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Give
Me Some Proof - Part 2
Recording Their Voices
Some of the creepiest evidence of paranormal activity are EVP's
or "Electronic Voice Phenomena". This is the mysterious
and often disturbing act of capturing the voices of spirits
on an audio tape.
Much like photos of the paranormal, there are hundreds of examples
of EVP's to scrutinize. They range from unrecognizable groans
and mumbles to three hour long conversations.
Many scientists have studied this phenomenon and have not been
able to explain it. I can't explain it other than this is yet
another way for spirits to communicate with us. Frankly, I don't
care how it works, I just know that it does and here is not
only how to do it, but how to remain credible at the same time.
How do you do it?
Set down your recorder and relax. Settle down into your chair
and get comfortable. Clear your mind and just sit still for
a few minutes. You can say some sort of prayer if you feel like
it, but it doesn't seem to affect the outcome at all.
Turn on some kind of background noise. Keep it pretty low, you
don't want it to overpower the recording. Some suggestions are
white noise (you know that fuzz you get when there's nothing
on the TV or a particular radio station.), running water or
even a vacuum cleaner. Anything that will give you a steady
stream of jumble.
This may sound wierd but the spirits have a hard time creating
any sound that makes sense. This is why people usually hear
moans or groans. This takes a lot of energy to do. The background
noise allows them to piece together sounds from the static to
more easily form words. Plus, the recorders are more sensative
than our ears. So, essentially, we are making it easier for
them to talk.
Ok, now that you're comfortable and you've got some noise going,
you can either just sit there, you can leave and see what turns
up later or, you can start asking questions. Be sure to ask
simple straight forward questions such as, "What is your
name?". And don't forget to leave a long pause between
questions so that the spirit has time to answer. Give them about
three times as long as you would give a living person to answer.
When you're done with the recording, politely thank the spirit
if you want to, once again this has no effect on the outcome
of the recording. Then you can go home and listen to it.
How do you remain credible?
Just doing a few simple things can save you a lot of grief when
trying to prove your recording.
Unplug anything you don't need to do the EVP. Almost everything
that can be plugged in will make noise that will turn up on
your tape, possibly fooling you into believing it is a ghost.
WHILE THE TAPE IS RECORDING, do the following:
When you first get to where you want to record, make every sound
possible that could be mistaken for a spirit. Cough, breathe,
scoot around, etc.
Next, have someone go into all of the surrounding rooms and
talk at various volumes. Also, have them bang on the walls etc.
Announce that you are done with your comparative noises and
begin your EVP.
Some
general rules to follow when creating an EVP:
Don't
use a crappy little recorder.
Try to use something better. This isn't always possible. Even
a portable stereo has better recording capabilities than a walkman
sized unit.
Use
an external microphone.
Any unit, no matter how nice it is, will put off somekind of
internal sound that will be picked up by the microphone. Stear
clear of using the microphone that is mounted on the actual
unit or you'll pick up the gears inside the unit that are moving
the tape. This kind of interferance makes it VERY difficult
to make out the voices.
Spend
the extra two bucks and buy some high-quality tapes.
Remember, this is what holds the valuable recordings. The better
the tape, the clearer the sound.
Don't
whisper.
When you talk or ask questions speak loudly and clearly. Don't
speak directly into the microphone because when you play back
the tape you'll most likely have the volume cranked up so that
you can hear every little sound. If you come cranking over the
speaker at 50,000 decibles, your chances of ever hearing anything
else again are slim.
Ask
simple questions.
Don't ask "How often did you think about going to your
mother's house, and if it was often which days did you not do
it?"
Use
some background noise. (If you prefer)
Running water, white noise, vacuum cleaner... just make
sure it doesn't dominate the recording. Remember, it's called
BACKGROUND noise. This will help to "raise the sound floor" or allow for easier filtering.
.
Get
comfortable.
The less noise YOU make the better.
Respect
the dead.
Be courteous to the spirits. Thank them for their help and try
to help them once you've heard what they have to say. Don't immediately ask if they know they are dead, etc. Try to keep in mind the time period in which they lived when asking the questions. Someone from the 1600's won't know what a "recorder" or a "camera" are.
Most of all, try and do it where there is spiritual activity,
this will always increase your odds. Good luck, and happy hunting!
- Grant
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