If you’ve ever watched one of the many paranormal investigation series such as Most Haunted or Ghost Hunters, you’ll have heard the term “EVP”. EVP stands for Electronic Voice Phenomenon and the term is used to describe voices which are recorded onto audio devices which were not audible to the naked ear at the time of recording.  Voices which are audible to the naked ear at the time of recording, but the source of which cannot be identified, are referred to as DVP (Direct Voice Phenomenon).

Electronic Voice Phenomenon is said to have been first discovered by a man called Friedrich Jurgenson, who was making recordings of bird song using a portable tape recorder back in 1959.  Upon playing back the recordings, he discovered voices on the tapes that had not been present at the time of the recording.  Interestingly, many of the voices were said to be addressing him by name and commenting on the bird songs.  The most important feature of these recognised voices is that the owners were all dead.

Although Jurgenson is credited with the discovery of EVPs, there are claims of communicating with the dead through electronic devices dating back as far as 1852.  The inventor of the phonograph & electric light, Thomas Edison, began working on the creation of a communications machine in 1928 but died before it was finished.

While many investigators believe that recording EVPs are a way of communicating with spirits, others believe that EVPs are a gateway into another dimension, so keep your mind open as to what you might hear!

The first and most basic tool required in order to attempt to capture EVPs is an audio recording machine. Traditionally, reel-to-reel tape records were used, but now the favourite machine amongst paranormal investigators is a simple tape cassette recorder. Some paranormal investigators are happy to use digital voice recorders (e.g. dictation machine) while others prefer to avoid digital technology. By their very nature, digital recorders tend to ‘clean up’ recordings, which some investigators feel may lead to the loss of any EVPs that may have been captured.

Devices now exist as "evp machines" which scan radio waves automatically during a recording.  In playback, you may find that you hear voices in the "white noise".  Be careful though - it's possible you could simply pick up a voice from an actual radio broadcast.

If you are using a cassette recorder, always use brand new cassettes for any session in order to eliminate the possibility of hearing what sounds like an EVP but is actually just transference from a previous recording on that tape.

You will find that you get less background noise if you use an external microphone with your recording device, although there’s no need to spend a great amount of money on an expensive microphone.  Many investigators report that cheap microphones are just as successful at picking up EVPs!

Equipment sorted, it’s now time to attempt to make a recording. Some paranormal investigators like to make use of particular background noise such as "white noise" on radios (when you are between stations) because they believe that the existing sound waves make it easier for EVPs to happen.  Other than your choice of white noise, make sure the room is very quiet throughout your session and keep a notepad and pen handy to take a note of any noises you do hear and the time at which you heard them. That’ll save you from thinking you’ve recorded something paranormal, when it was actually just next door’s cat meowing outside, or someone sneezing in the next room.

Some investigators prefer just to leave the tapes running and see what happens, whereas others like to try to encourage spirits to make contact. You may wish to introduce yourself and your intentions and to request that any spirits make themselves known. Remember to give the spirits plenty of time to answer!

Although you can leave the recording device doing its job and leave the room, this isn't always ideal. Firstly, you could miss witnessing a perfectly normal background noise that you can disregard when you play your tape back. Secondly, the best paranormal evidence is one that suggests intelligence. If you can have a 'conversation' with an unknown entitiy - that is, for the EVPs to be in response to your questions and requests - it'll be a lot harder for sceptics to disregard it.

When your recording session is complete, you should play it back and listen very carefully for any unexpected sounds. You will find it easier to do this with headphones, as it helps to block out any other sounds in your environment while listening. Many investigators try different methods of play back – e.g. changing the speed or playing in reverse – to try to make sense of anything they are able to record. Some investigators have reported hearing voices speaking in another language on their recordings!  If you've used a cassette recorder, try listening to the OTHER side of the tape - the side you didn't record onto - as it's been heard of to catch an EVP on the unused side of the tape.  Expect the unexpected!

You may find that it takes many hours of recording and playback before you ever successfully capture anything that’s recognisable as an EVP. Some say that there's an "art" to being able to detect EVPs, so your first few are hardest to find. If and when you are lucky enough to capture paranormal evidence such as this, please consider sharing it with the paranormal community through You Tube, paranormal Yahoo groups and the Paranormal Evidence Wiki.

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