The EVP Society is the brain child of Darren Blanchard, otherwise known around the internet as OrdMandell, a guy who started recording EVP just a week ago and already has some amazing recordings.
Darren is very excited about his early results and has already built an attractive website to showcase them. He has spent much of the last two weeks learning all he can about EVP and has been making good progress.
I first met him over at HauntedVoices.com where he has quickly become a very active forum member. He reminds me somewhat of myself in my first few days of EVP study. He is eager to learn and reaching out for information wherever he can find it. I thought I might bring all of you along to check out his new site since he was kind enough to ask for my opinion.
The EVP Society is just a shell of a site at the moment, albeit one with a cool picture of a dead tree, but the good stuff is in his archives anyway, so lets just listen to his EVP.
His first EVP recorded on 8 November is amazingly clear and would scare the pants off most people. I'm not sure how anyone would feel when they hear a definite voice say "SHUT UP" when recording EVP for the first time. Darren was not discouraged.
Making no claims about his skills with audio software or recording devices, he is learning as he goes and the quality of the samples is greatly improving as he gains experience with the equipment. He is using Cool-Edit and is quickly learning how to properly filter his recordings without changing them. Still, many of his EVP are unclear or over processed. I do applaud him for posting his entire first session with whitenoise. That's good research, good sharing and a good listen. Nice Job!
My favorite is titled "how do I get out of here". It's very clear, but makes you wonder who needs to get out of where? Maybe Darren can find out.
We shall keep an eye on Darren and the EVP Society and I hope everyone welcomes and assists him in anyway you can, while forgiving the occasional cultural faux paus he is bound to make as a new comer to the world of the paranormal.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Thursday, September 29, 2005
the Last SPIRICOM Recording
SPIRICOM recording at the Ghost Investigators Society
If you like EVP, you have to hear George Meek and his work with the SPIRICOM. I wouldn't really call it Electronic Voice Phenomenon, but more like the Cell Phone to the Dead! I love the SPIRICOM project and have not heard this yet. Let's listen....
Mr. Meek starts out with a basic history of EVP and how the ideas for the SPIRICOM came about. I'm not going to ruin it and give you a blow by blow. If you want to know more, you will have to listen for yourself! But this is a good introduction to EVP, it's history and the theories of Meek, Raudive, Mueller, Jurgenson, and the other EVP pioneers.
The first thing that comes to mind while listening to some of the first recordings from the spiricom device, is how those pioneers tried their best to be scientific about their work. These were smart guys with some hi-tech gear for their time and they did a pretty good job of documenting things when they had success contacting deceased colleagues!
It's really fun to listen to them talking just like scientists in a lab or technicians in the field would be when working on a new communication device. You know "try this, adjust to ... frequency", "ok, try it now" "so how old are you? Are you married", things like that. LOL! You might think they were working on some new radio for the government, then you realize the one guy is DEAD!
They rag on each other about being late or long periods of no contact as well as the earliness of the hour; they tell jokes and rib one another too. They chat about the news and things around the lab. If you didn't know better you really would swear this was just a bunch of guys at work testing a new com system.
But this is no ordinary com system. We know Dr. Mueller died. Lot's of people were at his funeral and this research didn't begin immediately upon his death which might indicate scam. These guys were serious about their work, not out to make a buck. I don't find any reason not to take their recordings as authentic and this recording is quite entertaining and informative.
Listen to side one for yourself. I'll be back with my thoughts on side two, but for now it's bed time.
One problem with this recording is George Meek could have enjoyed a great carreer as a high school science movie host. You remember those guys, the ones that put you to sleep instantly when the teacher turned out the lights! So, couple that with the late hour and I'm ready for bed.
If you like EVP, you have to hear George Meek and his work with the SPIRICOM. I wouldn't really call it Electronic Voice Phenomenon, but more like the Cell Phone to the Dead! I love the SPIRICOM project and have not heard this yet. Let's listen....
Mr. Meek starts out with a basic history of EVP and how the ideas for the SPIRICOM came about. I'm not going to ruin it and give you a blow by blow. If you want to know more, you will have to listen for yourself! But this is a good introduction to EVP, it's history and the theories of Meek, Raudive, Mueller, Jurgenson, and the other EVP pioneers.
The first thing that comes to mind while listening to some of the first recordings from the spiricom device, is how those pioneers tried their best to be scientific about their work. These were smart guys with some hi-tech gear for their time and they did a pretty good job of documenting things when they had success contacting deceased colleagues!
It's really fun to listen to them talking just like scientists in a lab or technicians in the field would be when working on a new communication device. You know "try this, adjust to ... frequency", "ok, try it now" "so how old are you? Are you married", things like that. LOL! You might think they were working on some new radio for the government, then you realize the one guy is DEAD!
They rag on each other about being late or long periods of no contact as well as the earliness of the hour; they tell jokes and rib one another too. They chat about the news and things around the lab. If you didn't know better you really would swear this was just a bunch of guys at work testing a new com system.
But this is no ordinary com system. We know Dr. Mueller died. Lot's of people were at his funeral and this research didn't begin immediately upon his death which might indicate scam. These guys were serious about their work, not out to make a buck. I don't find any reason not to take their recordings as authentic and this recording is quite entertaining and informative.
Listen to side one for yourself. I'll be back with my thoughts on side two, but for now it's bed time.
One problem with this recording is George Meek could have enjoyed a great carreer as a high school science movie host. You remember those guys, the ones that put you to sleep instantly when the teacher turned out the lights! So, couple that with the late hour and I'm ready for bed.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
CHARGING DOES NOT MAKE ONE UNETHICAL or UNPROFFESIONAL
CHARGING DOES NOT MAKE ONE UNETHICAL or UNPROFFESIONAL, in fact, the exact opposite is usually true.
There is much debate in the paranormal world lately about charging for services or training. Many are upset with groups like TAPS for doing TV shows and like to point fingers at any groups who charge for goods or services or ask for donations. It seems that many feel that if anyone charges or gets paid for anything, then they are not reputable and are out to scam everyone.
"The real ghost hunters work for FREE!" they say. BUT.....
It takes money to run a quality website. It takes money to run quality investigations (now it can take a week’s wages just to pay for the gas to drive to that haunted house!). It takes money to put together quality training materials. It takes money to run a ghost hunters organization. It takes money to buy sensitive scientific equipment and high tech electronics. It takes money so that people even have time to do this.
It takes money to do just about anything. So why would anyone expect you to do ghost hunting totally for free? What, because you can’t guarantee your work or prove you are absolutely right about anything?
We don't think like this with other professions. Lawyers, Doctors and even Plumbers and Car Mechanics charge a lot for their services. They too can't guarantee the outcome of a procedure or even prove their views are correct or will not be proven wrong next week. Yet we are happy to pay what they ask for their valuable services, all while knowing they profess to only be "practicing" their professions and nothing they say is set in stone.
Keeping you free, healthy, clean and moving seems to demand a high price, one many Americans and most of the rest of the world can't even afford. Yet we don't call these people "unethical" or "unprofessional" because they charge us, we actually expect them to charge us a lot!
The excuses I hear people use to defend this sad reality usually fall along these lines: They worked hard to get their education, things like good equipment, well trained staff and insurance cost lot's of money and besides, do we expect these valuable people to just work for free?
How would they feed their families or give their children a quality education and a nice place to live? What kind of quality legal representation, health services or repairs can one really expect for free anyway? Why would anyone spend all their time doing these jobs if they didn't pay well?
And there is truth there. People do deserve to be compensated for the time it took to learn their trades or to teach what they know to others. People do deserve to be able to afford a decent life and to provide for their families. People should expect to get the best quality they can afford for their hard earned money.
We all know "The more they charge, the better they must be." "You get what you pay for" and "free usually equals CRAP" is how we look at things as a society in general. Besides, it's usually true.
So why is the world of the paranormal so different? Why is it that if someone in the paranormal asks for even the smallest donation to buy a new camera or cleverly uses the media's pocketbook to get themselves some decent equipment, sweet cars or to be able to afford more research, then they instantly become "unethical" or "unprofessional" and others will put them down for it?
Why is it that if someone asks for $5 for a CD of white noise that most people wouldn't have a clue how to make on their own, then they must be scamming you or "out to get rich"?
So many in the ghost hunting community seem to be saying "Look at me! I'm doing it for free so I'm better than everyone else!" and Mr. Snider of the Crawford County Ghost Hunters, seems to go even further by attacking the Haunted Voices staff and Mr. Todd Bates directly for charging $5 for a CD of white noise, which he personally doesn't feel is the best background for EVP recording.
I’ll say this about his opinion: I don't think it's fair. I don't think it's right. And I definitely don't think this general "you can't charge" attitude everyone seems to have is the way to get any kind of real "scientific study" done to further our knowledge and understanding of EVP or to give serious paranormal researchers any respect in the eyes of the general public.
I don't think it's fair:
I was at the meeting where it was decided to charge for some of the services on HV. I was one who was encouraging it since I know how much money it can cost to run a website such as this and how much time it takes to make it run smoothly.
HV offers many valuable products and services that people are more than willing to pay for. I don't see a problem with charging users a reasonable fee for things like advanced training and hard copy materials so the all volunteer staff can afford to make it even better than it already is.
Folks, the land of Free is unfortunately a dream. I wish it were not so, but bandwidth costs money and audio files take up a lot of it; hosting space costs money and again, large audio files and huge forum databases take up a lot of it; cool templates and custom programming costs money and time; chat rooms cost money and time, developing DVD's or CD's and their printed training materials costs a lot of money and time, and how willing would each of you be to use your home telephone or personal cell phone to provide three hours of training in your specialty to other people almost every night while footing the bill yourself? These things cost money. It’s a simple reality.
If HV keeps growing at this rate, it will go broke. That's a fact of life when running community websites and the crumbled ruins of millions of other sites who also thought they could provide advanced features to thousands of users for free litter the information superhighway. If HV is not destined to join them on the roadside, it needs a modest income to support its self as it grows. Technology costs money, and the funny thing is, it’s really not that much at all.
But it's not fair to ask Todd and his family or the families of the staff to go without things while we all enjoy the fruits of his and everyone else's labor for free. We pay handsomely for our entertainment, social events, and continuing education in the real world and while we usually wish it were cheaper, we don't expect those people to give us these things for free.
I believe it's unfair to expect anyone to give up their valuable time and energy teaching you or entertaining you or making you nice things without giving them something of value in return, especially when they are asking a tenth of what a giant corporation would while providing a better product.
We've all got bills to pay and families to feed. We don’t work for free at our jobs and it’s unfair to ask other people to work for free too.
It is not right:
Todd was totally against charging for anything except the few bucks for CD's because that’s exactly how much they cost him to make. He was willing to provide the three hours of FREE telephone training to anyone who might ask and even three or four more for advanced training without charge. He was willing to manage an ever growing community of affiliate groups by himself and provide them all with constant technical advice and support.
He was willing to give up hundreds and even thousands of hours of his time and talents so that people could have a nice place to learn more and share their knowledge about EVP.
He is definitely a man on a mission to share EVP with the world, but reality has come to roost and he is quickly going broke trying to save the world by himself. It just goes against his nature to charge for this stuff even if every single penny does go right back into the site along with many more that come straight from his family’s pocket. He was obviously angry that we even had to discuss it and I’m sure it was physically painful for him to finally make the hard decision to charge for anything.
After all Todd and the Haunted Voices staff have done, even if you don't agree with their methods or theories, it is just plain rude to exclaim they are in this for money. No body gets rich off EVP, and to even argue such a point is just plain silly. If anyone is planning on using EVP to get rich, take this ghostly advice from a pretty famous EVP recording and: "GET OUT, GET OUT NOW!"
The VOLUNTEER staff worked hard for hours to figure out ways to charge the least amount of money possible and still pay the bills. That sure doesn’t sound like greedy folks to me.
Free can't mean good science and besides, the public doesn’t respect free.
Every group says they are out to conduct "scientific" study, yet they try and do it for free and with the gear and training they can afford on such a budget. Does this really sound like the way to conduct "science" or to have your research taken seriously by anyone? I mean no offense to any group when I say “No, it’s not”.
After 60+ years of study, the world has still proven ZIP about the true nature of the Electronic Voice Phenomenon. One reason I got so interested in EVP in the first place, is that I thought this would seem to be the simplest way to prove, once and for all, something in the paranormal realm.
What more convincing evidence can one get then a disembodied voice answering specific questions on tape? How hard would it really be to prove it's not radio waves or our imaginations messing with us?
But I want to see some real science. I want structured experiments. I want to see environmental readings other then from a cheap thermometer or a radio shack EMF meter designed to find electrical wires in a wall. I want to see hypotheses written down and methodical research done to prove them. I want to see serious researchers trading data and working together to find the methods that work best while avoiding unnecessary duplication of things that have failed.
I say enough of the free host websites featuring "trust me! My $20 memo recorder and I really were in the empty cemetery with no one else around. Doesn't it sound like someone says 'get out', and isn't that really scary?" It's not convincing to the general public and I feel just fuels the scorn paranormal researchers must endure. That kind of thing might be fun and indeed pretty scary for people to listen to, but it's not science and it proves nothing.
I want to see video of the microphone and the surrounding area to prove it's not someone faking it. I want multiple recording devices going to make sure it's not some ambient noise or to try and locate the source by triangulation or spatial computer modeling. I want to see more creative engineering and experimentation in the devices used to capture EVP and more people seeking grants to fund such in depth research.
I want to see different types of recording equipment used to try and figure out exactly how it's being done and who might be doing it. I want to see long term coordinated study of the same locations by different groups to see if you consistently get the same voice and I want to see some attempts to initiate conversations with whoever is responsible for the mysterious voices you do record.
Enough of the scary ghost stories and “reality” TV shows where computer generated skulls come out of the windows of expensive New Orleans restaurants looking for free publicity. I want to see proof! I want to see science. And I don't think you can get either without some money, perhaps serious money.
If the string of paranormal TV shows has taught us anything, it should be that money can’t buy you love, but it sure does buy some cool electronics and comfortable cars while also opening the doors to places you never even knew existed!
I can’t understand how any ghost hunter can conduct serious research or expect to be taken seriously by the general public when they so proudly hail “We don’t charge anything and never paid a dime for any of our training or equipment! Those who do are frauds!”
That just seems unnatural and somewhat paranormal to me. Imagine what you would say to the scientist who told you the same thing! However, my views on this particular topic are often criticized by ghost hunters the world over.
As a matter of fact, when Todd and I first met, we had a rather heated discussion about using multiple recording devices and being more "scientific" when recording for EVP. I had criticized in my blog some things he had posted about the methods he uses when conducting investigations. He advised his students to stick to recording and not burden themselves with all sorts of techno gadgets which is exactly what I wanted to see more of!
He felt very strongly that the use of cameras, thermal imaging and multiple audio or other recording devices would make it harder for EVP to be generated by the “spirits” and all that technology would simply distract the researcher from the recording process.
I felt very strongly that all that equipment was needed to conduct serious scientific research to capture some real hard evidence so the study of EVP might finally get some serious funding or at least not be completely blown off by the general public.
Over the last few months we have learned from each other and come to respect one another’s opinions. Heck, look at me now I even joined his staff to try and do what I can to help out!
The simple fact is that no one knows what EVP really is or how best to study it. But I don't think anyone ever will with a budget of zero!
Work for free if you must, but if others wish to donate to the cause or if ghost hunters choose to charge for some hard copy materials or advanced training, don't point your finger at them and say they are unprofessional. I think the exact opposite might just be true.
There is much debate in the paranormal world lately about charging for services or training. Many are upset with groups like TAPS for doing TV shows and like to point fingers at any groups who charge for goods or services or ask for donations. It seems that many feel that if anyone charges or gets paid for anything, then they are not reputable and are out to scam everyone.
"The real ghost hunters work for FREE!" they say. BUT.....
It takes money to run a quality website. It takes money to run quality investigations (now it can take a week’s wages just to pay for the gas to drive to that haunted house!). It takes money to put together quality training materials. It takes money to run a ghost hunters organization. It takes money to buy sensitive scientific equipment and high tech electronics. It takes money so that people even have time to do this.
It takes money to do just about anything. So why would anyone expect you to do ghost hunting totally for free? What, because you can’t guarantee your work or prove you are absolutely right about anything?
We don't think like this with other professions. Lawyers, Doctors and even Plumbers and Car Mechanics charge a lot for their services. They too can't guarantee the outcome of a procedure or even prove their views are correct or will not be proven wrong next week. Yet we are happy to pay what they ask for their valuable services, all while knowing they profess to only be "practicing" their professions and nothing they say is set in stone.
Keeping you free, healthy, clean and moving seems to demand a high price, one many Americans and most of the rest of the world can't even afford. Yet we don't call these people "unethical" or "unprofessional" because they charge us, we actually expect them to charge us a lot!
The excuses I hear people use to defend this sad reality usually fall along these lines: They worked hard to get their education, things like good equipment, well trained staff and insurance cost lot's of money and besides, do we expect these valuable people to just work for free?
How would they feed their families or give their children a quality education and a nice place to live? What kind of quality legal representation, health services or repairs can one really expect for free anyway? Why would anyone spend all their time doing these jobs if they didn't pay well?
And there is truth there. People do deserve to be compensated for the time it took to learn their trades or to teach what they know to others. People do deserve to be able to afford a decent life and to provide for their families. People should expect to get the best quality they can afford for their hard earned money.
We all know "The more they charge, the better they must be." "You get what you pay for" and "free usually equals CRAP" is how we look at things as a society in general. Besides, it's usually true.
So why is the world of the paranormal so different? Why is it that if someone in the paranormal asks for even the smallest donation to buy a new camera or cleverly uses the media's pocketbook to get themselves some decent equipment, sweet cars or to be able to afford more research, then they instantly become "unethical" or "unprofessional" and others will put them down for it?
Why is it that if someone asks for $5 for a CD of white noise that most people wouldn't have a clue how to make on their own, then they must be scamming you or "out to get rich"?
So many in the ghost hunting community seem to be saying "Look at me! I'm doing it for free so I'm better than everyone else!" and Mr. Snider of the Crawford County Ghost Hunters, seems to go even further by attacking the Haunted Voices staff and Mr. Todd Bates directly for charging $5 for a CD of white noise, which he personally doesn't feel is the best background for EVP recording.
I’ll say this about his opinion: I don't think it's fair. I don't think it's right. And I definitely don't think this general "you can't charge" attitude everyone seems to have is the way to get any kind of real "scientific study" done to further our knowledge and understanding of EVP or to give serious paranormal researchers any respect in the eyes of the general public.
I don't think it's fair:
I was at the meeting where it was decided to charge for some of the services on HV. I was one who was encouraging it since I know how much money it can cost to run a website such as this and how much time it takes to make it run smoothly.
HV offers many valuable products and services that people are more than willing to pay for. I don't see a problem with charging users a reasonable fee for things like advanced training and hard copy materials so the all volunteer staff can afford to make it even better than it already is.
Folks, the land of Free is unfortunately a dream. I wish it were not so, but bandwidth costs money and audio files take up a lot of it; hosting space costs money and again, large audio files and huge forum databases take up a lot of it; cool templates and custom programming costs money and time; chat rooms cost money and time, developing DVD's or CD's and their printed training materials costs a lot of money and time, and how willing would each of you be to use your home telephone or personal cell phone to provide three hours of training in your specialty to other people almost every night while footing the bill yourself? These things cost money. It’s a simple reality.
If HV keeps growing at this rate, it will go broke. That's a fact of life when running community websites and the crumbled ruins of millions of other sites who also thought they could provide advanced features to thousands of users for free litter the information superhighway. If HV is not destined to join them on the roadside, it needs a modest income to support its self as it grows. Technology costs money, and the funny thing is, it’s really not that much at all.
But it's not fair to ask Todd and his family or the families of the staff to go without things while we all enjoy the fruits of his and everyone else's labor for free. We pay handsomely for our entertainment, social events, and continuing education in the real world and while we usually wish it were cheaper, we don't expect those people to give us these things for free.
I believe it's unfair to expect anyone to give up their valuable time and energy teaching you or entertaining you or making you nice things without giving them something of value in return, especially when they are asking a tenth of what a giant corporation would while providing a better product.
We've all got bills to pay and families to feed. We don’t work for free at our jobs and it’s unfair to ask other people to work for free too.
It is not right:
Todd was totally against charging for anything except the few bucks for CD's because that’s exactly how much they cost him to make. He was willing to provide the three hours of FREE telephone training to anyone who might ask and even three or four more for advanced training without charge. He was willing to manage an ever growing community of affiliate groups by himself and provide them all with constant technical advice and support.
He was willing to give up hundreds and even thousands of hours of his time and talents so that people could have a nice place to learn more and share their knowledge about EVP.
He is definitely a man on a mission to share EVP with the world, but reality has come to roost and he is quickly going broke trying to save the world by himself. It just goes against his nature to charge for this stuff even if every single penny does go right back into the site along with many more that come straight from his family’s pocket. He was obviously angry that we even had to discuss it and I’m sure it was physically painful for him to finally make the hard decision to charge for anything.
After all Todd and the Haunted Voices staff have done, even if you don't agree with their methods or theories, it is just plain rude to exclaim they are in this for money. No body gets rich off EVP, and to even argue such a point is just plain silly. If anyone is planning on using EVP to get rich, take this ghostly advice from a pretty famous EVP recording and: "GET OUT, GET OUT NOW!"
The VOLUNTEER staff worked hard for hours to figure out ways to charge the least amount of money possible and still pay the bills. That sure doesn’t sound like greedy folks to me.
Free can't mean good science and besides, the public doesn’t respect free.
Every group says they are out to conduct "scientific" study, yet they try and do it for free and with the gear and training they can afford on such a budget. Does this really sound like the way to conduct "science" or to have your research taken seriously by anyone? I mean no offense to any group when I say “No, it’s not”.
After 60+ years of study, the world has still proven ZIP about the true nature of the Electronic Voice Phenomenon. One reason I got so interested in EVP in the first place, is that I thought this would seem to be the simplest way to prove, once and for all, something in the paranormal realm.
What more convincing evidence can one get then a disembodied voice answering specific questions on tape? How hard would it really be to prove it's not radio waves or our imaginations messing with us?
But I want to see some real science. I want structured experiments. I want to see environmental readings other then from a cheap thermometer or a radio shack EMF meter designed to find electrical wires in a wall. I want to see hypotheses written down and methodical research done to prove them. I want to see serious researchers trading data and working together to find the methods that work best while avoiding unnecessary duplication of things that have failed.
I say enough of the free host websites featuring "trust me! My $20 memo recorder and I really were in the empty cemetery with no one else around. Doesn't it sound like someone says 'get out', and isn't that really scary?" It's not convincing to the general public and I feel just fuels the scorn paranormal researchers must endure. That kind of thing might be fun and indeed pretty scary for people to listen to, but it's not science and it proves nothing.
I want to see video of the microphone and the surrounding area to prove it's not someone faking it. I want multiple recording devices going to make sure it's not some ambient noise or to try and locate the source by triangulation or spatial computer modeling. I want to see more creative engineering and experimentation in the devices used to capture EVP and more people seeking grants to fund such in depth research.
I want to see different types of recording equipment used to try and figure out exactly how it's being done and who might be doing it. I want to see long term coordinated study of the same locations by different groups to see if you consistently get the same voice and I want to see some attempts to initiate conversations with whoever is responsible for the mysterious voices you do record.
Enough of the scary ghost stories and “reality” TV shows where computer generated skulls come out of the windows of expensive New Orleans restaurants looking for free publicity. I want to see proof! I want to see science. And I don't think you can get either without some money, perhaps serious money.
If the string of paranormal TV shows has taught us anything, it should be that money can’t buy you love, but it sure does buy some cool electronics and comfortable cars while also opening the doors to places you never even knew existed!
I can’t understand how any ghost hunter can conduct serious research or expect to be taken seriously by the general public when they so proudly hail “We don’t charge anything and never paid a dime for any of our training or equipment! Those who do are frauds!”
That just seems unnatural and somewhat paranormal to me. Imagine what you would say to the scientist who told you the same thing! However, my views on this particular topic are often criticized by ghost hunters the world over.
As a matter of fact, when Todd and I first met, we had a rather heated discussion about using multiple recording devices and being more "scientific" when recording for EVP. I had criticized in my blog some things he had posted about the methods he uses when conducting investigations. He advised his students to stick to recording and not burden themselves with all sorts of techno gadgets which is exactly what I wanted to see more of!
He felt very strongly that the use of cameras, thermal imaging and multiple audio or other recording devices would make it harder for EVP to be generated by the “spirits” and all that technology would simply distract the researcher from the recording process.
I felt very strongly that all that equipment was needed to conduct serious scientific research to capture some real hard evidence so the study of EVP might finally get some serious funding or at least not be completely blown off by the general public.
Over the last few months we have learned from each other and come to respect one another’s opinions. Heck, look at me now I even joined his staff to try and do what I can to help out!
The simple fact is that no one knows what EVP really is or how best to study it. But I don't think anyone ever will with a budget of zero!
Work for free if you must, but if others wish to donate to the cause or if ghost hunters choose to charge for some hard copy materials or advanced training, don't point your finger at them and say they are unprofessional. I think the exact opposite might just be true.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
EVP'S And Orb Video
EVP'S And Orb Video from Glinda in KY.
Here is a site I found that has a great evp of a small child saying "can I say something" after Glinda asks if anyone would like to say something.
There is also some who say they can hear a man's voice saying "shut up" or "Joshua, shut up!"
See what you think.
And, if you are looking for a little fun, Glinda has just set up a webcam in her new place to do a little ghost hunting with as well. You can also chat about it at her new discussion board.
Take a look and see if you see the lady in the chair in the living room!
Here is a site I found that has a great evp of a small child saying "can I say something" after Glinda asks if anyone would like to say something.
There is also some who say they can hear a man's voice saying "shut up" or "Joshua, shut up!"
See what you think.
And, if you are looking for a little fun, Glinda has just set up a webcam in her new place to do a little ghost hunting with as well. You can also chat about it at her new discussion board.
Take a look and see if you see the lady in the chair in the living room!
Saturday, August 06, 2005
The AA-EVP's new "4Cell" experiment
Well, it seems while I've been gone the AA-EVP has been busy developing an interesting new experiment with some very exciting and scientific methods.
Called the 4Cell EVP Demonstration, the main goal is to show that actual, provable communication can be had between experimenters and whomever is causing these strange voices people keep recording that we call the Electronic Voice Phenomenon.
So far, few researchers have even attempted, let alone actually accomplished an extended two way dialogue with these seemingly disembodied "entities". While many of the EVP recordings seem to be answering direct questions of the researchers, there is room for interpretation and the skeptics are always quick to point this out.
So, the AA-EVP wants to create a "test bed" with an established protocol, detailed records and weekly sessions to answer some basic questions about this amazing phenomenon in a way that minimizes direct personal involvement and therefore any possible direct or indirect interference on the part of individual researchers.
The questions they hope to answer:
Here is how it works:
One person, called the 'Requester' comes up with the question they will ask of the "entity". The Requester tells no one, at least no one living here on Earth what that question will be, but they are not clear on exactly how the Requester makes the request known to those they wish to communicate with.
Next, another person called the 'Sender' asks those on the other side to answer the question posed by the Requester. But, they don't actually make the recording, that's done by another person called the 'Receiver'.
The Receiver is always unaware of the specifics of the request and simply attempts to record any responses the "other side" might wish to make.
After the recording is completed, a fourth person, the 'Scribe' compares any recorded messages with the actual question asked by the Requester to see if the answer matches.
If there is a reasonable assumption that the recording is indeed in answer to the Requesters question, then the recording gets posted to the AA-EVP discussion group so that other members, called the "listening panel", can review the recording to see if they can concur on what was said and if indeed it was a response to the question posed.
All the while any communication between the four cell members will be conducted via an email list so that they will have detailed recorded archives of what was said and when.
This is the kind of stuff I've been waiting for! It's ok to go to a cemetery or be sitting in your house and ask "what is your name" and then record something you think might be a name, but this way there is a firm question, a firm answer, a peer review process of sorts and detailed records.
Not to mention, with the same group working together over a period of months, the possiblility of expanding on previous questions and actually having a conversation is very exciting!
So, what have they found so far? Great results came the very first week!
The question was asked by one group 'Does it take more of your energy to manifest a Class 'A' EVP? If so please indicate your answer as 'More energy' or 'No difference.' (I love that it's only multiple choice, not much room for interpretation here!)
The answer? An amazing "no difference" was clearly heard by the listening panel. Amazing! (It also leads to the obvious question 'then why do we have so many more class 'B' and 'C' EVP, but I'm sure they will get to that)
Another group posed the question "Can you tell me the name of JR's make-believe sister?" While this question does leave some room for personal interpretation and there is a remote possiblility that other participants might know this, the expected answer was "Sissy Sally" which is fairly specific and leaves little room for any interpretation on the part of the panel.
What response did they agree on after reviewing their recordings? "Sally is the name"! Now that's close enough for me!
What an exciting project. It seems this started back in May and I can't wait to learn what they have discovered since then.
As always, I'll keep you informed and I want to send a big giant
to the fine folks at the AA-EVP for attempting this. It has great potential and moves us in the right direction of proving what the heck EVP really is!
Called the 4Cell EVP Demonstration, the main goal is to show that actual, provable communication can be had between experimenters and whomever is causing these strange voices people keep recording that we call the Electronic Voice Phenomenon.
So far, few researchers have even attempted, let alone actually accomplished an extended two way dialogue with these seemingly disembodied "entities". While many of the EVP recordings seem to be answering direct questions of the researchers, there is room for interpretation and the skeptics are always quick to point this out.
So, the AA-EVP wants to create a "test bed" with an established protocol, detailed records and weekly sessions to answer some basic questions about this amazing phenomenon in a way that minimizes direct personal involvement and therefore any possible direct or indirect interference on the part of individual researchers.
The questions they hope to answer:
- Can you communicate and perhaps have some sort of conversation with the "other side"?
- What forms of information are most easily communicated?
- What are the best methods for training people to conduct transcommunication.
- And which devices work best for capturing voices or images from these invisible benefactors?
Here is how it works:
One person, called the 'Requester' comes up with the question they will ask of the "entity". The Requester tells no one, at least no one living here on Earth what that question will be, but they are not clear on exactly how the Requester makes the request known to those they wish to communicate with.
Next, another person called the 'Sender' asks those on the other side to answer the question posed by the Requester. But, they don't actually make the recording, that's done by another person called the 'Receiver'.
The Receiver is always unaware of the specifics of the request and simply attempts to record any responses the "other side" might wish to make.
After the recording is completed, a fourth person, the 'Scribe' compares any recorded messages with the actual question asked by the Requester to see if the answer matches.
If there is a reasonable assumption that the recording is indeed in answer to the Requesters question, then the recording gets posted to the AA-EVP discussion group so that other members, called the "listening panel", can review the recording to see if they can concur on what was said and if indeed it was a response to the question posed.
All the while any communication between the four cell members will be conducted via an email list so that they will have detailed recorded archives of what was said and when.
This is the kind of stuff I've been waiting for! It's ok to go to a cemetery or be sitting in your house and ask "what is your name" and then record something you think might be a name, but this way there is a firm question, a firm answer, a peer review process of sorts and detailed records.
Not to mention, with the same group working together over a period of months, the possiblility of expanding on previous questions and actually having a conversation is very exciting!
So, what have they found so far? Great results came the very first week!
The question was asked by one group 'Does it take more of your energy to manifest a Class 'A' EVP? If so please indicate your answer as 'More energy' or 'No difference.' (I love that it's only multiple choice, not much room for interpretation here!)
The answer? An amazing "no difference" was clearly heard by the listening panel. Amazing! (It also leads to the obvious question 'then why do we have so many more class 'B' and 'C' EVP, but I'm sure they will get to that)
Another group posed the question "Can you tell me the name of JR's make-believe sister?" While this question does leave some room for personal interpretation and there is a remote possiblility that other participants might know this, the expected answer was "Sissy Sally" which is fairly specific and leaves little room for any interpretation on the part of the panel.
What response did they agree on after reviewing their recordings? "Sally is the name"! Now that's close enough for me!
What an exciting project. It seems this started back in May and I can't wait to learn what they have discovered since then.
As always, I'll keep you informed and I want to send a big giant
WELL DONE
to the fine folks at the AA-EVP for attempting this. It has great potential and moves us in the right direction of proving what the heck EVP really is!
Monday, August 01, 2005
EVPs and Videos from Washington State Paranormal Investigations and Research
Today I discovered the EVPs and Videos from Washington State Paranormal Investigations and Research.
The thing I liked about their approach to posting EVP on the internet is that they won't tell you what they hear, they want you to tell them what you hear!
This is an interesting practice. Many naysayers point to the fact that if you tell people what they will hear, they will hear exactly that. For many EVP, this is true. I recall the debate over the WhiteNoise movie trailers. What millions heard as "I will see you no more" has been thought for years to be "I was seeing the war". Giant green letters on the screen might influence your judgement. These people try and minimize that and should be applauded for their very scientific efforts!
So, let''s listen and see what we hear!
Charlotte's EVP 2 - Taken with a micro cassette recorder I hear "please help me". What do you hear?
Charlotte's EVP 4 - This one is hard to make out. AT time index 0.05 there is definately a voice. The girls are talking about rewinding their recorders and you can hear a male voice whisper "see I told you"? Then, at the end of the recording there are very strange noises and a ground hum of sorts. Could be created by unplugging a mic or something, but it is interesting listening none the less.
Listen to Charlotte's EVP #6 and see what you hear. I can't make it out, but there is definately a male voice on this recording as well.
The amazing thing about Charlotte's recordings is that the male voice sounds like the same one on most of these. They don't say if all these recordings were taken at the same place or during the same investigation, but it is interesting to hear the same voice on multiple recordings, even if I can't make out what was being said.
Check out her EVP #9. She asks any spirits to speak into the microphone and say their name. Right after that you can hear a voice, but the recording seems to cut off and I can't make it out.
And finally, who is "Debbie Olsen"? I don't know, but it sure sounds like that's what Patricia's Issaquah clip captured a ghostly voice saying!
Check out this site. They have lot's of great EVP and many interesting investigations to read about.
Also, check out the facinating way they conduct themselves while investigating the Starvation Heights in Olalla Washington. They even blindfold their psychics, put them in seperate vehicles and don't tell them where they are going even after they get there.
When they do arrive, they also don't let any of the four teams interact with one another and they all must conduct their own independent investigations.
While it might sound more like a secret Mafia meeting, this is one great way to minimize the chances of one group influencing the others.
Good science and fun reading. Check out the Washington State Paranormal Investigations and Research right now!
The thing I liked about their approach to posting EVP on the internet is that they won't tell you what they hear, they want you to tell them what you hear!
This is an interesting practice. Many naysayers point to the fact that if you tell people what they will hear, they will hear exactly that. For many EVP, this is true. I recall the debate over the WhiteNoise movie trailers. What millions heard as "I will see you no more" has been thought for years to be "I was seeing the war". Giant green letters on the screen might influence your judgement. These people try and minimize that and should be applauded for their very scientific efforts!
So, let''s listen and see what we hear!
Charlotte's EVP 2 - Taken with a micro cassette recorder I hear "please help me". What do you hear?
Charlotte's EVP 4 - This one is hard to make out. AT time index 0.05 there is definately a voice. The girls are talking about rewinding their recorders and you can hear a male voice whisper "see I told you"? Then, at the end of the recording there are very strange noises and a ground hum of sorts. Could be created by unplugging a mic or something, but it is interesting listening none the less.
Listen to Charlotte's EVP #6 and see what you hear. I can't make it out, but there is definately a male voice on this recording as well.
The amazing thing about Charlotte's recordings is that the male voice sounds like the same one on most of these. They don't say if all these recordings were taken at the same place or during the same investigation, but it is interesting to hear the same voice on multiple recordings, even if I can't make out what was being said.
Check out her EVP #9. She asks any spirits to speak into the microphone and say their name. Right after that you can hear a voice, but the recording seems to cut off and I can't make it out.
And finally, who is "Debbie Olsen"? I don't know, but it sure sounds like that's what Patricia's Issaquah clip captured a ghostly voice saying!
Check out this site. They have lot's of great EVP and many interesting investigations to read about.
Also, check out the facinating way they conduct themselves while investigating the Starvation Heights in Olalla Washington. They even blindfold their psychics, put them in seperate vehicles and don't tell them where they are going even after they get there.
When they do arrive, they also don't let any of the four teams interact with one another and they all must conduct their own independent investigations.
While it might sound more like a secret Mafia meeting, this is one great way to minimize the chances of one group influencing the others.
Good science and fun reading. Check out the Washington State Paranormal Investigations and Research right now!
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Timeless Voices - EVP Analysis
Timeless Voices - EVP Analysis
Lot''s of great EVP from this site. Living in the Southwest, as I do, one might think that our "wild west" might be a great place for recording EVP since so many tragic deaths occured during the settlement and exploration of this most inhospitable part of the country. Check out the Ghosts and Haunts of the Southwest for a ton of very interesting EVP.
"We are not here to hurt you" is a great example of some very clear class A EVP. While investigating a house without power, the team set up a tape recorder in a bedroom and went about the rest of the house. After returning, a recording of a woman's voice can be heard definately saying "we are not here to hurt you"! Well, I hope not!
Next is their collection of EVP taken on the Queen Mary. A popular ghost hunting spot and perhaps the most famous "haunted ship", the QM is a treasure trove of the paranormal and these EVP recordings are worth listening to.
"hotter than Hot" is how one "ghost" describes this team of women researchers as they investigate rooms B341 and B343 on the QM. While feeling the door for any heat sensations, a ghostly voice can be heard. Was he talking about the doors or the women? You decide.
"grata" when leaving the area of rooms B341 and 343, these polite investigators say thank you to whomever may be around. The response is "grata"! A you're welcome in Italian? You be the judge.
'I'm trying"? This EVP from the Queen Mary's first class pool area is also quite interesting. While the researchers say they hear "I'm trying" or "I'm crying", it sounds to me like there is a loud conversation that is obviously the researchers, yet under it is another conversation that sounds like kids. I definately can hear "where are you" in the middle. Can you?
Browse on over to the Ghosts and Haunts of the Southwest to hear more amazing EVP from the Queen Mary and other places in the great SW as well!
Lot''s of great EVP from this site. Living in the Southwest, as I do, one might think that our "wild west" might be a great place for recording EVP since so many tragic deaths occured during the settlement and exploration of this most inhospitable part of the country. Check out the Ghosts and Haunts of the Southwest for a ton of very interesting EVP.
"We are not here to hurt you" is a great example of some very clear class A EVP. While investigating a house without power, the team set up a tape recorder in a bedroom and went about the rest of the house. After returning, a recording of a woman's voice can be heard definately saying "we are not here to hurt you"! Well, I hope not!
Next is their collection of EVP taken on the Queen Mary. A popular ghost hunting spot and perhaps the most famous "haunted ship", the QM is a treasure trove of the paranormal and these EVP recordings are worth listening to.
"hotter than Hot" is how one "ghost" describes this team of women researchers as they investigate rooms B341 and B343 on the QM. While feeling the door for any heat sensations, a ghostly voice can be heard. Was he talking about the doors or the women? You decide.
"grata" when leaving the area of rooms B341 and 343, these polite investigators say thank you to whomever may be around. The response is "grata"! A you're welcome in Italian? You be the judge.
'I'm trying"? This EVP from the Queen Mary's first class pool area is also quite interesting. While the researchers say they hear "I'm trying" or "I'm crying", it sounds to me like there is a loud conversation that is obviously the researchers, yet under it is another conversation that sounds like kids. I definately can hear "where are you" in the middle. Can you?
Browse on over to the Ghosts and Haunts of the Southwest to hear more amazing EVP from the Queen Mary and other places in the great SW as well!
Sooner Corral EVP
G.H.O.U.L.I EVP GALLERY- Sooner corral
This is not really an EVP, but rather an SSP (spontaneous Sound Phenomenon) but it sure is interesting.
Two investigators from the Ghost Haunts of Oklahoma & Urban Investigations captured this amazing recording while conducting an investigation.
Russ, the guy running the recording equipment at the time, is very skeptical and didn't buy this right off. So, he asked the "spirit" who was tapping on the microphone to tap three times in a row.
As his partner exclaims that he can see indentions forming in the carpet as if some unseen person was walking across it, Russ records an amazing three taps on the mic which repeated three times, just as he had asked!
Great stuff, this! And a good lesson too. IF you get an EVP, ask the spirits to do something particular, something that will let you know some unseen force is responding to you.
Great EVP from the find folks at GHOULI! Check out the Sooner Corral EVP for yourself here.
This is not really an EVP, but rather an SSP (spontaneous Sound Phenomenon) but it sure is interesting.
Two investigators from the Ghost Haunts of Oklahoma & Urban Investigations captured this amazing recording while conducting an investigation.
Russ, the guy running the recording equipment at the time, is very skeptical and didn't buy this right off. So, he asked the "spirit" who was tapping on the microphone to tap three times in a row.
As his partner exclaims that he can see indentions forming in the carpet as if some unseen person was walking across it, Russ records an amazing three taps on the mic which repeated three times, just as he had asked!
Great stuff, this! And a good lesson too. IF you get an EVP, ask the spirits to do something particular, something that will let you know some unseen force is responding to you.
Great EVP from the find folks at GHOULI! Check out the Sooner Corral EVP for yourself here.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Mellliiissaaa JR?
Brooklyn Lancaster, young friend of Mellisa from EVPVOICES.COM has set up her own EVP site to share this phenomenon with younger people. She recently left some nice comments here and I thought I'd begin my return by checking out this new site!
I do have to say I really hate music on a website, especially MIDI tunes. Often times I have other sound stuff running and it just gets in the way or becomes annoying and would often crash my old system when I was watching TV or listening to the radio and analyzing an EVP which is hard enough on a sound card, and then BAM some musical website comes along and demands the sound cards full attention! Some people like it, I'm just not one of them, unless it specifically has to do with the site or is integrated into the design, then it's not so bad.
I was dissapointed she had not put evp as the background, that would be creepy!
But she had the theme from TITANIC going, so it's not too bad at all cause I'm a sucker for that song. I have to admit to letting it run the other night as background music while i worked!
Brooklyn starts out with
WHO WANTS TO KNOW
This is a great one! Guy asks if anyone is there and what sounds to me like an old woman says "who want's to know" then a long pause and "get out". Not scary, just like an old woman bothered by someone she doesn't know.
Unfortunately, many of her EVP are "enhanced" with digital processing and very hard to hear or uncomfortable to listen to. It's not her fault, just a side effect of the digital processing software. Good stuff costs thousands of dollars, so many EVP is processed using inexpensive or free software. I just can't listen to those. They never ring true to me and I can't put stock in something already altered.
"Play me that Tape", One of my all time favs is here, but it's processed and is not, in my opinion, as spectactular as the original at EVPVOICES.com. Melissa and her friend were out one night recording EVP when they recorded what sounds to be a man saying "play me that tape" and sounding rather surprised at finding his own voice on it!
"Leave me Alone" will give you chills. It sounds like the girls were not being all that serious one night and were joking about how the spirit died. So the lady tells them "Leave me alone" in the hollywood trademark spooky voice.
Check out "EVP VOICES JR" and you won't be disappointed in what this young lady has to say!
I do have to say I really hate music on a website, especially MIDI tunes. Often times I have other sound stuff running and it just gets in the way or becomes annoying and would often crash my old system when I was watching TV or listening to the radio and analyzing an EVP which is hard enough on a sound card, and then BAM some musical website comes along and demands the sound cards full attention! Some people like it, I'm just not one of them, unless it specifically has to do with the site or is integrated into the design, then it's not so bad.
I was dissapointed she had not put evp as the background, that would be creepy!
But she had the theme from TITANIC going, so it's not too bad at all cause I'm a sucker for that song. I have to admit to letting it run the other night as background music while i worked!
Brooklyn starts out with
EVPs are important to our environment by helping us in whole different ways, by showing us that there is life after death. You can tell that there is life after death by listening to these EVPs of ours from many different places. EVP has helped me by thinking that there is life after death and knowing that you move on after you die.and that's something I've discussed at great length here. Why don't people want to prove EVP for sure? IT could prove life after death, alternate dimensions or even time travel yet people either don't want to talk about it or just say it's all "crazy talk". What are people afraid of?
WHO WANTS TO KNOW
This is a great one! Guy asks if anyone is there and what sounds to me like an old woman says "who want's to know" then a long pause and "get out". Not scary, just like an old woman bothered by someone she doesn't know.
Unfortunately, many of her EVP are "enhanced" with digital processing and very hard to hear or uncomfortable to listen to. It's not her fault, just a side effect of the digital processing software. Good stuff costs thousands of dollars, so many EVP is processed using inexpensive or free software. I just can't listen to those. They never ring true to me and I can't put stock in something already altered.
"Play me that Tape", One of my all time favs is here, but it's processed and is not, in my opinion, as spectactular as the original at EVPVOICES.com. Melissa and her friend were out one night recording EVP when they recorded what sounds to be a man saying "play me that tape" and sounding rather surprised at finding his own voice on it!
"Leave me Alone" will give you chills. It sounds like the girls were not being all that serious one night and were joking about how the spirit died. So the lady tells them "Leave me alone" in the hollywood trademark spooky voice.
Check out "EVP VOICES JR" and you won't be disappointed in what this young lady has to say!
The Soldier Behind Me
Well, this is not really EVP, but more of a feeling than anything else.
It was a dark and windy night last night. I'm in new digs and things are already strange to me as I get used to the new house that has lot's of solid surfaces and can create some very interesting sounds all on it's own.
But last night I was taking a break and playing "Pearl Harbor" at Yahoo Games when I swear to you there was a man standing over my left shoulder watching me play. For the whole half hour I felt someone behind me and kept turning to see if one of the dogs had somehow managed to get into my room.
It was windy, and I was quick to blame it on the wind. I felt a presence, but you know how it is, you want to think it's the wind.
Well, me being who I am, I quickly shut all the windows to eliminate that possibility. I checked the area for things that might feel or sound like a person. Then I put my headphones on and went back to playing the game.
Sure enough, there is still at least one and sometimes it felt like two, people watching me. I swear you could feel them get excited as the Jap planes fell from the sky from my "expert" ;) gunnery skills with those rather large anti-aircraft guns you get to shoot in that game.
So, not really EVP and after a recent move and upgrade to winXP, I was not ready to whip out my recording stuff to see if these gentlemen had any advice for me.
I figured perhaps they had been there and could give me some pointers! But instead I decided if they wanted to watch, they were welcomed to tag along. It did seem like they were having more fun than I was!
It was a dark and windy night last night. I'm in new digs and things are already strange to me as I get used to the new house that has lot's of solid surfaces and can create some very interesting sounds all on it's own.
But last night I was taking a break and playing "Pearl Harbor" at Yahoo Games when I swear to you there was a man standing over my left shoulder watching me play. For the whole half hour I felt someone behind me and kept turning to see if one of the dogs had somehow managed to get into my room.
It was windy, and I was quick to blame it on the wind. I felt a presence, but you know how it is, you want to think it's the wind.
Well, me being who I am, I quickly shut all the windows to eliminate that possibility. I checked the area for things that might feel or sound like a person. Then I put my headphones on and went back to playing the game.
Sure enough, there is still at least one and sometimes it felt like two, people watching me. I swear you could feel them get excited as the Jap planes fell from the sky from my "expert" ;) gunnery skills with those rather large anti-aircraft guns you get to shoot in that game.
So, not really EVP and after a recent move and upgrade to winXP, I was not ready to whip out my recording stuff to see if these gentlemen had any advice for me.
I figured perhaps they had been there and could give me some pointers! But instead I decided if they wanted to watch, they were welcomed to tag along. It did seem like they were having more fun than I was!
The Return of Regman
Hey everyone! Well, as you can tell I've not been keeping up with this blog. It's a long story but for the last few months I just have not had the time or connectivity to pursue my EVP interests.
But that's somewhat changed now! I'm still very busy, but with my new super high speed connection and more stable living arrangement, I now can find the few moments it takes to visit all the great EVP sites out there and contemplate the meaning of it all.
I've been getting great comments and feedback and I wanted to thank everyone who contributed. I have to admit that I am surprised how kind everyone has been even if they don't agree with me and I have to thank everyone in the EVP world who has been so welcoming to my constant questions and inquiry. Those who have visited have had nice things to say and I appreciate hearing from anyone who has actual experience with this strange phenomenon. Thanks for your support!
I always intendend for this blog to be a discussion of EVP and stories about people's experiences, so I urge everyone to comment on the pages as you read them and let us all know what you think. But, please, keep the name calling and the "it's all just evil but I can't explain why"'s at a minimum, ok?
All comments are welcome, but please be constructive when you contribute your own thoughts. No one can learn from you if you just put them down and don't communicate.
LETS HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY! COMMENT OFTEN!
NOW, on to some EVP!
But that's somewhat changed now! I'm still very busy, but with my new super high speed connection and more stable living arrangement, I now can find the few moments it takes to visit all the great EVP sites out there and contemplate the meaning of it all.
I've been getting great comments and feedback and I wanted to thank everyone who contributed. I have to admit that I am surprised how kind everyone has been even if they don't agree with me and I have to thank everyone in the EVP world who has been so welcoming to my constant questions and inquiry. Those who have visited have had nice things to say and I appreciate hearing from anyone who has actual experience with this strange phenomenon. Thanks for your support!
I always intendend for this blog to be a discussion of EVP and stories about people's experiences, so I urge everyone to comment on the pages as you read them and let us all know what you think. But, please, keep the name calling and the "it's all just evil but I can't explain why"'s at a minimum, ok?
All comments are welcome, but please be constructive when you contribute your own thoughts. No one can learn from you if you just put them down and don't communicate.
LETS HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY! COMMENT OFTEN!
NOW, on to some EVP!
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Yuman's do EVP
The Yuma Sun has a report today about their local ghost hunter Don Swain and the increase in his calls about EVP since the White Noise movie came out.
Swain is quoted as saying ""Right as soon as that movie came out, I had four of those calls, because of 'White Noise' everyone's watching the static on their TVs and seeing demons."
But it does seem that Yuma has more than it's fair share of ghosts talking via EVP. With their long 'old west' history, Swain says the hot spots for EVP are on Prison Hill, Old Town and the old cemetery off First Avenue.
"I even had two spirits talking to each other at the old Conner House. A female voice said 'Where are you?' and then you hear a male voice say 'I'm here. Speak to me.’ ” says Swain.
Tom and Lisa Butler of the AAEVP also report a great interest in EVP since the movie. On opening day of the movie, their website got over 88,000 hits and Universal had to mirror them to keep up with the demand.
The exposure has done a lot of good for the EVP community though. Lisa Butler says: "One great thing is that the movie has given us the chance to set the record straight. Even though it shows EVPs as scary, it's still getting the word to the public about this phenomena."
But shouldn't people be scared? Isn't there a chance some evil being might come through? "Listen, I'm much more scared about getting mugged by a human than a dead person." says Butler.
Swain is quoted as saying ""Right as soon as that movie came out, I had four of those calls, because of 'White Noise' everyone's watching the static on their TVs and seeing demons."
But it does seem that Yuma has more than it's fair share of ghosts talking via EVP. With their long 'old west' history, Swain says the hot spots for EVP are on Prison Hill, Old Town and the old cemetery off First Avenue.
"I even had two spirits talking to each other at the old Conner House. A female voice said 'Where are you?' and then you hear a male voice say 'I'm here. Speak to me.’ ” says Swain.
Tom and Lisa Butler of the AAEVP also report a great interest in EVP since the movie. On opening day of the movie, their website got over 88,000 hits and Universal had to mirror them to keep up with the demand.
The exposure has done a lot of good for the EVP community though. Lisa Butler says: "One great thing is that the movie has given us the chance to set the record straight. Even though it shows EVPs as scary, it's still getting the word to the public about this phenomena."
But shouldn't people be scared? Isn't there a chance some evil being might come through? "Listen, I'm much more scared about getting mugged by a human than a dead person." says Butler.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Finding EVP in Crewe Pubs
icCheshireOnline - Group sets out to find spirits in pubs reports a new group of ghosthunters in Crewe are going to stakeout the coaching inn on saturday to see if they can capture one of it's famous ghosts. The 18th century inn is reportedly haunted by a lady wafting through walls, a dog, a smoking guy named Ernie and the EVP betters favorite, the giggling little girl.
The new group, Spooks Paranormal Investigations, is made up of local co-workers and ghost enthusiasts who have quite an impressive arsenal of equipment. They plan on using night vision digital camcorders, motion sensors, thermometers and a whole range of EMF detectors. They also plan to use the old fashioned, but reportedly reliable techniques as divining rods, candles and Ouija boards as well.
The article reports them as being "experts" in EVP, yet I find the lack of recording devices in their list of equipment kind of funny. They go on to mention, however, some sort of EVP equipment which sends out ultrasonic sounds is going to be used. This is the first time I have heard of such a technique and the author doesn't give us anymore details.
These guys are hoping to gain access to many of the famous pubs in town as well as the infamous Lyceum Theatre which has been reported haunted for centuries by such characters as a monk, an actor and a hung ballet dancer.
I can't wait to see if they report their findings or if they give anymore information on this EVP recording equipment that sends out sound waves. Seems like they have a lot of equipment, I hope they capture something!
The new group, Spooks Paranormal Investigations, is made up of local co-workers and ghost enthusiasts who have quite an impressive arsenal of equipment. They plan on using night vision digital camcorders, motion sensors, thermometers and a whole range of EMF detectors. They also plan to use the old fashioned, but reportedly reliable techniques as divining rods, candles and Ouija boards as well.
The article reports them as being "experts" in EVP, yet I find the lack of recording devices in their list of equipment kind of funny. They go on to mention, however, some sort of EVP equipment which sends out ultrasonic sounds is going to be used. This is the first time I have heard of such a technique and the author doesn't give us anymore details.
These guys are hoping to gain access to many of the famous pubs in town as well as the infamous Lyceum Theatre which has been reported haunted for centuries by such characters as a monk, an actor and a hung ballet dancer.
I can't wait to see if they report their findings or if they give anymore information on this EVP recording equipment that sends out sound waves. Seems like they have a lot of equipment, I hope they capture something!
MegaStar - Liberace ghost haunts club
It seems the ghost of Liberace is haunting an old nightclub he used to own. Floating capes, flying bottles and womens' toilet doors that mysteriously lock and unlock themselves have all been reported at the Carluccio's Tivoli Gardens. The only thing that seems to be missing is his trademark candelabra floating across the dance floor!
MegaStar - Liberace ghost haunts club
While I really want to say publicly that Phil Kemp, the author of this article is a complete moron who obviously knows nothing about the history of music beyond his own limited experience in the last 10 years or so and has absolutely no business writing for any music website that does not exclusively cover shallow teen market hip hop or rap, I can't say that or it would just be mean and I would lower myself to his level. If you can disregard his mean spirited, homophobic, high schoolish remarks about one of music's greatest legends, then you might just find this story as funny as I did.
While Kemp says "Liber-who" and claims in his SAT question type style that while Elvis was "to screaming middle-aged women in his burger-guzzling rhinestone fat-suit 70s phase, Liberace was, well, just screaming", he obviously knows nothing of the rich history of music's most flambouyant showman who helped make Vegas the entertainment capital it is now.
I think haunting people who insult his sexual orientation with floating capes and flying bottles sounds just like something Liberace would do.
Liberace was famous for his larger than life theatrics and his colorful costumes, lavish sets and amazingly extravagant shows, not to mention his trademark candelabra, which made him as big a hit in Vegas as Elvis ever was. The Britney Spears to millions in an age where his sexuality made him an easy target for ridicule and boycott, America still embraced this obviously gay and lispy sounding piano player and allowed him into their hearts and their TV's for almost two decades.
But an employee of the club, a Kelly Stanley, "believes she's annoyed the camp chap's spirit by making quips about his sexual orientation." and now he locks her in the toilet!
Here's hoping he doesn't remember that old sound activated, color changing, 30' high water fountain curtain he used to have on his Vegas stage or she might just get the toilet show of a lifetime next time she makes a remark!
And Kelly, you might want to watch out for flying pink cadilacs in the parking lot too!
MegaStar - Liberace ghost haunts club
While I really want to say publicly that Phil Kemp, the author of this article is a complete moron who obviously knows nothing about the history of music beyond his own limited experience in the last 10 years or so and has absolutely no business writing for any music website that does not exclusively cover shallow teen market hip hop or rap, I can't say that or it would just be mean and I would lower myself to his level. If you can disregard his mean spirited, homophobic, high schoolish remarks about one of music's greatest legends, then you might just find this story as funny as I did.
While Kemp says "Liber-who" and claims in his SAT question type style that while Elvis was "to screaming middle-aged women in his burger-guzzling rhinestone fat-suit 70s phase, Liberace was, well, just screaming", he obviously knows nothing of the rich history of music's most flambouyant showman who helped make Vegas the entertainment capital it is now.
I think haunting people who insult his sexual orientation with floating capes and flying bottles sounds just like something Liberace would do.
Liberace was famous for his larger than life theatrics and his colorful costumes, lavish sets and amazingly extravagant shows, not to mention his trademark candelabra, which made him as big a hit in Vegas as Elvis ever was. The Britney Spears to millions in an age where his sexuality made him an easy target for ridicule and boycott, America still embraced this obviously gay and lispy sounding piano player and allowed him into their hearts and their TV's for almost two decades.
But an employee of the club, a Kelly Stanley, "believes she's annoyed the camp chap's spirit by making quips about his sexual orientation." and now he locks her in the toilet!
Here's hoping he doesn't remember that old sound activated, color changing, 30' high water fountain curtain he used to have on his Vegas stage or she might just get the toilet show of a lifetime next time she makes a remark!
And Kelly, you might want to watch out for flying pink cadilacs in the parking lot too!
Monday, January 24, 2005
The Ghost of Regman
I thought I would stop by and apologize to everyone who is a regular subscriber. I've been extremely busy the last week with three large projects going and have not been keeping this blog updated nor listening to EVP as I should.
Rest assured my interest is still here and more posts will be coming in the next couple of days. I just need to finish up some work and actually get some sleep and then I'll be all ready for more EVP and ghost philosophy!
So stay tuned and happy ghost hunting!
Rest assured my interest is still here and more posts will be coming in the next couple of days. I just need to finish up some work and actually get some sleep and then I'll be all ready for more EVP and ghost philosophy!
So stay tuned and happy ghost hunting!
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
EVP recorded by TV crew in Texas
This just in from our friend Richard Smith over in Texas. Looks like he had some press over for the afternoon and they came away with some excellent EVP!
Television reporter and crew witness actual communication with ghosts !
San Antonio, TX (PRWEB) January 17, 2005 -- TV station KSAT 12, with veteran news reporter Angela Vierville, visited with Richard Smith, at the Paranormal Investigations of Texas (paratexas.com) office in Santa Fe, Texas, January 11, 2005, for a LIVE 3 HOUR EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena)SESSION.
The entire episode, including digital recording, computer analysis and audio processing, was filmed by a KSAT Television news crew. In addition, Powell Productions of Santa Fe, was also on hand to film footage for current Paranormal Investigations of Texas documentary film projects.
The technique of recorded ghost voices has recently been brought to public prominence due to the release of the new Hollywood Blockbuster movie "White Noise" starring Michael Keaton.
During the seven minute recording session, ghosts voices were recorded which called them by name, and responded to questions asked.
One highly specific message was received by Angela Vierville...a female ghost voice replied to Angela's request to speak her name by saying "Hey....show us your song, Angela". To the amazement of all, Angela then revealed that she was, on that very day, missing a rehearsal for a local event in which she would indeed be singing a solo!
Another clear message was recorded to Richard Smith......"Richard Smith...your friends behold me!". This after Richard has asked for any spirits to assist in demonstrating the existance of the spirit world.
Richard Smith is author of the book "Everyplace I Go Is Haunted, webmaster www.paratexas.com, member of AAEVP, and long time investigator and researcher of the electronics voice communication phenomenon.
Television reporter and crew witness actual communication with ghosts !
San Antonio, TX (PRWEB) January 17, 2005 -- TV station KSAT 12, with veteran news reporter Angela Vierville, visited with Richard Smith, at the Paranormal Investigations of Texas (paratexas.com) office in Santa Fe, Texas, January 11, 2005, for a LIVE 3 HOUR EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena)SESSION.
The entire episode, including digital recording, computer analysis and audio processing, was filmed by a KSAT Television news crew. In addition, Powell Productions of Santa Fe, was also on hand to film footage for current Paranormal Investigations of Texas documentary film projects.
The technique of recorded ghost voices has recently been brought to public prominence due to the release of the new Hollywood Blockbuster movie "White Noise" starring Michael Keaton.
During the seven minute recording session, ghosts voices were recorded which called them by name, and responded to questions asked.
One highly specific message was received by Angela Vierville...a female ghost voice replied to Angela's request to speak her name by saying "Hey....show us your song, Angela". To the amazement of all, Angela then revealed that she was, on that very day, missing a rehearsal for a local event in which she would indeed be singing a solo!
Another clear message was recorded to Richard Smith......"Richard Smith...your friends behold me!". This after Richard has asked for any spirits to assist in demonstrating the existance of the spirit world.
Richard Smith is author of the book "Everyplace I Go Is Haunted, webmaster www.paratexas.com, member of AAEVP, and long time investigator and researcher of the electronics voice communication phenomenon.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Common Ghost Theories and Misconceptions
At haunted voices there is an article by James Pinkston on many of the common theories and possible misconceptions that abound in the ghost hunting world. Read it at Haunted Voices - Theories
I like this guy, I really do. We think a lot alike about the paranormal and what can be proven or not. He admits having weird readings at times and experiencing possible paranormal activity, but like myself, he can not say for sure what their cause is and therefore can not say what is proven or even if he believes them to be ghosts.
His article starts out:
His discussion revolves mostly around orbs and EMF readings. He questions whether there is any shred of proof that EMF readings might indicate the paranormal and points out how many just assume elevated EMF indicates paranormal activity without really understanding what they are measuring, if anything.
He talks a lot about orbs, and what he says about them is interesting. He discusses the fact that many believe orb photos to be the spirits of the dead without any proof that it is not some other unknown force. Dust, pollen and many other pollutants have been found to be the cause of most orb photos but even those that remain unexplained are just that, unexplained. Orbs might be ghosts, or they might be something else all together.
I've always wondered why more EVP researchers do not use photography in their studies. You would have a good chance convincing me you had something substantial if you had three photos of the same orb from different cameras as well as a recording and some measurements showing drastic temperature or other environmental changes such as elevated EMF readings.
But many, including the Haunted Voices staff in their EVP questions and answers page advise against using other measuring equipment.
So, until someone figures out how to have full conversations with these voices or start actually trying to prove their theories with equipment other than the recorder, EVP will always remain a mystery that can not be proven.
As Pinkston so eloquently put it:
That's good advice for anyone who studies or believes in anything, particularly the paranormal.
I like this guy, I really do. We think a lot alike about the paranormal and what can be proven or not. He admits having weird readings at times and experiencing possible paranormal activity, but like myself, he can not say for sure what their cause is and therefore can not say what is proven or even if he believes them to be ghosts.
His article starts out:
"To date, there is absolutely no, and I repeat No 100% scientific proof that ghosts exist. Yes, we have all had our brush with the unexplained. We all have our personal opinions and feelings on the issue, but the skeptics and those opposed to the paranormal will argue that these are opinions and personal beliefs alone, and there is nothing substantial to support their actual existence. "And they would be right. Until ghost hunters can gather more detailed and scientific data, there can be no logical or valid argument to the skeptics or the general public that anything paranormal actually exists. I'll be the first to attack skeptics who don't know what they are talking about or try to use their own unproven theories against believers. But as I've said to both sides many times, show me your data, show me your studies and you have to present me with more than "I just know". Mr. Pinkston goes on to say:
"What troubles me in the first place is how many of the theories that have existed for many years are now held by many to be considered as truths with no consideration or effort made to try to authenticate these theories."Thanks James, I was starting to think I was the only one. I've written many times how amazed I am that no one seems to be really out to prove any theory. It seems many are comfortable believing one way or the other and just leave it at that. The skeptics say "it's radio" without any proof and the believers say "it's ghosts", also without any proof.
His discussion revolves mostly around orbs and EMF readings. He questions whether there is any shred of proof that EMF readings might indicate the paranormal and points out how many just assume elevated EMF indicates paranormal activity without really understanding what they are measuring, if anything.
He talks a lot about orbs, and what he says about them is interesting. He discusses the fact that many believe orb photos to be the spirits of the dead without any proof that it is not some other unknown force. Dust, pollen and many other pollutants have been found to be the cause of most orb photos but even those that remain unexplained are just that, unexplained. Orbs might be ghosts, or they might be something else all together.
I've always wondered why more EVP researchers do not use photography in their studies. You would have a good chance convincing me you had something substantial if you had three photos of the same orb from different cameras as well as a recording and some measurements showing drastic temperature or other environmental changes such as elevated EMF readings.
But many, including the Haunted Voices staff in their EVP questions and answers page advise against using other measuring equipment.
"When recording I personally do not take photos, use the Emf meter, or run video. I feel that this takes a lot of energy away from the spirit and they cannot perform with all of these different capture devices going. It takes a tremendous amount of energy for a spirit to show themselfs[sic] on film or video as well as recorders."
So, until someone figures out how to have full conversations with these voices or start actually trying to prove their theories with equipment other than the recorder, EVP will always remain a mystery that can not be proven.
As Pinkston so eloquently put it:
"Theories are great, as they lead to further research in an attempt to prove or disprove them, and everyone is entitled to their theories. What each person has to keep in mind is that even though these theories may be well founded, until they are proven, they are only that, theories, and should never be submitted or taken as factual."
That's good advice for anyone who studies or believes in anything, particularly the paranormal.
Haunted Voices - Crawford Co EVP
I've been busy the last couple of days and found little time for EVP listening. Today I'm back under my headsets and have some great things for you to hear.
The folks over at Haunted Voices have some very clear EVP recordings and a whole lot of info on EVP. Check out Haunted Voices - EVP.
All the EVP they have on this "Haunted Crawford Co" page are very clear and very creepy.
"Protect the cemetery"
The ghostly sentry alerting the cemetery SWAT team to respond to the intrusion of these ghost hunters?
"We'll come out for you"
More of these strange guardians of the dead trying to give them a warning?
"Get out of here!" "GO"
Perhaps these spirit protectors decided enough is enough and it's time for these paranormal researchers to go back to their lab?
All of these are very clear and will definitely spook you. They also have a section I will report on later including visitor submitted EVP and training classes!
The folks over at Haunted Voices have some very clear EVP recordings and a whole lot of info on EVP. Check out Haunted Voices - EVP.
All the EVP they have on this "Haunted Crawford Co" page are very clear and very creepy.
"Protect the cemetery"
The ghostly sentry alerting the cemetery SWAT team to respond to the intrusion of these ghost hunters?
"We'll come out for you"
More of these strange guardians of the dead trying to give them a warning?
"Get out of here!" "GO"
Perhaps these spirit protectors decided enough is enough and it's time for these paranormal researchers to go back to their lab?
All of these are very clear and will definitely spook you. They also have a section I will report on later including visitor submitted EVP and training classes!
White Noise fails to drive out Fockers
David Germain of the Associated Press reports in Canada's Globe and Mail (The White Noise fails to drive out Fockers) that this weekends earnings for the opening of White Noise was $24 million. This is 2.5 million under what the hit "Meet the Fockers" brought it, which has already been out for weeks.
Film producer Paul Brooks still has hope that his movie will do well with the public. "It's always fascinated me, the way critics work," said Brooks, "They have a particular view of a film that sometimes can be significantly at odds with what the man on the street and the lady on the street and the kid on the street want to see."
Often times this proves to be true, but I have yet to see one single good review. Sorry Paul, I think the man on the street agrees with the critics on this one.
Film producer Paul Brooks still has hope that his movie will do well with the public. "It's always fascinated me, the way critics work," said Brooks, "They have a particular view of a film that sometimes can be significantly at odds with what the man on the street and the lady on the street and the kid on the street want to see."
Often times this proves to be true, but I have yet to see one single good review. Sorry Paul, I think the man on the street agrees with the critics on this one.
Sunday, January 09, 2005
WorldITC - Mark Macy and Spirit Group TimeStream
The WorldITC is a "a network on Earth without a traditional structure, not a hierarchical or bureaucratic type of organization" that uses the internet to achieve this lofty goal. Continuing the work of Konstantin Raudive and his afterlife team of researchers calling themselves Spirit Group TimeStream, this is one fascinating organization and a definite must see for anyone serious about learning more on EVP.
I've been meaning to mention them and will do so more in the future because this is a wealth of information both on the history and the continuing efforts to study EVP and ITC.
Some pages I would suggest a visit to are as follows:
Voice Transmissions with the Deceased - Learn all about the early work of EVP pioneer Friedrich Juergenson and read his book online for free. Starting with that fateful Friday, the 12th of June 1959 when he first captured strange voices while recording bird songs, all the way to his later years and many public demonstrations, this book documents it all in an honest and easy to read fashion.
ITC contact examples - see amazing pictures supposedly sent back by researchers immediately after their deaths to friends televisions and read a letter from Jeanette Meek meant to prove life after death once and for all.
Conversations with Konstantin Raudive - Would you like to hear what this famous ITC pioneer sounds like on the phone? How about the supernatural phone to the after life?
They have many recordings of a wonderfully deep pitched and accented voice that is claimed to be that of Dr. Raudive after he died calling for consultation and to give instructions for researchers here on earth to build the equipment necessary to contact the dead. Forming the afterlife research team TimeStream, he continued his work for months after his death before finally being called away to somewhere he would not say.
If there is a spirit world and Raudive is there, I'm sure he is going to haunt me for doing my amateur impressions of him:
"My dear friends from the Internet, I bring you greetings and ask that you visit the WorldITC and my close friend and colleague Mark Macy, without whom continued research would not be possible. You would also benefit greatly by subscribing to this blog and maintaining daily contact so we may one day bring all of humanity into resonance and harmony as this is of the utmost importance to clear transmissions between both the living and those in my reality. This is technical advice from this side."
I love these recordings and his voice is wonderful. Listen to them and you will know what I'm talking about. I don't know if this is really Raudive from the dead or not, but whomever it is has got a great way of speaking, is very articulate and the recordings are quite clear. This voice is not in my head; I'm sure everyone will hear the same things I do.
I'll close with a quote from Dr. Raudive during one of these "transmissions with the dead":
"Lighten your hearts, show each other the real you, share each other's burdens, and don't make this important moment difficult for yourself or for each other. Relax."
Good advice for the living and the dead. So relax and check out WorldITC today.
I've been meaning to mention them and will do so more in the future because this is a wealth of information both on the history and the continuing efforts to study EVP and ITC.
Some pages I would suggest a visit to are as follows:
Voice Transmissions with the Deceased - Learn all about the early work of EVP pioneer Friedrich Juergenson and read his book online for free. Starting with that fateful Friday, the 12th of June 1959 when he first captured strange voices while recording bird songs, all the way to his later years and many public demonstrations, this book documents it all in an honest and easy to read fashion.
ITC contact examples - see amazing pictures supposedly sent back by researchers immediately after their deaths to friends televisions and read a letter from Jeanette Meek meant to prove life after death once and for all.
Conversations with Konstantin Raudive - Would you like to hear what this famous ITC pioneer sounds like on the phone? How about the supernatural phone to the after life?
They have many recordings of a wonderfully deep pitched and accented voice that is claimed to be that of Dr. Raudive after he died calling for consultation and to give instructions for researchers here on earth to build the equipment necessary to contact the dead. Forming the afterlife research team TimeStream, he continued his work for months after his death before finally being called away to somewhere he would not say.
If there is a spirit world and Raudive is there, I'm sure he is going to haunt me for doing my amateur impressions of him:
"My dear friends from the Internet, I bring you greetings and ask that you visit the WorldITC and my close friend and colleague Mark Macy, without whom continued research would not be possible. You would also benefit greatly by subscribing to this blog and maintaining daily contact so we may one day bring all of humanity into resonance and harmony as this is of the utmost importance to clear transmissions between both the living and those in my reality. This is technical advice from this side."
I love these recordings and his voice is wonderful. Listen to them and you will know what I'm talking about. I don't know if this is really Raudive from the dead or not, but whomever it is has got a great way of speaking, is very articulate and the recordings are quite clear. This voice is not in my head; I'm sure everyone will hear the same things I do.
I'll close with a quote from Dr. Raudive during one of these "transmissions with the dead":
"Lighten your hearts, show each other the real you, share each other's burdens, and don't make this important moment difficult for yourself or for each other. Relax."
Good advice for the living and the dead. So relax and check out WorldITC today.
The Supernatural World :: Electronic Voice Phenomena
Over in the UK at The Supernatural World :: Electronic Voice Phenomena, they have a page on EVP with a couple of interesting samples.
Most of these samples cannot be made out, so I can't put any credence in them. But let's see if you hear the same things I do in these two:
"Touch me"
During a seance participants thought to tape the event and wondered if the recording would pick up the bubbling of their cokes. What it picked up was more than bubbles. When playing it back they heard this clear voice say "touch me". Is that what you hear?
What's her name?
Then they have an interesting sample from the Pollard Theatre "in America" and I'm assuming it's the famous playhouse in Guthrie Oklahoma. I hear a woman saying her name. Can you tell me what her name might be? I wonder if we all hear it too. Don't click on the comments until after you listen to Theatre EVP 1.
Then tell everyone what you hear and read the comments to see if we all agree. Sound like a fun experiment? I hope you will join along.
Most of these samples cannot be made out, so I can't put any credence in them. But let's see if you hear the same things I do in these two:
"Touch me"
During a seance participants thought to tape the event and wondered if the recording would pick up the bubbling of their cokes. What it picked up was more than bubbles. When playing it back they heard this clear voice say "touch me". Is that what you hear?
What's her name?
Then they have an interesting sample from the Pollard Theatre "in America" and I'm assuming it's the famous playhouse in Guthrie Oklahoma. I hear a woman saying her name. Can you tell me what her name might be? I wonder if we all hear it too. Don't click on the comments until after you listen to Theatre EVP 1.
Then tell everyone what you hear and read the comments to see if we all agree. Sound like a fun experiment? I hope you will join along.
They're heeeaaaring things at the Telegraph News
Science correspondent Robert Matthews for the Telegraph News in London obviously doesn't believe in EVP and is quite upset that people are trying to make money with the new movie White Noise featuring such a preposterous phenomenon. Telegraph News They're heeeaaaring things
He says in an article published today:
I'm not sure if I can go along with him on this. That's why people should look into things on their own and not expect hollywood's story tellers to bring us documentaries as entertainment or be completely honest in their marketing. Cop work is mostly boring and so is being a cowboy, soldier or just about anything else. I want to see excitement; if hollywood brought us the truth in everything where would the fun and entertainment be?
I wish he would have stopped by here. Any internet search for Ruth Baxter would have brought him right to my page all about her and her history. But instead he simply comments:
and goes on to complain how this will be damaging to anyone who tries it. Because it's demons or harmful spirits?
No, he is the science reporter after all and his views lie squarely in the "it's all radio noise" camp. He talks about how scientific researchers at prestigious universities, radio amateurs and "even BBC engineers have all heard these spooky voices". He forgets to mention the work done by these same people that shows it might not be radio waves, but he is trying to prove his point so I'll cut this english gent some slack.
He rather rudely goes on to say about EVP experimenters:
Mr. Matthews then complains that the voice of reason at the time of Raudives recordings was drowned out when scientists "pointed out that the voices sometimes sounded like snatches of conversation from foreign radio stations" and "Psychologists quickly recognized EVP sometimes referred to as "Rorschach audio" as just another example of the brain's penchant for making sense even of the patently senseless."
Well, I'm not sure drowned out would be the term I would use or I think more people would know who Raudive was and what EVP is. I also have to question his comparing EVP to pareidolia and the "decade-old toasted cheese sandwich said to bear an image of the Virgin Mary, which sold for $28,000 on eBay in November."
How much is that famous Rembrandt said to bear the image of Jesus at the last supper or that Warhol that some think looks like a soup can? Sometimes people see different things in any picture or hear different things in recordings; that does not mean it's not really a picture of something specific or a recording of a live sound. This argument always rings hollow with me.
Of course people might be hearing things out of the noise that are not there. That is a proven scientific fact and always a possibility. It's also a scientific fact that if you record a voice on a recording device you can play it back and everyone will hear what it says. Not all of these recordings are bad enough to simply be in everyone's head.
He does tell us of some amazing research by Professor Imants Baruss, a psychologist at the University of Western Ontairio, who took over 60 hours of recordings in an experiment "designed to detect EVP under scientific conditions". They asked any spirits to make themselves known, but he fails to mention any of the other "scientific conditions" they were under such as any radio wave blocking or soundproofing.
The professor and his assistants found many strange things on their tapes:
So basically they didn't do much science and just proved that recording voices from the radio, cell phones and even perhaps the dead is all possible with any regular recording device.
Matthews then talks with a few radio experts who actually have some very interesting things to point out. Senior Investigations Engineer for the BBC Ian Astbury says he is all too familiar with EVP.
He even tells of some that were taped on live broadcasts including a famous event last February on a show called Excess Baggage where hostess Sandi Toksvig was doing an interview at a haunted castle and a ghostly, whispering voice could be heard in the background. But Astbury doesn't believe it was the dead, just poor equipment.
Vaughan Reynolds, a BBC radio reception expert says amateur radio ethusiasts hear weird voice effects when transmissions bounce off of meteor trails in the atmosphere. "You may be listening to a nice, clear voice, but when it hits the auroral curtain it sounds like a hoarse whisper, it's amazingly ghostly" says Reynolds.
That's something I'll need to look into more. That is an amazing phenomenon in itself and could be a cause of some EVP. But our friend the science report concludes in his somewhat rude tone:
This guy definitely doesn't believe in EVP and is a little off in his analysis, but he does give all of us some good things to think about and a new possible cause to explore. I'd say this is a A good article to take a look at.
He says in an article published today:
"The film's makers are certainly hoping that Electronic Voice Phenomena are very good at least for business. They are doing everything they can to convince us that EVP are the disembodied voices of the dead and that anyone can tune in to them using just a tape recorder and an open mind.He then complains about those very good trailers that got all of us into this movie too. He has a point that White Noise commercials did sound quite authoritative and as if EVP is scientific fact, but it's an advertisement for a movie!
Creating a spurious air of credibility for creepy films is a time-honoured marketing ploy; it worked wonders for the supposedly "factual" blockbusters The Amityville Horror and The Blair Witch Project.
But the makers of White Noise have taken the gimmick to new heights or depths, depending on your view of Hollywood."
I'm not sure if I can go along with him on this. That's why people should look into things on their own and not expect hollywood's story tellers to bring us documentaries as entertainment or be completely honest in their marketing. Cop work is mostly boring and so is being a cowboy, soldier or just about anything else. I want to see excitement; if hollywood brought us the truth in everything where would the fun and entertainment be?
I wish he would have stopped by here. Any internet search for Ruth Baxter would have brought him right to my page all about her and her history. But instead he simply comments:
"In one, made in 2003, a woman called Ruth Baxter can be heard saying "I will see you no more" which may well be the case, since the trailer states that she died in 1987."
and goes on to complain how this will be damaging to anyone who tries it. Because it's demons or harmful spirits?
No, he is the science reporter after all and his views lie squarely in the "it's all radio noise" camp. He talks about how scientific researchers at prestigious universities, radio amateurs and "even BBC engineers have all heard these spooky voices". He forgets to mention the work done by these same people that shows it might not be radio waves, but he is trying to prove his point so I'll cut this english gent some slack.
He rather rudely goes on to say about EVP experimenters:
"If they are foolish enough to follow the website's instructions, what they will hear are effects first described in detail in the mid-1950s.I'm not sure I agree with Mr. Raudive either, but there's no need for name calling and I saw nothing in his work to indicate he was "shady". This term is just often used by scientists around the globe to refer to those whom they disagree with. I'm sure Darwin is called "shady" by a few even today.
Others reported having similar experiences, including a shady Latvian psychologist named Konstantin Raudive,..(who) claimed to have detected more than 70,000 "voice texts" simply by making tape-recordings of the hiss-like static of radios tuned between stations."
Mr. Matthews then complains that the voice of reason at the time of Raudives recordings was drowned out when scientists "pointed out that the voices sometimes sounded like snatches of conversation from foreign radio stations" and "Psychologists quickly recognized EVP sometimes referred to as "Rorschach audio" as just another example of the brain's penchant for making sense even of the patently senseless."
Well, I'm not sure drowned out would be the term I would use or I think more people would know who Raudive was and what EVP is. I also have to question his comparing EVP to pareidolia and the "decade-old toasted cheese sandwich said to bear an image of the Virgin Mary, which sold for $28,000 on eBay in November."
How much is that famous Rembrandt said to bear the image of Jesus at the last supper or that Warhol that some think looks like a soup can? Sometimes people see different things in any picture or hear different things in recordings; that does not mean it's not really a picture of something specific or a recording of a live sound. This argument always rings hollow with me.
Of course people might be hearing things out of the noise that are not there. That is a proven scientific fact and always a possibility. It's also a scientific fact that if you record a voice on a recording device you can play it back and everyone will hear what it says. Not all of these recordings are bad enough to simply be in everyone's head.
He does tell us of some amazing research by Professor Imants Baruss, a psychologist at the University of Western Ontairio, who took over 60 hours of recordings in an experiment "designed to detect EVP under scientific conditions". They asked any spirits to make themselves known, but he fails to mention any of the other "scientific conditions" they were under such as any radio wave blocking or soundproofing.
The professor and his assistants found many strange things on their tapes:
"When the 60 hours of recordings were played back, the team found a host of bizarre effects on their tapes. Some seemed to be radio stations breaking through the static. Sometimes there would be dramatic surges in the background noise not unlike those used to scare audiences in White Noise.While the good professor does admit "I would not be surprised if some EVP turns out to be genuinely anomalous although that is still a long way from evidence of life after death" he is adamant that this experiment proves "weird voice-like effects can be picked up using just a radio and a tape-recorder". But ask this scientist how they get there and he says he doesn't know.
And then there were the eerie voices, saying occasional words like "hello" and, in one case, informing the team to "Tell Peter".
Or at least that's what two of the researchers thought it said; Prof. Baruss isn't so sure. "The phrase on the tape is not `Tell Peter' but noise that just happens to be how our perceptions work," he told The Telegraph."
So basically they didn't do much science and just proved that recording voices from the radio, cell phones and even perhaps the dead is all possible with any regular recording device.
Matthews then talks with a few radio experts who actually have some very interesting things to point out. Senior Investigations Engineer for the BBC Ian Astbury says he is all too familiar with EVP.
"The microphone cable acts as the aerial and you only have to have a dirty connection to act like the crystal, which demodulates the signal" says Astbury who goes on to explain "The result is a tape recorder that picks up mysterious "voices" from thin air. They could be anything from bursts of local taxi-cab chatter to stray signals from the other side of the world. "
He even tells of some that were taped on live broadcasts including a famous event last February on a show called Excess Baggage where hostess Sandi Toksvig was doing an interview at a haunted castle and a ghostly, whispering voice could be heard in the background. But Astbury doesn't believe it was the dead, just poor equipment.
Vaughan Reynolds, a BBC radio reception expert says amateur radio ethusiasts hear weird voice effects when transmissions bounce off of meteor trails in the atmosphere. "You may be listening to a nice, clear voice, but when it hits the auroral curtain it sounds like a hoarse whisper, it's amazingly ghostly" says Reynolds.
That's something I'll need to look into more. That is an amazing phenomenon in itself and could be a cause of some EVP. But our friend the science report concludes in his somewhat rude tone:
"Picked up on a dodgy tape-recorder by those who don't know their RF from their elbow, the effect could be unnerving. For the bereaved conned by a Hollywood movie into believing that they are talking to their dead relatives, the result could be truly traumatic."
This guy definitely doesn't believe in EVP and is a little off in his analysis, but he does give all of us some good things to think about and a new possible cause to explore. I'd say this is a A good article to take a look at.
Saturday, January 08, 2005
Hot Abercrombie Chick on true theories being scientific
Hot Abercrombie Chick Posts: true theories scientific
I like to read this woman's blog. I find many interesting things here and her take on life is always fun to read. This chick is pretty conservative, and I doubt she believes in ghosts, but she does have a good point that EVP believers and skeptics alike may want to take into account:
Does a theory have to be scientific to be true?
She is talking in the context of the theory of evolution, of course, and not the paranormal, but the principles are the same and she has some tasty food for thought for all of us.
Paleontologists, anthropologists, astronomers, and just about everyone else who studies things from the past is forced to make assumptions that they cannot always prove with hard physical science when they form their theories. Yet we often take this as real "science" because we don't have any way to prove it wrong and don't call what these people do "crazy" or "impossible"; well, at least not anymore.
Her fictional example, similar to what you will see in any natural history museum, concerns the color of prehistoric flower J32. Her pretend scientists have decided based on environmental evidence that the petals of this flower were bright orange.
There is no way to prove this scientifically since we have no more J32's to look at and the existing measuring equipment technology cannot detect anything that would tell us what the actual color was. So is this theory scientific, even if it turns out to be true?
Well, it seems the answer is no. It might be true, but it's not scientific. Yet scientists often try and pass this kind of thing off as science, because it was based on environmental evidence and the theories of the leaders in the field. They stick it in the museums and the text books and the rest of us just go along because we can't prove it's not wrong.
Hum, doesn't sound like the way we treat those in the paranormal studies, does it?
In her post on evolutions, Abercrombie Chick says:
Gee, that sounds a lot like ghost hunting for EVP. No scientist has proved ghosts don't exist or EVP is not possible communication with the dead. As a matter of fact, the few scientists who tried failed miserably to prove their theories.
So evolution gets in textbooks and EVP is laughed at by the scientific community. Sound to you like maybe science has a little double standard here since ghost hunters don't wear white coats and have fancy labs or lot's of letters behind their names?
Food for thought.
I like to read this woman's blog. I find many interesting things here and her take on life is always fun to read. This chick is pretty conservative, and I doubt she believes in ghosts, but she does have a good point that EVP believers and skeptics alike may want to take into account:
Does a theory have to be scientific to be true?
She is talking in the context of the theory of evolution, of course, and not the paranormal, but the principles are the same and she has some tasty food for thought for all of us.
Paleontologists, anthropologists, astronomers, and just about everyone else who studies things from the past is forced to make assumptions that they cannot always prove with hard physical science when they form their theories. Yet we often take this as real "science" because we don't have any way to prove it wrong and don't call what these people do "crazy" or "impossible"; well, at least not anymore.
Her fictional example, similar to what you will see in any natural history museum, concerns the color of prehistoric flower J32. Her pretend scientists have decided based on environmental evidence that the petals of this flower were bright orange.
There is no way to prove this scientifically since we have no more J32's to look at and the existing measuring equipment technology cannot detect anything that would tell us what the actual color was. So is this theory scientific, even if it turns out to be true?
Well, it seems the answer is no. It might be true, but it's not scientific. Yet scientists often try and pass this kind of thing off as science, because it was based on environmental evidence and the theories of the leaders in the field. They stick it in the museums and the text books and the rest of us just go along because we can't prove it's not wrong.
Hum, doesn't sound like the way we treat those in the paranormal studies, does it?
In her post on evolutions, Abercrombie Chick says:
"For a hypothesis/theory to be scientific, it must (by Popper's generally accepted standard) be falsifiable - that is, it must be possible for it to be shown to be false. If a theory isn't of the sort that could be shown to be false, it doesn't count as a scientific theory. That does not, of course, mean that it is not or could not be true - it simply means that it isn't something that can be dealt with from within scientific methodology. "
Gee, that sounds a lot like ghost hunting for EVP. No scientist has proved ghosts don't exist or EVP is not possible communication with the dead. As a matter of fact, the few scientists who tried failed miserably to prove their theories.
So evolution gets in textbooks and EVP is laughed at by the scientific community. Sound to you like maybe science has a little double standard here since ghost hunters don't wear white coats and have fancy labs or lot's of letters behind their names?
Food for thought.
Tell us your EVP story.
Many people in the past few days have been sharing their own weird EVP or ghost experiences with me via email or comments. Thanks go out to everyone, they were very interesting and fun to read. Many will keep you up at night!
I thought it might be fun to have all these facinating stories in one place and to give you readers an opportunity to share your story with the rest of us.
So, put your own strange experiences in the comments here and let's share!
I thought it might be fun to have all these facinating stories in one place and to give you readers an opportunity to share your story with the rest of us.
So, put your own strange experiences in the comments here and let's share!
Missoulian: Ghost hunter pulls disappearing act
Missoulian: Ghost hunter pulls disappearing act
Definitely one of the poorest excuses for news I've ever read, this published today just shows how eager many in the press and the public are to find anything, and I mean anything that discredits ghosts or the paranormal, even stooping so low as to report complete nonsense. Seems like things are pretty boring in Missoula Montana today if this is straight from the editors desk.
It seems the board of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula don't believe in ghosts and have little respect for those who do. So the big news today in bustling Missoula? They've lost their ghost hunter! reports crack journalism ace and paper editor Jamie Kelly.
You see, someone offered his ghost hunting services last year to investigate reports of a military looking and somewhat mischievous spirit haunting the grounds that was seen many times by the past curator and others over the years. Bob Brown, the museums current executive director, "can't quite recall the young University of Montana student's name (it's buried there somewhere in a thick, scrawled-over yellow legal pad)" but he does remember what they told this person. It would be $25 an hour for this ghost hunter to use the building. After all, they would have to staff the building while he was there.
"The ghost researcher has not contacted the Museum to pursue the poltergeists." states the Dec 20 board of directors meeting notes. What a surprise. With a welcome like that I can't believe it! I'm not sure I would call some unknown college student who wrote a letter on a yellow legal pad a "ghost hunter", but I do know they seem to have a poor attitude for people who study the dead themselves.
Anthropologists and ghost hunters actually have a lot in common: most of their findings are a lot of "I think" or "it seems", "looks like" or "perhaps" gleamed from miniscule amounts of evidence with little hard scientific proof to back up any of their claims. Ghost Hunters claim to know all about the afterlife and museum people claim to know all about the past. But the reality is they all just do a lot of educated guessing because of inexact science.
If ever the Museum of Fort Missoula needs to excavate or investigate anywhere I know of, I'm sure going to encourage the owners of the property to charge at least $25 an hour for the privilege of their "scientific study" of digging holes, sifting dirt and looking at people's ancient trash.
Definitely one of the poorest excuses for news I've ever read, this published today just shows how eager many in the press and the public are to find anything, and I mean anything that discredits ghosts or the paranormal, even stooping so low as to report complete nonsense. Seems like things are pretty boring in Missoula Montana today if this is straight from the editors desk.
It seems the board of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula don't believe in ghosts and have little respect for those who do. So the big news today in bustling Missoula? They've lost their ghost hunter! reports crack journalism ace and paper editor Jamie Kelly.
You see, someone offered his ghost hunting services last year to investigate reports of a military looking and somewhat mischievous spirit haunting the grounds that was seen many times by the past curator and others over the years. Bob Brown, the museums current executive director, "can't quite recall the young University of Montana student's name (it's buried there somewhere in a thick, scrawled-over yellow legal pad)" but he does remember what they told this person. It would be $25 an hour for this ghost hunter to use the building. After all, they would have to staff the building while he was there.
"The ghost researcher has not contacted the Museum to pursue the poltergeists." states the Dec 20 board of directors meeting notes. What a surprise. With a welcome like that I can't believe it! I'm not sure I would call some unknown college student who wrote a letter on a yellow legal pad a "ghost hunter", but I do know they seem to have a poor attitude for people who study the dead themselves.
Anthropologists and ghost hunters actually have a lot in common: most of their findings are a lot of "I think" or "it seems", "looks like" or "perhaps" gleamed from miniscule amounts of evidence with little hard scientific proof to back up any of their claims. Ghost Hunters claim to know all about the afterlife and museum people claim to know all about the past. But the reality is they all just do a lot of educated guessing because of inexact science.
If ever the Museum of Fort Missoula needs to excavate or investigate anywhere I know of, I'm sure going to encourage the owners of the property to charge at least $25 an hour for the privilege of their "scientific study" of digging holes, sifting dirt and looking at people's ancient trash.
Stephanie and her Ghost
Stephanie is 31 and lives with her 14 year old daughter who claimed to see a "shadow man" in their new apartment twice a month, often just standing and staring at Steph as she slept.
Dismissing this as childish fantasy miss Stephanie was surprised when she actually captured the man on film and his voice on tape!
Creepy stuff at her site documenting what she has found at this apartment. Evidentally anyone can bring over any camera they want and capture orbs by the dozen as the CD player or vacuum start up on their own to cover the noise of the TV flying off the entertainment center!
She has some amazing pictures and a great page about her story. But we are here to listen to EVP and she has some scary ones.
"I've got to whisper through the walls" says one mans voice. Is it her neighbors spying on her or an evil spirit explaining his poor state of existence?
"No, see, I'd kill him. I told you. Please believe me" The voice of a ghostly little girl or a misunderstood cell phone transmision? You decide.
"I'm demonic" Is this the voice of the shadow man they see?
Check out Stephanies haunted apartment and listen to all her EVP. She's got quite a story and some pretty scary pictures too!
Dismissing this as childish fantasy miss Stephanie was surprised when she actually captured the man on film and his voice on tape!
Creepy stuff at her site documenting what she has found at this apartment. Evidentally anyone can bring over any camera they want and capture orbs by the dozen as the CD player or vacuum start up on their own to cover the noise of the TV flying off the entertainment center!
She has some amazing pictures and a great page about her story. But we are here to listen to EVP and she has some scary ones.
"I've got to whisper through the walls" says one mans voice. Is it her neighbors spying on her or an evil spirit explaining his poor state of existence?
"No, see, I'd kill him. I told you. Please believe me" The voice of a ghostly little girl or a misunderstood cell phone transmision? You decide.
"I'm demonic" Is this the voice of the shadow man they see?
Check out Stephanies haunted apartment and listen to all her EVP. She's got quite a story and some pretty scary pictures too!
Why no Trucker CB EVP?
I'm listening to some evp samples and I'll be posting later about a facinating site with a lot of creepy stuff for you to hear. But I had a thought...
I've listened to literally hundreds of samples by now. I'm starting to feel like Raymond from the movie, only with a smaller neck. As I hit one of them tonight I thought to myself "that sounds kind of like a trucker". Then it hit me. I can't believe I'd never thought of this before since skeptics often point to CB's as the cause of EVP.
Why don't we have more samples that sound like truckers?
I used have a CB in my car all the time back in the 80's. My friends and I would play hide and seek using them. Some of us would hide in a certain area in a car and the rest would try to triangulate our position by radioing each other with our signal strength after our broadcast every five minutes until they could figure out where the "mouse" was. It was a great way to spend many an evening and didn't cost us a thing but some gas. Sounds geeky, but it was a lot of fun.
But even as slang talking teenagers it was difficult for us to not use the famous "trucker" voice everyone seems to automatically go into on the CB. You know that twang if you've been around CB's at all. Sometimes it sounds as though everyone is from the south, even if you are in Maine! I spent many nights on the road during the 90's in semi trucks when I was in the music production business. I know what CB talk sounds like both in town and on the road.
Then why do you never hear any EVP say "there's a smokey on your six there big truck?" or "I just blew through the choke and puke at 95 and bears got his ray gun out. Y'all watch yourselves now, hear"?
Why don't most of the EVP sound like CB people do? How many non truckers or radio heads actually own CB's anymore? Can EVP really be CB radios?
I've listened to literally hundreds of samples by now. I'm starting to feel like Raymond from the movie, only with a smaller neck. As I hit one of them tonight I thought to myself "that sounds kind of like a trucker". Then it hit me. I can't believe I'd never thought of this before since skeptics often point to CB's as the cause of EVP.
Why don't we have more samples that sound like truckers?
I used have a CB in my car all the time back in the 80's. My friends and I would play hide and seek using them. Some of us would hide in a certain area in a car and the rest would try to triangulate our position by radioing each other with our signal strength after our broadcast every five minutes until they could figure out where the "mouse" was. It was a great way to spend many an evening and didn't cost us a thing but some gas. Sounds geeky, but it was a lot of fun.
But even as slang talking teenagers it was difficult for us to not use the famous "trucker" voice everyone seems to automatically go into on the CB. You know that twang if you've been around CB's at all. Sometimes it sounds as though everyone is from the south, even if you are in Maine! I spent many nights on the road during the 90's in semi trucks when I was in the music production business. I know what CB talk sounds like both in town and on the road.
Then why do you never hear any EVP say "there's a smokey on your six there big truck?" or "I just blew through the choke and puke at 95 and bears got his ray gun out. Y'all watch yourselves now, hear"?
Why don't most of the EVP sound like CB people do? How many non truckers or radio heads actually own CB's anymore? Can EVP really be CB radios?
Friday, January 07, 2005
White Noise Movie Review by Regman
Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe says White Noise is "a moronic exercise in supernatural claptrap" but Kirk Honeycutt of the Hollywood Reporter thought it sent "more than a few chills down the spine". I'm caught somewhere in the middle.
I went to see the film today with my friend's 15 year old boy to get the teenage perspective as well. There was a great trailer as Lou Lumenick reported in the New York Post "If only White Noise...were even a quarter as good as the coming-attractions trailer." yet I was surprised to see a couple of hundred people had turned out at 3pm on a Friday to watch a movie that was getting such horrible preliminary reviews. Maybe the critics were wrong and people will love this movie.
I'm sad to report that I and my young friend as well as many others at the theater today felt there was a lot missing from this movie.
I now know this is indeed a thinking persons thriller, a kind of "chic flick" with some scary parts but mostly a lot of watching and listening and trying to figure out what is going on. It's not your average scary movie so don't expect to see the same old thing but I think the main problem with this script is that they tried too hard to put the same old stock horror gags into all the wrong places and never fully developed anything.
From the very beginning the whole thing feels disconnected, like a bunch of scenes just strung together with something missing in between. It looked more like an almost done TV show or a concept presentation than a finished full length feature with a big star trying to make a comeback or a director trying to break into films.
British TV director, Geoffrey Sax, who is making his theatrical debut, never gives us a chance to really get to know or even like any of the characters including Johnathan Rivers, the architect Mr. Keaton plays with obvious skill but very little else. It's almost like everyone in the movie is in some kind of trance, unable to show any emotion at all. Even the little boy, when he is around, seems more like the neighbor's bothersome robot child than our hero's beloved son. I didn't have a stop watch but I'd be surprised to learn that any of the four main characters other than Rivers was on screen for longer than 5 minutes at a stretch or had more than 10 pages of dialog all total.
The story bounces from place to place but you are never quite sure where we are going or why we are here. Much of the movie is mostly silent as we watch Keaton drive his car, walk around his office, record EVP, listen to EVP, stand around murder scenes and then set up his ultra high tech EVP/ITC lab at his house. It's kind of like watching a cop movie, but spending the whole first half of the movie on the stakeout.
When you finally expect it to get good and the bad guys finally show up, it only gets hokey and tries to throw in as many horror movie cliches as possible to try and please the modern thriller audience.
There is little explanation about the three mysterious ghostly figures you assume are the bad guys other than a shrugged "they can't all be nice" from EVP obsessed Raymond, the man who gets Rivers started in all this in the first place and is the first to mysteriously perish. They look like aliens and trash houses better than the Mafia or the CIA looking for micro film. They seem to have the vocabulary of your average movie outlaw biker and may be related to the Dementors from Harry Potter's world. But you never find out exactly who they are or what they want. When they do appear you expect them and there is little surprise or suspense involved.
Once our hero starts getting images and audio on his computer from people who are not dead yet, the movie becomes a sort of cross between the paranormal batman and that old TV show Early Edition about the guy whose mystical cat brought tomorrows paper today so he could save everyone before they died. It almost feels like some studio executive finally said "enough with the EVP, what if he could save people with messages from the future?" so they wrote that in.
Then I think another exec said "but cop shows sell well, what if he were a sort of crime solving ghost hunter?" so our hero is off to save the missing girl. "But wait" said another desk jockey, "that's not scary, we need some psycho who looks all weird, maybe like that guy from Silence of the Lambs, he gave me the creeps" so in he goes. Then, I swear to God, someone must have said "but I loved the part in Harry Potter when the Dementors attacked Sirius Black. Can't we have something like that?"
So we get an ending that makes no sense, explains nothing, happens way too fast and isn't scary or suspenseful at all. It just seems like they decided to wrap things up and release what they had. It was very disappointing.
The film is not a total loss however. We are treated to some excellent lighting and camera work form Cinematographer Chris Seager and editor Nick Arthur's choice of angles and cuts helps to make this movie interesting and ominous, even if the script never delivers the goods. The choice of locations and the almost constant presence of running water is tastefully done and fits the story well. There are a lot of great shots in this movie. Too bad it didn't have the script to go with them.
As for new film director Geoffrey Sax, I feel for him. He does have some talent which is demonstrated in many places and it's sad to see his big debut into feature films fall so flatly on it's face. There is potential here, but I think too many studio folks held the reins and I don't think Mr. Sax had a clear course to follow. This movie just wanders around too much. I would not be surprised to learn the directors cut is 4 hours long; that would explain the obviously missing pieces.
As for Mr. Keaton, I don't think he really cares about White Noise. From the interviews I read and the performance I saw today it is obvious he never really got into this project and I'm wondering why he ever signed up for it in the first place.
Now don't laugh, I enjoyed it. I really did. It was a fun movie to see but will not be going into my list of all time favorites. I see this as becoming more of a cult classic like the Rocky Horror Picture show; there sure is enough silence to fill.
Maybe the audience could make it better?
See a real life ghost hunters review of White Noise
or read our first reader review and see what Chris had to say.
I went to see the film today with my friend's 15 year old boy to get the teenage perspective as well. There was a great trailer as Lou Lumenick reported in the New York Post "If only White Noise...were even a quarter as good as the coming-attractions trailer." yet I was surprised to see a couple of hundred people had turned out at 3pm on a Friday to watch a movie that was getting such horrible preliminary reviews. Maybe the critics were wrong and people will love this movie.
I'm sad to report that I and my young friend as well as many others at the theater today felt there was a lot missing from this movie.
I now know this is indeed a thinking persons thriller, a kind of "chic flick" with some scary parts but mostly a lot of watching and listening and trying to figure out what is going on. It's not your average scary movie so don't expect to see the same old thing but I think the main problem with this script is that they tried too hard to put the same old stock horror gags into all the wrong places and never fully developed anything.
From the very beginning the whole thing feels disconnected, like a bunch of scenes just strung together with something missing in between. It looked more like an almost done TV show or a concept presentation than a finished full length feature with a big star trying to make a comeback or a director trying to break into films.
British TV director, Geoffrey Sax, who is making his theatrical debut, never gives us a chance to really get to know or even like any of the characters including Johnathan Rivers, the architect Mr. Keaton plays with obvious skill but very little else. It's almost like everyone in the movie is in some kind of trance, unable to show any emotion at all. Even the little boy, when he is around, seems more like the neighbor's bothersome robot child than our hero's beloved son. I didn't have a stop watch but I'd be surprised to learn that any of the four main characters other than Rivers was on screen for longer than 5 minutes at a stretch or had more than 10 pages of dialog all total.
The story bounces from place to place but you are never quite sure where we are going or why we are here. Much of the movie is mostly silent as we watch Keaton drive his car, walk around his office, record EVP, listen to EVP, stand around murder scenes and then set up his ultra high tech EVP/ITC lab at his house. It's kind of like watching a cop movie, but spending the whole first half of the movie on the stakeout.
When you finally expect it to get good and the bad guys finally show up, it only gets hokey and tries to throw in as many horror movie cliches as possible to try and please the modern thriller audience.
There is little explanation about the three mysterious ghostly figures you assume are the bad guys other than a shrugged "they can't all be nice" from EVP obsessed Raymond, the man who gets Rivers started in all this in the first place and is the first to mysteriously perish. They look like aliens and trash houses better than the Mafia or the CIA looking for micro film. They seem to have the vocabulary of your average movie outlaw biker and may be related to the Dementors from Harry Potter's world. But you never find out exactly who they are or what they want. When they do appear you expect them and there is little surprise or suspense involved.
Once our hero starts getting images and audio on his computer from people who are not dead yet, the movie becomes a sort of cross between the paranormal batman and that old TV show Early Edition about the guy whose mystical cat brought tomorrows paper today so he could save everyone before they died. It almost feels like some studio executive finally said "enough with the EVP, what if he could save people with messages from the future?" so they wrote that in.
Then I think another exec said "but cop shows sell well, what if he were a sort of crime solving ghost hunter?" so our hero is off to save the missing girl. "But wait" said another desk jockey, "that's not scary, we need some psycho who looks all weird, maybe like that guy from Silence of the Lambs, he gave me the creeps" so in he goes. Then, I swear to God, someone must have said "but I loved the part in Harry Potter when the Dementors attacked Sirius Black. Can't we have something like that?"
So we get an ending that makes no sense, explains nothing, happens way too fast and isn't scary or suspenseful at all. It just seems like they decided to wrap things up and release what they had. It was very disappointing.
The film is not a total loss however. We are treated to some excellent lighting and camera work form Cinematographer Chris Seager and editor Nick Arthur's choice of angles and cuts helps to make this movie interesting and ominous, even if the script never delivers the goods. The choice of locations and the almost constant presence of running water is tastefully done and fits the story well. There are a lot of great shots in this movie. Too bad it didn't have the script to go with them.
As for new film director Geoffrey Sax, I feel for him. He does have some talent which is demonstrated in many places and it's sad to see his big debut into feature films fall so flatly on it's face. There is potential here, but I think too many studio folks held the reins and I don't think Mr. Sax had a clear course to follow. This movie just wanders around too much. I would not be surprised to learn the directors cut is 4 hours long; that would explain the obviously missing pieces.
As for Mr. Keaton, I don't think he really cares about White Noise. From the interviews I read and the performance I saw today it is obvious he never really got into this project and I'm wondering why he ever signed up for it in the first place.
Now don't laugh, I enjoyed it. I really did. It was a fun movie to see but will not be going into my list of all time favorites. I see this as becoming more of a cult classic like the Rocky Horror Picture show; there sure is enough silence to fill.
Maybe the audience could make it better?
See a real life ghost hunters review of White Noise
or read our first reader review and see what Chris had to say.
White Noise Press Coverage
As is to be expected on opening day, articles and movie reviews abound in about every paper and weekly in the country. I get updates from several sources as these are released and I wanted to comment on some of my observations as I read what these people the rest of us trust have to say.
While much of the coverage is right on and I've found many movie reviews I quite agree with, I did find it interesting that most of the stuff you will read about EVP is just rehashed from the official press releases.
I even wonder if some of these writers actually read anything else about EVP before they wrote their piece. That's just lazy journalism. Count how many times you find this in your reading: "a process by which the dead communicate with the living through the static and white noise of modern electronic devices". Thank God for cut and paste, I guess.
I would also like to ask some of the reviewers if they actually saw the movie? I don't know how many times I've seen it reported that Ian McNeice plays a medium. The character has a whole long line about how he is not a medium or a psychic and the dead contact him when he and Rivers first met at his house. Were the reviewers getting popcorn during this part? Or did a press release get printed wrong?
I also see the "this is crazy" articles everyone expected. Not surprisingly, this point of view takes up three or four times the space devoted to believers, but I'm not sure I blame mainstream editors for this. Most readers want to hear "this is all crazy" anyway. Telling people they can talk to the dead might just kill your career.
Sometimes the news is less about the news and more about not upsetting anyone, particularly the advertisers. They just fill the space around the ads with whatever people want to read and don't worry too much about making us think or challenging our beliefs at all because most of us would just write mean letters or buy another publication. Besides, it's hard to prove EVP and most in the press don't like to do more than laugh at things you can't prove, especially ghosts. Again, you might end up having to contact your career with EVP if editors or readers think you are crazy.
So, if you believe, don't expect to see a sudden jump in the popularity of EVP with most sections of society or the press. If you are a skeptic take comfort in the fact it seems most of the world agrees with you and there is little motivation in the press to do more than laugh it off as crazy people picking up the radio on their tape recorders and believing it's ghosts.
Too bad many writers never bothered to look deeper into EVP or even took the time to get all their facts right. I'm coming to expect that more and more in mainstream media. It really is a shame.
While much of the coverage is right on and I've found many movie reviews I quite agree with, I did find it interesting that most of the stuff you will read about EVP is just rehashed from the official press releases.
I even wonder if some of these writers actually read anything else about EVP before they wrote their piece. That's just lazy journalism. Count how many times you find this in your reading: "a process by which the dead communicate with the living through the static and white noise of modern electronic devices". Thank God for cut and paste, I guess.
I would also like to ask some of the reviewers if they actually saw the movie? I don't know how many times I've seen it reported that Ian McNeice plays a medium. The character has a whole long line about how he is not a medium or a psychic and the dead contact him when he and Rivers first met at his house. Were the reviewers getting popcorn during this part? Or did a press release get printed wrong?
I also see the "this is crazy" articles everyone expected. Not surprisingly, this point of view takes up three or four times the space devoted to believers, but I'm not sure I blame mainstream editors for this. Most readers want to hear "this is all crazy" anyway. Telling people they can talk to the dead might just kill your career.
Sometimes the news is less about the news and more about not upsetting anyone, particularly the advertisers. They just fill the space around the ads with whatever people want to read and don't worry too much about making us think or challenging our beliefs at all because most of us would just write mean letters or buy another publication. Besides, it's hard to prove EVP and most in the press don't like to do more than laugh at things you can't prove, especially ghosts. Again, you might end up having to contact your career with EVP if editors or readers think you are crazy.
So, if you believe, don't expect to see a sudden jump in the popularity of EVP with most sections of society or the press. If you are a skeptic take comfort in the fact it seems most of the world agrees with you and there is little motivation in the press to do more than laugh it off as crazy people picking up the radio on their tape recorders and believing it's ghosts.
Too bad many writers never bothered to look deeper into EVP or even took the time to get all their facts right. I'm coming to expect that more and more in mainstream media. It really is a shame.
A Ghost Hunter Review of White Noise
Matt Ferrell, founding editor of GHOST! Magazine and member of the North Florida Paranormal Research Inc and webmaster of the Ghost Tracker Investigations is a real life ghost hunter of some repute and I wondered what he might think of a movie about EVP. He graciously allowed me to share with you what he had to say on the GHOULI discussion board about the movie WHITE NOISE.
Last night I went to an advanced screening of "White Noise".
My review of the night? Went something like this:
My sister and I went, and she brought along a couple of her friends. Mel, who runs the magazine with me, was also there (www.ghostmag.com) and I ran into James there who is part of one of the radio stations here in town and has been on investigations with me, along with roaming around St. Augustine. Bart and Lori of Ghost Tracker (www.ghosttracker.com) were also there. Also ran into Deb Nichols, a psychic that I've investigated with at the St. Augustine, Florida Lighthouse in 2001, and my friends Helen and Dave of SPIRIT Investigations from here in Jacksonville were there as well. Dave gave a short speech before the show on their group, and EVP. He did a good job.
I'm not to big on movies.. so my review probably doesn't really count for much.. but for what it's worth, it was a decent movie. For the most part they stayed true to form as to the method of recording EVP and stuff like that. Although I think the data that was shown/captured was a bit more then what the usual investigator gets. Also of course there was some Hollywood stuff thrown in. For the most part nothing to big though (No 'Ghost Busters' type effects.. hehe), just shadows and figures here and there.. until the end when the Hollywood stuff went all out. But it is a horror/drama type film, so I expected the Hollywood stuff and scary moments and "evil beings" to be put in there.
All in all though, it was a good watch. I viewed it as entertainment, not as "this is how investigations and research is done".. so with that mind set, it was good. If you go in viewing it as "This better be EXACTLY true to form", you're probably going to get disappointed by at least SOMETHING. That goes for anything in this field though, including other groups' websites you may go to, TV shows and documentaries you may see, etc.
With such a controversial topic as ghosts, where everyone has their own ideas and theories, you know you're going to run into stuff that doesn't mesh well with your ideas, and you know that many people have different ways of thinking about the subject. Especially with Hollywood/Movies, you know they're going to throw the special effects and scary moments into a ghost film. You just have to watch it and deal with it. It's entertainment where someone merged their thought of how true research is done, with that of what they think is a good script.
If anything, maybe it'll spark more interest of the subject into people, and they'll go out researching and finding more credible info about the investigation and research side of things, rather then going by just what the movie shows. It's like the holiday Halloween. It's a quirky holiday where people dress up in costumes and everything else, but it sometimes sparks an interest in people and makes them think "What If?".. then from there they seek out and learn more about the unexplained, and sometimes even become some of the top names in paranormal research.
So watch it. Enjoy it. And don't take it too seriously.It's a movie made for entertainment.
Matt Ferrell
GHOST! Magazine
See my Review of White Noise
or read our first reader review and see what Chris had to say.
Last night I went to an advanced screening of "White Noise".
My review of the night? Went something like this:
My sister and I went, and she brought along a couple of her friends. Mel, who runs the magazine with me, was also there (www.ghostmag.com) and I ran into James there who is part of one of the radio stations here in town and has been on investigations with me, along with roaming around St. Augustine. Bart and Lori of Ghost Tracker (www.ghosttracker.com) were also there. Also ran into Deb Nichols, a psychic that I've investigated with at the St. Augustine, Florida Lighthouse in 2001, and my friends Helen and Dave of SPIRIT Investigations from here in Jacksonville were there as well. Dave gave a short speech before the show on their group, and EVP. He did a good job.
I'm not to big on movies.. so my review probably doesn't really count for much.. but for what it's worth, it was a decent movie. For the most part they stayed true to form as to the method of recording EVP and stuff like that. Although I think the data that was shown/captured was a bit more then what the usual investigator gets. Also of course there was some Hollywood stuff thrown in. For the most part nothing to big though (No 'Ghost Busters' type effects.. hehe), just shadows and figures here and there.. until the end when the Hollywood stuff went all out. But it is a horror/drama type film, so I expected the Hollywood stuff and scary moments and "evil beings" to be put in there.
All in all though, it was a good watch. I viewed it as entertainment, not as "this is how investigations and research is done".. so with that mind set, it was good. If you go in viewing it as "This better be EXACTLY true to form", you're probably going to get disappointed by at least SOMETHING. That goes for anything in this field though, including other groups' websites you may go to, TV shows and documentaries you may see, etc.
With such a controversial topic as ghosts, where everyone has their own ideas and theories, you know you're going to run into stuff that doesn't mesh well with your ideas, and you know that many people have different ways of thinking about the subject. Especially with Hollywood/Movies, you know they're going to throw the special effects and scary moments into a ghost film. You just have to watch it and deal with it. It's entertainment where someone merged their thought of how true research is done, with that of what they think is a good script.
If anything, maybe it'll spark more interest of the subject into people, and they'll go out researching and finding more credible info about the investigation and research side of things, rather then going by just what the movie shows. It's like the holiday Halloween. It's a quirky holiday where people dress up in costumes and everything else, but it sometimes sparks an interest in people and makes them think "What If?".. then from there they seek out and learn more about the unexplained, and sometimes even become some of the top names in paranormal research.
So watch it. Enjoy it. And don't take it too seriously.It's a movie made for entertainment.
Matt Ferrell
GHOST! Magazine
See my Review of White Noise
or read our first reader review and see what Chris had to say.
WHITE NOISE now in Theaters!
HAPPY WHITE NOISE MOVIE DAY
Well, the moment we have all been waiting for is finally here! White Noise opens in theaters today all across the US and I believe Canada. What will people say about the movie? How will EVP be perceived by the public and in the media? Will the reviews be right and the movie is really slow or will people like the change of pace and flock to this thinkers thriller? We shall see.
I will be seeing the movie tomorrow, so watch for my review as well as late breaking movie news! Have a happy White Noise opening day, and thank you for your support.
Did you see the movie? Leave a review in the comments section below and share with the rest of us! Let the world know what you think.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Reflections in the White Noise
As the release of the movie WHITE NOISE is almost here, it is time for some reflection and thought before finally seeing that which started me off on this wild adventure in the first place. I can't believe the day that once seemed so distant is already here; my journey to this point has gone by so fast.
Sick Thoughts?
I ran across a discussion post on a movie fan site listing me as the "Guy's sick blog about why it's not possible" and I thought WHOA did they miss something or did I? Are my thoughts and observations sick? I didn't mean to offend anyone and I never said it was not possible! After inquiring with a 15 year old member of the house, I was assured that "sick" means good and that they enjoyed the site. Cool!
But it got me to thinking about what I do believe is possible, what I now think about EVP and what people might take away from my thoughts and commentary here.
Studying the Electronic Voice Phenomenon and writing the EVP Recordings has changed my life to no small extent and continues to be a lot of fun. With the new year here and the release of the movie, this is a good time to think about why I did this, where I've been, what I think now and where this will all go from here.
Why did I do this?
Originally I did this to start my experience with blogging. I figured it would be a good way to keep notes for myself and give me an excuse to write while looking into something I find quite interesting; a few bloggers or some friends might swing by and find my commentary suitable to kill a few minutes or get a laugh or two.
I never dreamed it would turn into this! I now have a fascinating new hobby to pursue and many fine folks like you to join me on the way while adding their comments and thoughts for everyone to learn from. I never imagined the support I would get from around the world and I certainly never fathomed how engaging this whole EVP blog thing could be.
Where have I been?
I've been fortunate during the holidays to have the time to visit dozens of evp websites and listen to literally hundreds of EVP samples of various quality or believability. I've learned much of the history of Instrumental TransCommunication and Electronic Voice Phenomenon and about the many various theories as to the cause.
I've looked at all the available experimental data I could find so far and I've talked over the web with dozens of ghost hunters, evp researchers, people with real life experience and die hard skeptics alike. I've read many serious papers, books and articles and I've spent literally hundreds of hours over the last few weeks learning all I can about this strange phenomenon and the people who study or report it.
I tried ITC for the first time and saw something move in my video. Four others confirmed there was something moving, but it could just be pixelation from an inexpensive video camera stimulating our active imaginations. I've had strange things happen to my computer while listening to EVP samples or trying to post my thoughts but that's not uncommon when using Mr. Gate's monster. I've felt cool breezes and cold spots descend on me during some listening sessions and during others I've received unexplainable sudden feelings of horror, discomfort, contentment and joy or even gratitude that quickly came and then faded away. Could be the late hours in a cold office with nothing to eat.
Or it could all be spirits stopping by to see what I'm up to. Interdimensional web surfers, so to speak. I'm not one to get spooked easily or feel like people are looking over my shoulder when I'm writing or researching anything; usually the living have to poke me with a stick to get my attention when I'm working. But there were definitely times when I swore someone was out of bed and standing behind me or there was a group of people near, only to find myself all alone in an empty room.
So, what do I think?
I write my thoughts and commentary as honestly as I can while trying to examine everything presented to me with an open mind and a skeptical attitude. I've seen, heard and felt too many unexplainable things in my life to discount the paranormal entirely, but I have also had many "paranormal" experiences that later turned out to be nothing out of the ordinary at all. I guess I'm in the middle between full believer and full skeptic and that's fine with me.
I always treat the views of others with the utmost respect from a sincere desire to hear their honest thoughts and views so I can learn from them. We all have our own beliefs, theories and experiences to share. Yet I ask everyone to explain their theories or prove their claims and stand ready to debate on the issues if necessary.
I try not to play favorites with any point of view and seek only to learn the truth, not prove my own theories. As a fairly spiritual creature, I remain open to all the various possibilities and believe such fantastic things as ghosts, recording the dead or transdimensional communication may be possible.
I may use the terms "ghost" and "spirit", but I'm by no means convinced that is what lies at the root of EVP. I admit there are some recordings out there that give me the heebbie geebies and may be supernatural or alter dimensional in origin, but there are also other possibilities to take into account before running off claiming I know ghosts exist. I don't believe it's all demons and I don't buy what the skeptics feed me about radio waves and mass psychosis or that it's all simply impossible either.
Nothing is impossible. History documents many "impossible" things and their strange inventors thought totally batty by their contemporaries for the strange things they studied or dared imagine whom we now hold in high regard. Our religious texts also tell of amazing beings of light, angels from heaven and messengers of God sent to the world to help and advise us in times of need as do our ancient myths and the oldest stories of all civilizations. People everyday experience things that are unexplainable but quite possible when experienced first hand!
I just can't join the many who simply turn away or ridicule ghost hunters and believers in the paranormal because they don't share their convictions or find them unable to completely prove their experiences using modern science. We may not yet have the science. It was not that many years ago when splitting the atom or controlled nuclear power were thought impossible by many too; even those working to develop these very technologies.
If there is one thing my life has taught me, it's that we keep furthering human knowledge and sometimes that means rewriting what we may have already thought was set in stone. Many scientists today claim to be on the verge of altering our complete understanding of physics with such amazing things as string theory with it's many alternate dimensions and more than a few things have changed in the high school texts since I read them a short two decades ago.
Conclusions
So far, I see no proof either way as to the cause of EVP. It seems there is very little controlled scientific study going on. The information that is available is scattered and often hard to find, out of print or outdated to begin with. Research efforts stall because many skeptics claim there is no point in researching the impossible and many believers claim science can't explain it or don't have the skills or funding to collect serious data themselves. So, after three quarters of a century since it's discovery, no one really knows what causes this electronic voice phenomenon.
I find the people who study this phenomenon, those who experience it and the ghost hunters who attempt to document it to be fine people with little motivation to fool humanity. So far they have been very open to me and my constant questioning and I thank them for taking the time to help me out so generously.
The many stories I've read on websites and discussion groups or from people who have sent me samples seemed genuine and sincere. I've chatted with some of these people and debated with others for days on the many discussion groups about evp. I'm no stranger to internet communications and have learned to never fully trust anyone I have not checked out pretty well first. Most believers and skeptics are well respected in their communities, intelligent, educated and logical people with no obvious agendas or mental illness. I find their testimony to be valid and have no reason to doubt what they say in most cases.
The scam artists are easily spotted and the EVP community works quickly to debunk obvious fakes and ban those people responsible from all the many different online groups. They take their own reputations and that of the groups and communities they belong to very seriously. It seems everyone is really trying to find the truth with reason, science and logic. Sometimes their individual perception may be clouded by their strongly held beliefs, but that happens to the best of us at times, particularly when we are convinced we are right.
But the final conclusion boils down to this: I have no idea what causes evp or itc and have no clue how voices that respond to questions or very clear pictures of the dead can appear in modern recording devices. It's a fascinating mystery to me.
Where do we go from here?
Well, I'm not one to turn away a fascinating mystery so I'm going to stick with it and learn all I can! It seems I've just scratched the surface of this amazing phenomenon and there is much more to learn and experience. I think many of the theories out there can easily be proven or debunked with proper experimentation and cooperation while the answers may hold great meaning to our collective futures and mankind's understanding of the true nature of existence. The truth is out there. But can we find it?
I'd like to go on a real live ghost hunt and participate in a controlled experiment. I'd like to chat more with the experienced researchers and skeptics alike. I'd like to experiment on my own and further analyze some of the better documented samples. I will listen to more of the samples available and read the many books, websites and information I have not yet found the time to and the great many more I have yet to uncover.
My journey, it seems, has just begun.
I hope you will join me by bookmarking or subscribing to this blog in your news readers or online portals. I pledge to find you the best EVP samples and information out there from all the various points of view. I'll present what I find with my own honest commentary from an open mind and a little skepticism too. I'll ask the hard questions of those in the know and bring you what I discover each and everyday.
Save time and skip all the hours of searching, chatting and downloading of audio files. Learn all about the amazing paranormal world of the electronic voice phenomenon as you browse along with me after I find the best stuff out there. You can be the judge. You can listen to the evidence and look at the findings. You can contribute your own views and comments so together we can finally reveal the secrets behind EVP!
Bookmark me today!
Sick Thoughts?
I ran across a discussion post on a movie fan site listing me as the "Guy's sick blog about why it's not possible" and I thought WHOA did they miss something or did I? Are my thoughts and observations sick? I didn't mean to offend anyone and I never said it was not possible! After inquiring with a 15 year old member of the house, I was assured that "sick" means good and that they enjoyed the site. Cool!
But it got me to thinking about what I do believe is possible, what I now think about EVP and what people might take away from my thoughts and commentary here.
Studying the Electronic Voice Phenomenon and writing the EVP Recordings has changed my life to no small extent and continues to be a lot of fun. With the new year here and the release of the movie, this is a good time to think about why I did this, where I've been, what I think now and where this will all go from here.
Why did I do this?
Originally I did this to start my experience with blogging. I figured it would be a good way to keep notes for myself and give me an excuse to write while looking into something I find quite interesting; a few bloggers or some friends might swing by and find my commentary suitable to kill a few minutes or get a laugh or two.
I never dreamed it would turn into this! I now have a fascinating new hobby to pursue and many fine folks like you to join me on the way while adding their comments and thoughts for everyone to learn from. I never imagined the support I would get from around the world and I certainly never fathomed how engaging this whole EVP blog thing could be.
Where have I been?
I've been fortunate during the holidays to have the time to visit dozens of evp websites and listen to literally hundreds of EVP samples of various quality or believability. I've learned much of the history of Instrumental TransCommunication and Electronic Voice Phenomenon and about the many various theories as to the cause.
I've looked at all the available experimental data I could find so far and I've talked over the web with dozens of ghost hunters, evp researchers, people with real life experience and die hard skeptics alike. I've read many serious papers, books and articles and I've spent literally hundreds of hours over the last few weeks learning all I can about this strange phenomenon and the people who study or report it.
I tried ITC for the first time and saw something move in my video. Four others confirmed there was something moving, but it could just be pixelation from an inexpensive video camera stimulating our active imaginations. I've had strange things happen to my computer while listening to EVP samples or trying to post my thoughts but that's not uncommon when using Mr. Gate's monster. I've felt cool breezes and cold spots descend on me during some listening sessions and during others I've received unexplainable sudden feelings of horror, discomfort, contentment and joy or even gratitude that quickly came and then faded away. Could be the late hours in a cold office with nothing to eat.
Or it could all be spirits stopping by to see what I'm up to. Interdimensional web surfers, so to speak. I'm not one to get spooked easily or feel like people are looking over my shoulder when I'm writing or researching anything; usually the living have to poke me with a stick to get my attention when I'm working. But there were definitely times when I swore someone was out of bed and standing behind me or there was a group of people near, only to find myself all alone in an empty room.
So, what do I think?
I write my thoughts and commentary as honestly as I can while trying to examine everything presented to me with an open mind and a skeptical attitude. I've seen, heard and felt too many unexplainable things in my life to discount the paranormal entirely, but I have also had many "paranormal" experiences that later turned out to be nothing out of the ordinary at all. I guess I'm in the middle between full believer and full skeptic and that's fine with me.
I always treat the views of others with the utmost respect from a sincere desire to hear their honest thoughts and views so I can learn from them. We all have our own beliefs, theories and experiences to share. Yet I ask everyone to explain their theories or prove their claims and stand ready to debate on the issues if necessary.
I try not to play favorites with any point of view and seek only to learn the truth, not prove my own theories. As a fairly spiritual creature, I remain open to all the various possibilities and believe such fantastic things as ghosts, recording the dead or transdimensional communication may be possible.
I may use the terms "ghost" and "spirit", but I'm by no means convinced that is what lies at the root of EVP. I admit there are some recordings out there that give me the heebbie geebies and may be supernatural or alter dimensional in origin, but there are also other possibilities to take into account before running off claiming I know ghosts exist. I don't believe it's all demons and I don't buy what the skeptics feed me about radio waves and mass psychosis or that it's all simply impossible either.
Nothing is impossible. History documents many "impossible" things and their strange inventors thought totally batty by their contemporaries for the strange things they studied or dared imagine whom we now hold in high regard. Our religious texts also tell of amazing beings of light, angels from heaven and messengers of God sent to the world to help and advise us in times of need as do our ancient myths and the oldest stories of all civilizations. People everyday experience things that are unexplainable but quite possible when experienced first hand!
I just can't join the many who simply turn away or ridicule ghost hunters and believers in the paranormal because they don't share their convictions or find them unable to completely prove their experiences using modern science. We may not yet have the science. It was not that many years ago when splitting the atom or controlled nuclear power were thought impossible by many too; even those working to develop these very technologies.
If there is one thing my life has taught me, it's that we keep furthering human knowledge and sometimes that means rewriting what we may have already thought was set in stone. Many scientists today claim to be on the verge of altering our complete understanding of physics with such amazing things as string theory with it's many alternate dimensions and more than a few things have changed in the high school texts since I read them a short two decades ago.
Conclusions
So far, I see no proof either way as to the cause of EVP. It seems there is very little controlled scientific study going on. The information that is available is scattered and often hard to find, out of print or outdated to begin with. Research efforts stall because many skeptics claim there is no point in researching the impossible and many believers claim science can't explain it or don't have the skills or funding to collect serious data themselves. So, after three quarters of a century since it's discovery, no one really knows what causes this electronic voice phenomenon.
I find the people who study this phenomenon, those who experience it and the ghost hunters who attempt to document it to be fine people with little motivation to fool humanity. So far they have been very open to me and my constant questioning and I thank them for taking the time to help me out so generously.
The many stories I've read on websites and discussion groups or from people who have sent me samples seemed genuine and sincere. I've chatted with some of these people and debated with others for days on the many discussion groups about evp. I'm no stranger to internet communications and have learned to never fully trust anyone I have not checked out pretty well first. Most believers and skeptics are well respected in their communities, intelligent, educated and logical people with no obvious agendas or mental illness. I find their testimony to be valid and have no reason to doubt what they say in most cases.
The scam artists are easily spotted and the EVP community works quickly to debunk obvious fakes and ban those people responsible from all the many different online groups. They take their own reputations and that of the groups and communities they belong to very seriously. It seems everyone is really trying to find the truth with reason, science and logic. Sometimes their individual perception may be clouded by their strongly held beliefs, but that happens to the best of us at times, particularly when we are convinced we are right.
But the final conclusion boils down to this: I have no idea what causes evp or itc and have no clue how voices that respond to questions or very clear pictures of the dead can appear in modern recording devices. It's a fascinating mystery to me.
Where do we go from here?
Well, I'm not one to turn away a fascinating mystery so I'm going to stick with it and learn all I can! It seems I've just scratched the surface of this amazing phenomenon and there is much more to learn and experience. I think many of the theories out there can easily be proven or debunked with proper experimentation and cooperation while the answers may hold great meaning to our collective futures and mankind's understanding of the true nature of existence. The truth is out there. But can we find it?
I'd like to go on a real live ghost hunt and participate in a controlled experiment. I'd like to chat more with the experienced researchers and skeptics alike. I'd like to experiment on my own and further analyze some of the better documented samples. I will listen to more of the samples available and read the many books, websites and information I have not yet found the time to and the great many more I have yet to uncover.
My journey, it seems, has just begun.
I hope you will join me by bookmarking or subscribing to this blog in your news readers or online portals. I pledge to find you the best EVP samples and information out there from all the various points of view. I'll present what I find with my own honest commentary from an open mind and a little skepticism too. I'll ask the hard questions of those in the know and bring you what I discover each and everyday.
Save time and skip all the hours of searching, chatting and downloading of audio files. Learn all about the amazing paranormal world of the electronic voice phenomenon as you browse along with me after I find the best stuff out there. You can be the judge. You can listen to the evidence and look at the findings. You can contribute your own views and comments so together we can finally reveal the secrets behind EVP!
Bookmark me today!
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