisture content of the bricks, wall etc - at least i think s/he is?

aye, thats what I mean - but on further googling it looks like the water theory has never been proven

6th

my_house wrote:

aye, thats what I mean - but on further googling it looks like the water theory has never been proven

Sure if we waited for things to be proven we'd have nothing to talk about

6th

Anyone want to posta good "how to" guide to EVP? I meant do you record static, just record and hope for the best? What seems to be the best way to get results?

stevenmu

KatieK wrote:

I dont know a thing about stone tape theory but I have a theory of my own in relation to running water. In a similar way that an electrical current creates a magnetic field, could running water create a similar field? And ok, this is a big 'suppose' but suppose such a field, whatever its composed of, could tap into past events either thru some kind of memory effect, or by influencing us, and our perception and allowing us to access some kind of collective conciousness? (No idea how this relates to scientific fact, Im not scientific, Im blonde.;) )

That's a pretty good theory, for a blonde of course

Flowing water can ionise it's surroundings, I may have mentioned this here before that it's thought that the ionising effect of water in showers cheers people up encouraging them to sing Also, as flowing water is a conducter moving through a magnetic field (the earths) an electric current is induced in it. It's plausible, to me at least I'm sure some will disagree , that we can somehow interact with this field, imprinting events on it, and later recalling those events from the imprint. The big problem with this idea is that flowing water is constantly changing, meaning any fields created by it would be changing too in far greater proportions than any imprint we could leave on it, altough the imprint would still be there and it's possible we could pick the pattern out of it.

Of course, now someone has to ask if you've noticed anything in particular around areas with flowing water ?

my_house wrote:

an another interesting theory on the stone tape theory is that water has memory, and since most objects have a high moisture content (especially stone walls) then it could be the water within the object doing the playback. begs the question if something has a memory has it got a concious mind to go with it, but thats another thread ...

That sounds kind of similar to how homeopathic medicines work. Homeopathic medicines are created by diluting a tiny amount of medicine with a huge amount of water, this is shaken, and then a tiny amount of this is taken and diluted with a huge amount of water again. This is again shaken then a tiny amount taken and diluted down again, and the process is repeated many times (some say that the more the process is repeated the stronger the final medicine becomes). This process is supposed to make the water take on the form of the initial medicine, but with it still being water it can be absorbed into the body much better. I'll try and find a link later but at some point someone did some tests and showed that the water molecules had arranged themselves into similar shapes to those of the initial active ingredients.

my_house

6th wrote:

Anyone want to posta good "how to" guide to EVP? I meant do you record static, just record and hope for the best? What seems to be the best way to get results?

theories vary - some people try recording with background static, some just leave the recorder to record on its own, other people ask specific questions, leave a 40 sec gap and then ask another question. the last one seems to be the most popular as it means you dont have to spend hours reviewing tape.

---

taken from: http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa102901a.htm

How to Hear a Ghost

For decades, paranormal researchers have been recording enigmatic voices on audiotape. Called electronic voice phenomena - or EVP - these strange-sounding voices have been captured using ordinary tape recorders and cassette tapes. Often these researchers venture out into cemeteries or allegedly haunted houses. Sometimes the voices seem to respond to questions asked by the researchers, but often they are unprompted. In every case, however, the voices are not heard at the time they are recorded. Oddly, it is not until later when the researchers play the tape back - often with amplification or filtering - that the voices can be distinguished.

Are they ghosts? Voices from another dimension? Something else? What they are exactly is a matter of debate, but there's little denying that they are there - and completely unexplained.

On the Web
A number of paranormal organizations and other researchers have posted sound files of their EVPs on the web where you can easily hear them. Your browser will need RealAudio and Windows Media Player plug-ins to hear them all. You should know that EVP voices don't often sound like normal human voices. They usually have an electronic or otherworldly quality to them, and you have to listen carefully to hear the message. So turn up your volume and listen to these spooky samples:

* GEISTweb has several EVP samples, including "Get out!" and a young girl yelling "Mommy!"
* Ghost Investigators Society has four galleries of EVPs, including "I know who it was" and "So is the dead."
* International Ghost Hunters Society offers several dozen EVPs, including "I walk around talking to people" and "Help me, David."
* Utah Ghost Hunter's Society has many EVPs from all over Utah, including "I'm not buried here" and "Get out. Get out of my house."

Do It Yourself
If you'd like to experiment with EVP, all you need is a portable cassette tape recorder and some new high-quality cassette tapes. Make sure you use new tapes because you want to avoid any possibility of having voices or noises previously recorded on the tape.

World ITC offers these tips for successful EVP:

* Use an audiocassette recorder with an external microphone and a source of mild white noise, such as a radio tuned between stations. (Or, as other researcher have done, you can also experiment with the quiet of a cemetery or house; just be sure it is far from traffic noises that might interfere with the recording.)
* Place the microphone a few feet from the radio.
* Turn on the tape recorder and introduce the session. For example: "Good morning. It's Tuesday October 31, 11:59 p.m. I welcome all spirits." Then ask three or four questions.
* Replay the taped sequence and listen closely. A set of earphones can help make the short, faint voices more audible.

While some people are lucky enough to get a clear EVP on their first try, others might find that it takes several weeks or even months of experimenting to achieve success. World ITC says, "As you conduct voice experiments on a regular basis, the voices might get louder and clearer as your contact field (the field of thoughts, feelings and life energies between you and your spirit friends) grows stronger. It requires a clear mind, focused intent, positive thoughts, and a balanced temperament to ensure the best possible results."

magnumlady

I'd love to have a try but I'd probably just get freaked out.

Oryx

stevenmu wrote:

Of course, now someone has to ask if you've noticed anything in particular around areas with flowing water ?

This may need splitting to another thread.

Yes, I have. Theres a remote laneway near where I live, which has an underground stream beneath it at one point. As you walk towards this area there is a definite change in atmosphere. A kind of oppressive feeling, a bit hard to describe, and others have noticed it without prompting from me. There are fixed points where this area begins and ends, the stream would be in the centre. Twas only because we were trying to suss what the hell this feeling was that we noticed the stream at all.