EVP's.... how to record them

Since the discovery of voice like sound anomalies recorded in 1959 by a man researching bird songs, the sound anomalies remain unexplained to this day. Most skeptics will attribute the effect to auditory hallucination, or people picking up random radio/TV or citizen band radio signals. While random communication signal interference may account for a small percentage, the excuse cannot account for the many voices that have been recorded over the years. Audio hallucination is a more likely culprit for a lot of the recorded voices, because the human brain will try to make a pattern out of random static, similar to the visual Rorschach test in which people see patterns in random inkblots. But of all the voice anomalies recorded over the years, there remain quite a few that defy a logical explanation of their origin.

Electronic Voice Phenomena, or EVP for short, has fascinated people for decades now. Since its inception nearly 50 years ago, it is still a fast growing hobby. Unfortunately, the original concept of EVP is becoming muddled with another hobby, that of paranormal research in respect to trying to prove the existence of ghosts or spirits. Assuming that EVP’s are caused by deceased entities is not a correct assumption. No one currently knows what causes EVP’s and there are many different theories. They range from audio hallucinatory effects, to a person’s subconscious somehow implanting the sounds on the recording device.


EVP’s can be recorded anywhere, anytime by anyone who is willing to invest the time into the hobby. You do not have to go to a supposedly haunted location to record, you can do it in your own house if you want to, which I highly recommend. While going out to cemeteries and buildings that have a reported history of strange events can be fun, they make it extremely difficult for you to maintain any kind of quality control over your recordings. By the term quality control, I am referring to the amount of control that you have over outside noises. By recording in your own home, you can choose the place that is the most quite, which makes it easier to hear any EVP when listening to a playback of your recordings.

Collecting EVP’s is a great hobby that can quickly become a passion. It is not recommended for those with mental instabilities, but they are usually able to hear voices without equipment (pun intended). All you need is: (assuming you have a PC):

1. A recording device (I recommend a digital recorder, tapes can become expensive)
2. A set of headphones (doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but it needs to be a type that cup the ears and fully seal them from outside noises)
3. An external microphone, omni directional, (a $5.00 radio shack one will work just fine)
4. An audio enhancement program for your PC (Audacity is a great free program you can use).

You can get a full setup for recording for less than $100.00.

One thing I do highly recommend is that you make sure that the digital recorder that you buy is PC compatible and able to convert recordings to .wav format, or else you will be wasting a lot of time. I use a Panasonic Digital Recorder ($69.00) that records for 2 hours at high quality, 4 hours at medium and 8 hours at regular. The software that came with the recorder gives you the option to convert the recording to .wav format when you transfer it from the device to your PC via USB port. For a 10-minute recording it takes about 30 seconds to convert the file.

All recorders regardless of brand usually have a proprietary file system for storing audio files. It is extremely important that you be able to easily convert them to a standard (.wav or .mp3) that all people can utilize.


There are many different methods that people have tried over the years with varying amounts of success. You can simply turn on the recorder and let it run in an empty room and you will eventually hear voices on your recording. You can also ask questions and see if you can get an answer. After many hours of recordings and trying different methods, I have found that using a background noise will generate more EVP than recording without.

Good source of background noise (white noise) can be almost anything. I do not advocate using a radio or TV tuned to an off station for static because of the chance of picking up random signals from either device. The best method I have found so far is using running water as a white noise. You will have to experiment to get it right, but a slow steady stream is the best for results. Too much background noise will make it difficult to filter out any EVP’s you may capture.

The one thing you need to concentrate on while recording is being as quiet as absolutely possible. This means do not touch the recorder once it is started, do not move around unnecessarily, try not to breathe heavy, etc. You will be shocked to found out exactly how loud your stomach can gurgle on a recording! Also, anytime you make an inadvertent sound, note it on the recording so you wont mistake it for something else at a later date.

While it is possible to record EVP’s in an empty room, I have had better success by asking questions. The format I follow is to ask a question and wait approximately 60 seconds to get a reply. Since I position the recorder so that I can see the digital display that shows the running time of the recording, I know when to ask the questions without relying on looking at my watch.

I use a format of asking about 10 questions in a session. I have found after a lot of experimentation that you are mostly likely to capture your best EVPs early in the session and they start to taper off after 10 minutes or so. Plus it takes a long time to go through recordings and short ones are easier to manage.

Here are some example questions I use:

I start off by always saying the following as the first thing: I can hear you, I can record you and I can talk to you. I mean no harm or trespass. If there is anyone who can hear my voice, can you please try to tell me your name?

I will then follow every 90 seconds with a different question that only requires a short answer. Some sample questions are:
My favorite color is____. Can you tell me your favorite color?
I was born in the year ____, Can you tell me the year you were born in?
If there are any Ladies present, can you try to tell me your name?
If any children can hear my voice, can you please tell me your name?

Talking in the first person will get better results. I used to say, “can someone” when using questions, but now I say, “can you”? For some reason, this generates much better responses.

The biggest problem with the asking questions method is that you are subconsciously programming your brain even more to try and recognize an anticipated answer out of the static on the recording. This will contribute even more to the audio hallucinatory effect when listening for EVP’s.


EVP’s are classified many different ways, but the most common standard is the ABC method.

Class A: is one that is loud, clear, and easily understood by almost everyone who hears it. These are very rare and it make takes literally hundreds of hours of recordings to get just one.

Class B: is one that is distinguishable as a voice, most people will hear it but almost none will agree on exactly what it says. These are fairly common and a lot are due to apophenia or pareidolia.

Apophenia is the spontaneous perception of connections and meaningfulness of unrelated phenomena.

Pareidolia is a type of illusion or misperception involving a vague or obscure stimulus being perceived as something clear and distinct.

Class C: are the most common by far. These are ones that sound like a voice, but are unintelligible. Not everyone can even hear it; those that do cannot make out what, if anything is being said. These are fairly common and most are due to apophenia or pareidolia.

Using an audio program such as Audacity or Cool Edit is perfectly acceptable to enhance EVP recordings. But care must be taken when altering a recording. Given enough time and enough playing around with an audio editor, you can make a burp sound like the antichrist. Remember this, audio editing is similar to Photoshop editing; you can make something convincing out of something that wasn’t really there. Also keep an unedited version on any EVP you record.

You will never be able to convince a non-believer that you are able to record voices that weren’t made by normal people. But once you get your first voice, that one that you think is so clear… you are so excited, you will be hooked for life. You may suffer temporary set backs, especially when you are initially so excited by what you perceive as a clear voice only to find out that almost no one else can hear it. But in the end, remember you are doing this for yourself.

Very interesting thread. I did a little looking on my own, though it is in the same coincidence's of your explanation, it also delves into the "How" of getting your own EVP's and what equiptment to use for such an experiment.

Like the thread and it is something of extrodinary circumstances and out comes of every one you achieve, Thanx!!


members.tripod.com...

Thank you very much! I have done some EVPs in my home, but had never been given detailed instructions on the best way to perform them. You have answered ALL my questions!

WAT vote goes to you.

Cmon people,

I know there are more people out there who are interested in this.

I am always open to more ideas for recording EVP's and would love to hear other peoples inputs.

I have a few sample EVP's at www.rickinva.com


Running water seems to be the best medium for recording EVP's and I am curious if anybody has any ideas on why that would be?

[edit on 27-8-2006 by RickinVa]

I'm wondering can you easily tell if you're picking up on people outside your house talking in the distance versus something else? Then there are all of the other common noises with loud trucks, motorcycles, police and ambulance sirens that would occasionally blast away on a recording. On the other hand though, I can imagine someone saying these noises are loud enough to wake the dead. Might be worth a try sometime.

I can get cassette rather cheaply here in the UK, which I don't mind; although a digital recorder is best for uploading onto audacity. However, I just record onto audacity what I have on tape.

I had to make sure I was alone, before I could do it. I had been hearing footsteps in the hallway thinking it was my husband and the front room door would be opened up for me if I was carrying something. I have trouble with balance. I saw the door handle move to open the door.

The name I got back was David. Now I don't know if David is connected to the property, or another David trying to communicate with me.

Paranormal phenomenon doesn't bother me; I have gotten quite use to it over the years. I always like to listen to other people's experiences.

my evp

This is an evp that I inadvertantly picked up on my digital camera one night. I just vaguely remember going off to bed and inadvertantly hit the record button.

I was going to delete the clip, as I thought it was a waste of computer memory. Then I thought maybe there was something on the clip, even though the actual clip is three seconds long.

It is the most clear evp that I have ever recorded, and it wasn't intentional, or planned. Obviously, the person on the other side who spoke was trying to get a message across to me, but the problem remains who is the woman that the voice is referring to?

RickinVa I have a question about EVP's. Tonight while videotaping my family I picked up a voice. Now, are EVP's actual ghosts or could it possibly be just trapped energy from the past (from ourselves).

And at what point does the present become the past for the energy escaping us?

The reason I ask this is because it sounds like a phrase that I use often, but I was not speaking at the time.

My son had me to look up and see if EVP was an existant thread here. He is going to see what he can acchieve and if he is successful, we will place it on here. Thanks for the wonderful info!

Thanks for such a clear, detailed post about how to do this. I will try to capture some EVPs in the next week; however, I don't have a website to upload them to or anything. Still, the experiment would be a fascinating one to do.

Thanks again!

Regards-
Aimless

GOOD! I was going to start a new thread but figured there had to already be one about doing EVPs...

Thanks to RickinVa for your great info!

So I caught a new episode of Ghosthunters last night which once again got me wanting to try recording some EVPs of my own....

Has anyone used a PDA for recording? I have an iPAQ Rx3115 which I would be using. it has quite good audio recording features and can easily upload files to my PC for processing. Any tips, hints, suggestions?

Do EVPs EVER need to be sped-up or slowed-down? I'm not sure I'd want to do this since it removes some of the authenticity imo. Like RickinVa said, you can inadvertantly make a burp sound like the antichrist...

I think my house would be a prime location (assuming EVPs are ghost related) as my home is 118 years old, but am really not sure I want to try this at home. We have NO paranormal activity at home and want to keep it that way LOL! There are plenty of historic sites locally however.

NOT EVP RELATED but any info on photography while recording/investigating would be helpful also.

Please no one here take this the wrong way - especially the OP, you all take this seriously and it’s very interesting.

But wouldn't EVP be one of the easiest phnomona to fake (and cheapest).

I know sound technicians can be extremely good at their jobs and could get a hoax past the radar and detract from your findings.

Any way just thinking, might try to record EVP in the future myself (no fakes tho)

[edit on 7/6/2007 by Now_Then]

I think I subscribe to the subconscious placing the evp's on recordings... that in itself is as incredible as recording voices from deceased people... especially if one could do it at will.

And yes EVP's would be extremely easy to fake, therefore it makes it almost impossible to come up with something that would constitute "proof positive". Once you hear your first EVP that you record yourself and you know for yourself that its not fake, its not a stray signal from radio/tv/cellphone... once you record that one EVP that seems to be a direct answer to a quastion you have asked and someone else can also hear it... its a weird feeling.... but one that will keep you doing it time and time again

[edit on 7-6-2007 by RickinVa]

[edit on 7-6-2007 by RickinVa]

[edit on 7-6-2007 by RickinVa]

I think the biggest problem with EVPs is figuring out what you are hearing. I HATE sites that tell you beforehand what the voice captured is saying, because that's what you'll hear. If you are able to listen to an EVP, decide for yourself what you are hearing, and then compare what you've heard to what others hear from it, then thats a lot better and a smarter way to conduct EVP research.

I tried getting some EVP's recorded a few months ago, while I did get some anomalous and rather huge jumps in pitch at random points, I couldn't make out any voices. However, my equipment was just a simple computer microphone and some cheap software. Good luck to everyone who tries this.

Hi RickinVa, i ididnt see it mentioned, but can you upload a few that you have caught?

Originally posted by Now_ThenBut wouldn't EVP be one of the easiest phnomona to fake (and cheapest).

[edit on 7/6/2007 by Now_Then]

I agree, probably the easiest thing to fake for sure... but I'd be doing it as an independent project for myself and not looking to prove anything really. Hell I probably wouldn't even ask my wife to listen to whatever I recorded... (she'd just get spooked and make me stop anyway ). Just keep 'em in an archive and listen to them after a few beers.

Anyone here interested in doing something called the 4-cell experiment?
Here's a link that describes what this experiment is.
www.wyrdology.com...

Let me know ok?

Also, here's a link to some webpages with some of my stuff on it including a link to some of my EVP's. I have more ITC experiment results but have not yet updated my pages yet...

I got my first EVP accidentally some 13 years ago and for the past 3 years now, I've been doing ITC/EVP sessions a few times a week when time permits -- my main area of focus is ITC.

Link to my ITC and Evp's

[edit on 8-6-2007 by Palasheea]

I do have some decent ones, but unfortunately my scumbag website provider Globat somehow managed to lose a server without any backup and they lost all my website data.

I am in the process of finding a new host, and I will have to re-do my website. I have the evps stored somewhere, I just have to find them again.

Looking forward to hearing them Rick and please do look over that 4 cell experiment ok? Maybe some of us here can try this out! I hope so!

Got to put this back on the first page so people can access the information


Rememebr to have fun when recording!

[edit on 21-10-2007 by RickinVa]