​
Recorded spirit voices have been experienced by people since the invention of electronic receiving and recording devices. From the days of the first telephones and radios, spirit voices have been heard. The phenomena grew near the end of World War II with the gradual spread in the use of the first wire recorders, which then gave way to tape recorders. Wire recorders had been used by the military during the war and had worked well. It soon became apparent, however, that tape was a better medium for recording.
In the 1920s, Thomas Alva Edison is reported to have said: “If our personality survives, then it is strictly logical or scientific to assume that it retains memory, intellect, other faculties and knowledge that we acquire on this Earth. Therefore … if we can evolve an instrument so delicate as to be affected by our personality as it survives in the next life, such an instrument, when made available, ought to record something.” In the June, 1922 issue of Popular Radio, there was a major article titled “Can the Dead Reach Us by Radio?” Other periodicals of the period also touched on the subject.
In the 1950s, two of the first serious investigators of electronic spirit communication were Friedrich Juergenson, a Russian painter and film producer, and Dr. Konstantin Raudive, a Latvian psychologist. In 1967, Juergenson's Radio Contact with the Dead was translated into German. In it he detailed how outdoor recordings of bird songs had also apparently picked up the voice of his deceased mother, calling him by his childhood name. Raudive read the book skeptically and then visited Juergenson to learn his methodology. Consequently, Raudive decided to experiment on his own. He soon began developing his own experimental techniques. Like Juergenson, Raudive too heard the voice of his own deceased mother, who called him by his boyhood name: “Kostulit, this is your mother.” Over a number of years Raudive collected dozens of tapes of recorded spirit messages, totaling 72,000 voices; many recorded under strict laboratory conditions. In 1982, Sarah Estep started the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena and in the 1990s, the International Network for Instrumental Transcommunication (INIT) was started by Mark Macy.
Electronic voice phenomena or EVP are spoken words that sound like human speech, but they fall outside the range of what human vocal cords are typically known to produce. While the human ear can hear a finite range of sounds that fall between 20 to 20,000 Hz, human vocal cords produce an even smaller range of sound, with an adult male’s range falling between 85 to 180 Hz and an adult
female’s range falling between 165 to 255 Hz.
With this information and the right software EVPs can be analyzed using spectral analysis to see what frequency and decibel range they fall into. By using this method, candidates for paranormal voices or electronic voice phenomena can be identified by the following criteria:
-
Has recognizable elements of human speech by more than one observer,
-
Was recorded within a reasonably controlled environment,
-
Falls outside the range of what human vocal cords are known to produce.
One such instrument capable of capturing EVP is the P-SB7. This device works by scanning either the FM or AM bands utilizing a mille-second adjustable forward or reverse frequency sweep technique. The sweep is coupled with a proprietary high frequency synthetic noise or a.k.a. white noise distributed between frequency steps of 32/320=.1MHz per step. Two ‘steps’ would put an SB7’s frequency out of range of any given FM station. Thus, any EVP lasting longer than 2 steps could not be radio interference. The instrument also contains an enhanced FM frequency sweep that scans from 76 MHz to 108 MHz. Research has demonstrated this is the most active frequency sweep range for EVP communication. A seven step adjustable sweep rate provides the user flexibility based on individual technique and session circumstances.
Through arduous experimentation using a 3X3 grid system with microphone triangulation, a faraday bag (metallic fabric as shield against outside sound frequencies) and spectral analysis, I found the majority of the EVPs captured during my investigative career fall either within the 20 Hz - 80 Hz range or within the 660 Hz – 20 KHz range. With current knowledge of sound frequency ranges and how the human vocal cords operate, I am left with a range of sound in which humans could hear, but human speech should not be possible. If it is this range that most of the EVPs fall into on a regular basis it should give me and others pause. Even under scrutiny the evidence literally speaks for itself and makes an excellent case that electronic voice phenomenon is a real occurrence that lacks a quick, easy answer.
​
In conclusion; my research and on-site investigations indicate the metaphysical world operates at a higher frequency than the physical world. In the physical world, the researcher's focused intention is crucial in raising the frequency rate that will ultimately connect with the metaphysical world and it is through this elevated frequency that we achieve our goal of communication from the other side. Thus in order to communicate with the metaphysical world, the researcher has to change their vibration to a higher frequency. It is a delicate operation that takes practice to achieve the vibration suitable for communication.
Pamela Nance
Electronic Voice Phenomena
May, 2021
​