Voices on Tape (EVP
or electronic voice phenomena)
For more than 50 years experimenters all
over the world have been tape-recording 'paranormal voices'—voices
which cannot be heard when a tape-recorder is playing but
which can be heard when the tape is played back.
The experimenter turns on the tape recorder and asks a question,
leaving a space for an answer. When the tape is played back
an answer is sometimes heard.
Many of the very short messages claim to be from loved ones
who have died. These voices sometimes use the experimenter's
name and answer specific questions.
There are thousands of researchers around
the world who have been researching this most fascinating
psychic phenomenon.
It is particularly relevant to my argument
since it can be studied under strict scientific procedures
and experiments have been duplicated under laboratory conditions
by all kinds of researchers in many different countries.
The Association Transcommunication
insist that the voices must be studied scientifically and
not treated as a form or amusement or sensationalism. Led
by Tom and Lisa Butler they have undertaken a number of
scientific studies on EVP.
This is a trailer for a commercial movie
about EVP.
Pioneers of EVP
The scientists who developed radio and television,
Marconi, Edison, Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir William Crookes,
John Logie Baird, were all convinced of the reality of spirit
communication and were using their professional skills to
demonstrate it. Marconi, one of the developers of wireless
radio was reportedly working on a system to communicate
electronically with the afterlife at the time of his death.Work on the Voice Phenomena had actually started
in the 1920s with Thomas Edison who believed that there
could be a radio frequency between the long and short waves
which would make possible some form of telepathic contact
with the other world (Stemman 1975:98).
Friedrich Jurgenson began finding voices
on his tapes by chance in 1959 . Dr Konstantin Raudive worked in Germany to explore
the voices. He published a book Breakthrough (1971)
which was based on 72,000 voices he recorded.
Pye experiments
On one occasion EVP experiments were conducted
in soundproof studios to filter out stray broadcasts. In
the space of 27 minutes some 200 voices were received.
