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Electronic voice phenomena (EVP)
The so-called EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) are voice recorded on tapes, belonging to dead entities. For many, EVP means regaining a contact with a lost relative. Some do it via radio, other via a cassette recorder, others via a digital recorder.
By Michele Bugliaro Goggia - last modified: April 12, 2007 1:17 PM
Electronic voice phenomenon is an auditive phenomenon, in which voices (usually distorted) and whispers are recorded. Often, during recording, nothing unusual is heard. Such voices, though belonged to dead individuals. In some cases, such voices call or mention persons by name, suggesting a relationship and the hereafter theory. The same phenomenon is also called transcommunication, a word invented by physicist Ernst Senkowski at the "Congresso Internazionale di Parapsicologia" held in Fermo (AP, Italy) in 1979. Transcommunication can be both auditive or visual.
History of EVPs
Firstly discovered in 1956 by researcher writer Raymond Bayless and photograper-sensitive Attila Von Szalay. Then artist Friedrich Jürgenson in 1959 found out this possibility when he was recording birds singing. His book spread the word about the phenomenon. Finally EVP received greater publicity thanks to the work of Latvian Konstantin Raudive (1909-1974), a man who collected something like seventy thousands tapes of extra voices! And again, word spread, but this time it went further. After Raudive's success, other people tried to record extra voices. Groups and private associations were formed. In USA there are the American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena or the Continuing Life Research, in Germany there're the Gesellschaft für Psychobiophysik and the Verein für Tonbandstimmenforschung. Always, these groups are born from interested subjects who've got results, attracting parents, wives etc. who've lost somebody. Of course, many misunderstood common noises.
At least from the 1970s, an Italian old man called Marcello Bacci started experimenting such phoenomenon: not with a tape recorder, but in stead with his radio. The group, at first uncertain, received a blast in their passion for ITC after reading Jürgenson's book and after meeting him at Höörs. Later joined by a group of close friends, among all lawyer Luciano Capitani and witness Silvana Pagnotta, he started to obtain clearer and louder results at his "Centro Psicofonie di Grosseto". He greatly improved the quality of the voices. Furthermore, there is a kind of dialogue between him and the voices, which was not possible with plain tape EVP. Bacci uses different models of radios plus other gadgets to produce the phenomenon. He has created a typical case of "contact with hereafter's entities syndrome", where people come to hear the voices of their beloved, dead relatives. Nevertheless his phenomenon was and still is very impressive in clarity. As always, the Italian used by such voices is poor, full of grammar mistakes, and some information trasmitted truly wrong. For exemple, they describe "Desrna waves" as the mean to receive the voices. Useless to say, there're no Desrna waves in Science.
What do the voices say? Short messages, mostly personal messages or related to their deaths.
Methodologies
A few subjects show this strange capability before needing a contact with dead relatives, usually discovering by chance. Even hauntings and poltergeists can show vocal capabilities: in the Abbey House case the Nun once spoke. For Scott Rogo, this phenomenon does not require strong PSI powers: everyone could try and succeed.
Basically, you need a tape recorder or a radio set on white noise. Much of the research is aimed at arriving at the right choice of background noise, or "vibration". This varies from tuning in to special radio frequencies to letting a water tap run in the room. Most then start to record, asking a question and letting the tape record for ten minutes. Then, they stop and rewind, listening in search of an EVP. Some of the "pioneers", along with the search for better and more EVPs, developed a set of custom instruments able to ease and improve the reception of the voices, adding audiorecorders, videorecorders, cameras. Raudive even built his own machine, called "Psicophon".
Explanations
From a first look, EVPs lack all scientific validity: any normal noise can be misunderstood and considered an extra, as it does happen very often. With a more professional equipment, it's easy to identify the source (fax noise, morse code, radio interferences, etc.). Similarly to the vidicom phenomenon, the way experimenters proceed is disappointing. It's a hit and miss procedure, in which there is no control.
I see two explanations:
- from a psychological point of view, the desperate need to regain contact with somebody could push anybody to expect a signal. Any noise becomes paranormal
- from a psi point of view, it could also be one proper mean for PK to affect a tape, meant as a familiar media. ESP and PK may transform a thought into a frequency suitable for the tape. A sensitive may work as an aerial.
While I'm skeptic at most EVPs, I must admit the work of AAEVP is more promising, as they use IC recorders. The voice activated recording feature records audio when there is something to record. It tells you when an EVP is occurring and avoids you to listen to long audio files.
A very interesting research by physicist Sonia Rinaldi and acoustic engeneer Carlos Luz, at the Psychobiopysical Researches Institute of San Paulo (Brazil), revealed some incredible results: man's voice gamma is between 100 and 130 Hz, woman's between 130 and 210 Hz but the EVP-generated voices is always higher than 500 Hz, reaching 1428 Hz with Raudive's voices. I don't know if it's true.
External links
Konstantin Raudive at Pioneers of EVPs
German Association for Transcommunication Research
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