EVP - Electronic Voice Phenomena - are voices or other sounds that were not physically heard, but appear in audio recordings.  Most of you are probably familiar with this expecially with all the TV shows and movies.  However, just because you hear a strange noise or voice in a recorder or video, doesn't mean it is an EVP.  What happens is, for some reason, while running an audio recorder or video camera, their voices/noises can be captured via the device's microphone.  It is assumed that this is due to "them" speaking on a range of frequency outside of the range we are able to hear.  When we find what we believe to be an EVP, we hope to use that information to tell us a bit about "who" is there or what happened.  It's helpful if we can return to a location to use the possible information gathered to attempt further "conversation". 

"Catching" an EVP is as simple as I described above.  You simply have some device recording audio.  When you review that audio/video, sometimes you hear voices or noises that were not audible while present.  Paranormal Investigators, if trained properly, mark any and all noises they hear while present, so not to confuse the tech listening to the audio in review.  It is important to note, though, that just because the reviewer hears a voice/noise that wasn't marked doesn't mean it is an EVP.  Perhaps another investigator whispered and forgot, thought it irrelavent or didn't realize it. Perhaps the recording investigator became intranced in what they were doing and didn't mark the audio.  Also, this world is full of invisible sound waves.  There are short-wave radios, CB radios, cell phones, etc.  What's important to understand, is these sound waves are waves - like the ripples in water.  they have peaks and gullies.  If an audio device catches even just a couple of words from one of the "peaks or gullies", it could be interference - just caught the right part of the wave/s.   It has been said that the type of device used can affect how much interference it is susceptible to.  The digital equipment may have issues with picking up these other high/low end frequency waves due to their digital format of recording.  Also, to upload such equipment to a computer, there is only so much room via the USB used for the transfer of information.   Bit rates are lost, which means that the upper and lower ends of frequenciy can be lost upon uploading the files.  Analog devices (devices that require film or tape) simply record what's there and upload this "stamped" information as a whole.  The problem with using analog devices is they are "messy".  The audio is garbled with ground noise and they require the constant purchase of film/tape/cassettes/ etc.  It is possible to "protect" digital format devices, but is arguably unfeasibly expensive to do it right.  The idea is, the device needs to be grounded so not to catch these foreign "waves" and only real copper is to be used. Using these types of materials for a portable devise would prove to be not only genious, but also very expensive.  I've heard people making these grounding devices, known as Faraday Cages, with relatively inexpensive materials.    Either way, whether an unmarked known voice or interference, you have to be prepared to throw some audio away if it's at all possible it came from some known source.

Well, then, if this "interference" happens so readily, you may ask, then  how are you able to tell the difference between EVP and interference?  That's a good question.  There is audio editing software that we use to analyze the audio.  It does show us certain graphics that can help determine whether the "voice" we're questioning is, in fact, an EVP.  However, there are times when these unexplained voices do show on the editing software graphics as a normal, human voice.  This is most notably the case when the unexplained voice was physically heard while on location.  However, I believe, that there are also times when "they" speak that it wasn't heard on the spot, but should've been.  For example, I listen to a lot of this type of audio.  I believe that my sense of hearing has been strengthened due to all my audio review.  There have been many times when I am sure I heard someone whisper on location and I react strongly because we certainly don't want people whispering when, upon audio review, we listen for those soft voices.  Most times, when no one has whispered, I do hear a soft voice (sometimes more audible) when reviewing the audio (see Audio Sensitivity article below).  Now, if I "drill" people about the whispering (on location) and everyone swears they didn't say anything.  I, then,  capture a soft voice at that very time , doesn't that  mean it was audible and would show as normal vocals on the audio editing software?  There are times, too that I wear an amplified microphone and have heard voices when no one else did - a great example of this is on our Ipswich investigation audio #A40.2.   

There are other devices for listening to "them" as well.  There are devices mostly known as "Ghost Boxes" that scan radio channels at an extremely high rate of speed.   It is proposed that when used during an EVP session (session where you ask "them" questions) if you get things like direct responses or full sentences, it would be too coincidental for it to just a glitch - that these are, in fact responses from "them".  There are also devices known as the Ovilus or PX device.  These have an electronically stored word bank and supposedly "spirits" are able to figure out how to use these devices to produce words that are audible through a speaker.  The PX actually has a screen that shows the user words that were used.  Many argue the sensibility of using these types of devices.  With "Ghost/Spirit Boxes", audio pareidolia/matrixing can very easily happen.  This is when your brain will make sense of nonsense and will "hear" familiar things and is only natural, especially if the property's history is known, to seemingly tie-into the known historical facts or names.  As for the Ovilus or PX devices, how do we know that some sort of digital or radio wave isn't interfering with the device causing it to sound--out or pick a word?

Any of these forms of capturing these "spirit" voices have to be very well controlled.  It is important whether using an audio device, some sort of meter device or flashlight (are made to blink  or turned on/off for yes/no questions) that you repeat questions in various forms.  Doing so, may rule out interference of some other device or person or even just coincidences.  It may not either, but it is so very important to control the devices.  It is also important, if able to, the team try to reproduce sounds even if they have to return just to try that.  If a strange sound can be , even remotely, reproduced, then that sound can not be proposed as evidence.    There's just no "ifs, and or buts" about this.  TV shows produce a show - A SHOW.  When they automatically assume certain anomalies in their audio devices, meters, etc. is always accepted evidence, they are foolish.  I also don't like when they present audio in a very matter-of-fact way.  I will discuss more of this in the next article, but it's just not responsible for them to say the audio says exact words and is relevant to their location.

So, unexplained voices can be captured and there are various ways to "hear" them.  Once we rule-out any audio that can possibly be naturally-casued, it is important to understand the dangers of listening to them. which is discussed in the next article.