Voices of the Dead
 Communicating with the Other Side

by Melanie Billings
 

EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) is a well-known aspect of paranormal research and has long been used as tool in ghost hunting as it offers evidence to corroborate other findings. EVP is quite literally the  "voice of the dead," a voice or sound captured on tape, recorder, or on a special computer program (EVP Maker) that has no earthly explanation and is usually not heard until playback. Quite often, the EVP is in direct response to a question asked by a researcher.

EVP captured at haunted locations range from the eerie ("I was seeing the war" recorded by Sarah Estep at a Civil War site) to the poignant ( "I'm so sad" recorded in a graveyard by the Utah Ghosthunters Society) and even to the humorous ("Busted!" also recorded by the Utah Ghosthunters Society). EVP is used in numerous other aspects of paranormal research and even as an aid in some types of grief counseling.

With the technological advances of the past two decades, the field of EVP research has grown immensely as old techniques are perfected and newer ones are experimented with.  In addition to EVP,  there is now also another aspect of  ITC (Instrumental Transcommunication), which involves capturing images on videotape under certain controlled circumstances. Some images include those of the deceased  trying to make contact, while other images are of what appear to be incredibly detailed scenes from the past. Ghostly animals even make an occasional appearance in these experiments as well (http://aaevp.com/examples/butler_gallery3.htm).

In 1982 Sarah Estep, EVP research pioneer, founded the AA-EVP (American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomenon), one of the most widely-recognized EVP research organizations in the world.   The motto of the AA-EVP reads:  "Established in 1982 to provide objective evidence that we survive death in an individual conscious state"  and over the past 22 years, the AA-EVP has done just that by collecting an incredibly impressive amount of evidence.

In 2000, Tom and Lisa Butler took over as directors of the AA-EVP and  also co-authored There is No Death and There are No Dead, a comprehensive guide to EVP and all ITC research.
 

Despite all the attention Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) has gotten over the past two decades, it is not a new phenomenon. EVP has been reported for over a century. Can you give a brief history of EVP experimentation?

When we were researching the history of the paranormal voices for our book, we were surprised to learn that people were communicating with those on the other side via Morse Code prior to the recorded voice phenomena. In 1918, Grace Boylan wrote, Thy Son Liveth: Messages from a Soldier to His Mother. Grace and her son were wireless operators and he notified her through Morse Code that he had been killed in the war.

Perhaps the first actual recorded paranormal voice was collected in 1952 when two Catholic Priests were using a wire magnetophone to record Gregorian chants. The wire on the magnetophone kept breaking and it was Father Gemellis habit of calling on his deceased father when things went wrong in his day to day activities. That day, when the wire broke once again, he called out, “Oh father, help me!”

When the two priests played their recording back they were astonished to hear a man’s voice say, “But of course I’ll help you! I’m always with you.” Germelli recognized the voice as that of his father. Tuning the manetophone back on he asked, “Papa, if you are really here, please repeat what you said before.” On playback, the reply followed immediately after his request with, “But Zucchini (a childhood nickname only known by his father), it is clear, don’t you know it is I?”

Your readers will probably know the names Friedrich Jürgenson and Konstantin Raudive. These two men are historically credited with discovering EVP and then making the public aware of the phenomena by writing books about Electronic Voice Phenomena.
 

What are some of your personal experiences with EVP and ITC and how did you become involved with the AA-EVP (American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena)?

There have been so many personal experiences! How does one choose? One experience that we will never forget happened early on in our EVP experiments. Nowadays, your readers are using EVP in hauntings situations as well as in their homes, but we were conducting only controlled experiments in our home back in the 1980s. We lived in Kansas at that time and we had not been recording the voices for very long. That winter, there was serious flooding, and every night, we turned on the television and saw pictures of cows, pigs and other animals stranded on barn tops with the flood waters almost overtaking them. Lisa is a real softy when it comes to animals and every night during our recording session, she asked about the animals. Those on the other side answered back every time she asked. They told us that the animals were all right that they also survived after death. They told us that specific people on the other side helped the animal’s transition to spirit. “They are all right,” they would say, along with, “We are helping them.” It must have been the sixth time that she asked about the animals that a messages came back in reply over the recorder saying, “STOP with the animals, they are ALL RIGHT!”

This was actually a great learning experience. You see, people over there are exactly like people are here but this fact had somehow not registered in our brains. The whole idea of these voices talking back to us on tape is really surreal. Lisa repeating the same question was probably similar to the behavior of a two year old. The entities had been very patient, but finally they had simply had enough. We did not forget this lesson and treat those that we can’t see just as we would treat anyone here in the physical.

Of course the most important EVP messages that we have received are the ones that have come from family members. Getting a message from a good medium or psychic that is evidential and leads you to believe that your loved one is alive is one thing, but recording the voice of a loved one is probably the single most important thing anyone can do to prove that we all survive death.

We have been long time members of the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena established by EVP Pioneer Sarah Estep in 1982. When Sarah retired in 2000 she asked us to take over the Association. The Association continues to publish a quarterly news journal, is now nonprofit and has a website at www.aaevp.com with lots of interesting information and articles on EVP and ITC.
 

Although simple tape recordings are the most well-known method of capturing EVP, there are actually several different methods, some quite unusual. What are some of the more lesser-known methods?

We have not personally used the computer for EVP recording but many people have written us telling us of their success in recording EVP right onto the computer. We keep telling people to listen closely to their answering machine messages. We, along with many other people, have gotten EVP in this manner. It’s really quite nice when they try to reach you without your even pressing a record button! EVP messages on answering machines are often found in the pauses between words or at the end after the person finishes talking and the recorder has not yet cut off. Everyone receives answering machine messages in which the caller decides not to leave a message after the recorder has turned on. Don’t be too quick to erase those messages. You will be surprised to find that the physical caller may not have left a message but that an etheric caller did!

In reality, anything that records can pick up EVP. We had one fun report of an EVP being recorded on a toy recorder that was hung on a key chain. It was humorous because the woman always parked by a cemetery and constantly felt that she was being watched as she crossed the street to her apartment. The woman was playing with the toy recorder on her son’s key chain. She said to her son, “I think I’ll take this to the cemetery and see if the ghost will talk to me.” They were shocked to hear a deep male voice answer back on the recorder with, “No!”
 

What do you consider to be the biggest breakthrough(s) in EVP research?

The moment an individual first realizes that he or she has just heard the voice of a long-deceased loved one speaking about current matters. That moment is fundamentally the biggest breakthrough in EVP Research for that individual. Certain milestones have been passed in the greater field of EVP/ITC research, such as successful collection of EVP in a room screened from radio and television. Such experiments prove that currently known physical principles do not explain the existence of the phenomenal voices.

For us personally, there have been a number of “realizations” which collectively give us the sense that we are beginning to understand these phenomena. Amongst these are:

1    The entities will comment about what we are doing and are responsive to requests that they respond to specific questions. This has made it clear that discarnate people are aware of us and what we are doing, and that they are interested in two-way communication and cooperative efforts.

2    It tends to be easier to record EVP in certain field locations, especially locations that are known to be haunted. This opens the door to a number of interesting possibilities that have a bearing on many areas of paranormal research.

3    Physical noise is transfigured to form phenomenal voices and images. This tells us a great deal about how these phenomena are formed.

4    Loved ones on the other side will gather together to communicate across the veil just as people will on this side. Thus, it is clear that relationships need not end at the physical “death” of a loved one.
 

Perhaps one of the most startling aspects of EVP is the evidence that suggests EVP is actually being experimented with as a form of communication on the "Other Side" as well as here. What is your theory regarding this?

There are many reports that this is the case. Many people have asked us why those on the other side just don’t tell experimenters what equipment to use to improve the communication. What we have found is that the other side is struggling with improving this communication just as much as we are.

Several times throughout history, a researcher or group of researchers has developed a working relationship with either a person or a group on the other side that has helped them build a device to communicate across the veil. It has been the hope of many people that some sort of device like a “spirit phone” will be developed that anyone will be able to use to reach their loved ones on the other side. Unfortunately, when a device has been developed that works well for one experimenter, it has not worked well for others. Many may remember the book, The Ghost of 29 Megacycles, by John Fuller. It is an excellent book about a device that was developed in which two-way, real-time conversations took place between our world and the next. The device was named Spiricom. When prototypes of Spiricom were built and given to other researchers to test, their results did not improve over their usual recording equipment and they were unable to duplicate two-way communication with the deceased. The device, when in the hands of other experimenters, worked no better than a standard tape recorder.

But perhaps the most important point here is simply that many on the other side are as interested in communicating with us as we are with them. Without this interest communication would not be possible, as there would be no one to communicate with.
 

What advice and precautions would you give someone interested in experimenting with EVPs on their own?

Recording EVP can be very exciting and rewarding but it is not without its cautions. We often deal with people who are new to the phenomena and who become very absorbed in seeking to record the paranormal voices. The significance of EVP is obvious but one cannot turn away from life and conduct EVP research 24-7.

One should use discernment when listening to EVP messages. People who go to the other side are not immediately enlightened upon entering the next dimension. One should not believe everything that is recorded as truth. Relationships must be established through trust much as they are here. When we go to a psychic or medium we want evidential information to prove that the person coming through is whom they say they are. No less should be expected of communication through EVP.

EVP messages, especially in the beginning, are little more than whispers. With human nature being what it is, we may hear a message in a certain way when in fact it is not at all clear what the EVP message is. However, if we believe that a message says a certain thing then, for better or for worse, we will respond to it as real.         

We would caution that EVP research is serious business and should not be approached as something to play at. It is important for the experimenter to have a strong sense of self, accompanied by a positive attitude and spiritual outlook on life. People who are unsure, unbalanced or fearful should avoid EVP. Many past researchers have written that experimenters need to prepare, before making a recording, through prayer or a spiritually motivated meditative period, and that if this is not done, one is apt to invite the wrong kind of communicants.
 

What equipment do you recommend?

Just about any device that will record voice will work and people seem to be finding new ways to collect EVP every day. We recommend that a person who wishes to try recording EVP should begin with something that they have around the home such as an old cassette recorder or even a computer with an inexpensive microphone. The microphone is useful for including the experimenter’s questions in the recording, but it is also a way to introduce background sound noise if you are using a cassette recorder. We believe the entities require some sort of physical noise to form the words, and if the recording circuit is not noisy enough, as is the case with cassette recorders, then a microphone will help bring in ambient noise.

The introduction of digital note takers, those pocket-sized digital recorders, has made it easy for people to record EVP in the field. In fact, these recorders have become the EVP recorder of choice for hauntings investigation. It is felt that their internal circuits produce a lot of noise that can be used by the entities to form the paranormal voices. Many more people seem to be able to capture EVP with these recorders and the addition of background noise is not necessary, at least for the older models. One shortcoming of these devices is the poor speaker quality; this makes it necessary to use them with a computer for sound track review and storage. 
 

Can you explain the concept of ITC (Instrumental Transcommunication)?

The term was coined when it was recognized that these phenomena were not restricted to voice. For instance, we experiment with Video ITC, which involves finding still images of people and animals in the noise of a video feedback system. Other people have received images and text in their computer or two-way, real-time voice communication over radios. EVP is included in ITC, but use of the term, “EVP” has persisted.
 

Where do you think EVP/ITC research is headed in the future?

It is difficult to see the future but we can tell you where we would like the research to be headed. Enough is known about these phenomena to indicate that several important physical principles are involved in the formation of the paranormal voices and images. We can demonstrate these relationships in such a way that hypotheses can be described, from which formal experiments could be designed to further our knowledge. It is clear that we have come to a threshold of understanding. What is needed now, is well funded research which will further our understanding of EVP and ITC. 
 

What is the most compelling evidence you would offer to skeptics who too easily dismiss EVP/ITC research as nonsense?

Any person with normal hearing can reasonably expect to record the phenomenal voices or capture images. The techniques involved are repeatable by just about anyone, using a wide variety of equipment in just about any circumstance. This repeatability removes the need for someone to accept the word of another.

Today, there seems to be a group of people out there who make their living debunking other people’s claims about the paranormal. Often times, these debunkers have not even read the paper, report, etc. that they are debunking. To be honest there will never be evidence that is compelling enough for those with a closed mind. We have repeatedly heard that EVP is simply our picking up stray broadcasts signals with our recorders. Experiments have proven that this is not the case, but this evidence seems to go unnoticed and the incorrect information regarding stray signals continues to be propagated.

In our experience, the only remaining skeptics are people who do not know the evidence or will not accept the evidence no matter how compelling. The bottom line is that few people know enough about EVP and ITC to qualify as a skeptic, and those who are qualified, are not skeptical.
 

Tell us about your work in the AA-EVP.

Thank you for asking. Our work with the Association has been very rewarding. We are encouraged by the many researchers who are receiving communication through EVP. The most heart warming cases are when we hear from people who have made contact with their loved ones on the other side. One exciting case that is ongoing is that of a member whose daughter was killed in an automobile accident right before Christmas. The daughter was able to contact the mother through EVP. The daughter told the mother about a friend she was with named Rob. Not long after this her mother became friends with another member in the group who had lost her son. Her son’s name is Rob.

There is now a group of people who get together for group recordings focused on receiving messages from loved ones on the other side. There have been many successes and confirmations of messages within this group.

We also have more and more member who work with various paranormal and ghost hunting groups who are using EVP in hauntings investigations. Some of our more interesting examples are now coming from these field experimenters.

In 2003 our book, There is No Death and There are No Dead, was published. The book is available through Amazon.com or one can order signed copies through the Association at http://book.aaevp.com. The book was written as a tool to teach people about EVP and to present techniques for recording the voices.

In January, 2005 Universal Studios released the movie "White Noise", a movie about EVP. The AAEVP worked closely with the producers in their research of EVP, and interviews with some AAEVP members appear in the documentary accompanying the movie. For more information about the movie and the AAEVP's involvement, click here .

The group recordings mentioned above are done by the members of The Bridge to the Afterlife and more information can be found here.
 

This interview originally appeared in March 2004 on allaboutghosts.
(c) 2004 Melanie Billings All Rights Reserved