Confessions of a Rookie Paranormal Audio Analyzer
You have all seen it.
The lonely paranormal investigator, toiling away listening to the hours of captured audio from an investigation of a reportedly haunted location. Headphones on, intentively listening to the sounds of human voices in hopes of finding some voice that is not from a currently breathing human.
Searching for EVP is not as easy as it looks on TV.
Especially when you are a rookie. You can read and try to learn how to listen for this stuff but it’s kind of like learning to swim from a book. You really actually have to get into the water before you really learn anything.
Recently we here at Spectral Review had the opportunity to investigate the Myrtles Plantation (see our roundup of our reports including personal experiences of many who attended). Being rookies we were guided by the experienced investigators from Everyday Paranormal.
We captured 105 minutes of audio that were EVP sessions. We captured 60 minutes of audio while leaving the recorder alone in a bedroom before the investigation began, and another 60 minutes audio from a DV camcorder after the investigation ended.
The story of our experience of analyzing all this data may be informative to our readers who have never experienced an investigation and it’s aftermath. Veteran paranormal investigators who may read this article might be like Bugs Bunny and say “What an ignoramus, what a buffoon!” 
Searching for an EVP
On more than one occasion I would ask for feedback from my wife on a possible EVP. She would listen then give a puzzled look and ask “What is it?”
“Pork heads.”
Or other assorted nonsense words which no one in their right mind should count as EVP. Now having said that, when you have gone on your first investigation and you have watched hours and hours of paranormal TV shows and read tons of articles of paranormal research, you desperately want to find your first EVP!
Well “Pork heads” wasn’t our first for a few reasons. One reason is it sounds like another investigator who was in the room at the time. Plus unless “pork heads” are a southern delicacy we don’t know about then it doesn’t make any sense either.
But we want to give you a chance to listen. First you will hear Brad Klinge of Everyday Paranormal, “pork heads”, then another investigator.
It’s kind of hard to hear right? So using our trusted audio software Audacity, we amplify and reduce the noise so it’s clearer.
Learning As We Go
On the day of the investigation, we attended a Ghost Hunting 101 session given by Brad and Everyday Paranormal. Brad told us some important things to keep in mind when performing an EVP session:
- Speak clearly and loudly
- Keep a session to about 5 minutes
- If you make a noise, announce that you did so the noise is not misinterpreted
These are all so important because it’s so hard when you hear mumbles and you spend time on what ends up not being an EVP. Plus analyzing a session that is 5 minutes long is easier because it’s just hard to concentrate conducting the session and then listening to it later if it’s longer. And any noise that can easily be explained away just saves time and effort.
3D Audio
Something they do not highlight on shows like Ghost Hunters is comparing two or more recordings of the same session. Even this rookie paranormal audio analyzer could see the value in doing so. Not only does it give you a 3D audio information, you often hear a sound more clearly on one recorder that helps you eliminate a false positive.
Here is a recording where you hear an investigator voice, then what sounds like a child laughing and then another investigator. Children are known to haunt the Myrtles Plantation so it’s a natural thing to think laughter or children playing would be sounds that might come through on an EVP.
Now a much different story with this recording. Notice the microphone is right near the first investigator and you can hear his voice much stronger.
Here you see the value in comparing recordings of the same session. I wonder why they never talk about this on Ghost Hunters.
Wishful Thinking
This next recording is another example of 3D audio. I wish I could say this is a direct answer to a question I posed. I find myself hearing something that would make sense. Other people I have asked to listen do not agree. What do you think? Again this is a learning experience and wanting an EVP is not the same as having an EVP.
We were out on the grounds of Myrtles Plantation and one of the stories of hauntings is that a former caretaker is seen at the entrance of the property telling people to go away. This man is named “Poppy” and was a caretaker at some point in the history of the plantation. In this EVP session I compliment Poppy on how beautiful the grounds look. There is a sound shortly thereafter. What does it sound like to you?
When I thought about this sound, it does appear like it could have been made by the investigator who commented on the trees. I mean the sound could be his voice. Please listen to his recording and note the levels of the voices.
You clearly hear my voice is much weaker. I know it’s hard to hear but the response is a bit stronger on my recording than it is on the second recording. You would think the opposite if the sound was made by the other investigator. Let me illustrate with the waveforms:
In the picture above you can see how my voice is very strong as my mouth is not far from the microphone as I’m holding the recorder in my hand. The important thing is to look at the middle blip which is the response and the larger wave at the end which is the voice of the other investigator.
Above is the waveform of the second recording. See how my voice is near nothing compared to the first? The response is less, yet the other investigators voice is stronger in comparison. The point being if the sound was made by the other investigator than the middle response wave should be stronger also since he is closer to his own microphone.
Ok, thats all good but it comes down to what is the response? I think it’s “thanks” and Poppy is responding to my statement. I asked a few others to listen and they don’t hear it that way. I would like to know what you think. There was a third investigator also and I cannot rule out that he may have made this sound.
Sometimes You Just Can’t Figure it Out
This next recording goes into the category of just weirdness. It’s a sound that appears to be a human voice but what it’s saying is nonsense. And it’s really unexplained or I can’t think of any rational explanation. It’s the second to last EVP session of the night and you will hear Brad say “let’s finish up down at the museum” or words to that effect. You hear me fumble with the recorder trying to turn it off. The sound I want you to listen for is right at the end.
What the heck was that?? Play it again!
It has become known as the “fella” word.
I have read articles and heard interviews with people who will do effects on EVPs with their software. And one of these effects is changing the speed of the sound. Since this is such a weird sound, I wanted to experiment. But something was bothering me about doing so. I got this flash of playing the white album backwards to hear “I buried Paul” when I was a kid. The person I regard highest in this field is Brad Klinge and since he will answer my email , I asked him his feelings on doing things like changing speed of the EVP:
We look at evidence (in this case EVP) from the point of a skeptic — the more they can point to the sound as something else, the less likely we are to present it.
So I have to say that this is not an EVP. However, I still wanted to play with the speed! So here it is sped up by 180%
Maybe We Got Something Here
This next recording could be a real EVP. I definitely hear something at the end that could be a voice unattached to a human. To set it up, Brad was explaining to another investigator how on their previous visit to Myrtles Plantation it was a quiet night until 2:30 AM and then all heck broke loose. Does a spirit at the end of this recording acknowledge what happened?
To me it sounds like “I know”. Or it’s my stomach complaining about the Sonic hotdog I had six hours earlier. I’m certain it’s one of the two.
Conclusion
Having had my first set of audio to analyze, I have to say I felt I learned a lot. I definitely feel I got my feet wet and really tried to be objective. I enjoyed the analysis, the process of working with the data. Maybe it was because it was new to me, or the excitement for the search of an EVP but I can safely say I’m looking forward to experiencing another investigation and analysis of audio that is collected.
Dave Tango has nicer headphones than I do though.
June 11th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Make stuff up; that’s what everyone else in this “field” does.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I heard “Thanks.” Sounded male. You’re not able to account for 3rd person? Whoever it was, they weren’t exactly enthusiastic.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Thanks, it’s good to see someone is hearing what I’m hearing!
It’s funny you mention the enthusiasm. The way the story was told to me is that this caretaker Poppy is quite the curmudgeon. He doesn’t like people on the property. The legend is that he was murdered in 1927 during a robbery. But that hasn’t been verified as far as I know.
The third person was the gentleman with the southern accent speaking at the end of the “pork heads” recording earlier in the article. I have a snippet of his recording also but it doesn’t shed anymore light on the subject because his voice doesn’t appear in it at all.
I need to ask him to send me the whole session, or at least a larger section that also includes his voice. I’ll do that and update the article if he is willing to do so.
June 12th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Why can’t these pesky ghosts enuciate? And why can’t you people ask them interesting questions.
How’s the afterlife hanging? How did you get there? Is there some sort of religious dogma required? Is there pizza? Hotties?
How does clothing achieve an afterlife? Why is it so very often Victorian? Why not Edwardian, Elizabethan?
June 12th, 2008 at 10:07 am
It certainly would be great if they did speak clearly!
You definitely just iterated some questions that were better than the ones I came up with! If I get another chance to go on an investigation I will use some of these, with your permission of course,
June 12th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Have at it, no charge. Definitive proof of the afterlife snags you a Nobel, minimum. Don’t forget those you met on the way up.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:55 am
Randy,
As many times as I hear skeptics say that researchers in this field make this stuff up, I can never get used to it. And while I note that the quotations around the word field is a sarcastic remark, I have to agree that I understand that it is hard to call something a field that will probably never be proven–such as atomic research or space exploration right? We do not spend this many hours and spend thousands upon thousands of our own dollars to go out there and make something up. Hell, if I wanted to do that, I could save a lot of time and money by sitting in my home and not spend a dime on any of this and make up some of the best stuff known to mankind. On the same token, I understand that there are many people out there who would do such a thing; however, let me point out some of the things we at Everyday Paranormal do to make sure our EVPs are air tight and legit. First, we run multiple recorders during every session. Any EVP caught on a single recorder is analyzed against all recorders in the room. You have no idea how many potential EVPs we throw out by using this technique and finding that a muffled paranormal sound on one is a clear normal sound on another. Second, we try as much as possible to review evidence immediately after an investigation with witnesses in the room to see that when we find something that it is pulled directly off the recorder with no manipulation. Thirdly, we use the most sophisticated sound software on the market to isolate the possble EVPs and filter all other sounds that could cause an audible distortion and fool the ear into thinking it is one thing when it is really another.
My point is this–don’t be so quick to judge the whole based on your limited knowledge. “Field” comes from the phrase “field of study”, which is all we are doing here. Obviously, you are entitled to your opinion–just make it a more informed one next time before you drop a bomb. You apparently must be interested in this field by the simple fact of being on this site.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:05 am
I think his opinion is based on critical thinking skills, rather than a credulous mind-set.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Brad:
On man’s sarcasm is another’s irony I guess.
How do you know how limited my knowledge about this “field?” I know that the instruments used on an “investigation” are not manufactured for the purpose of finding ghosts: no such equipment exists. But I know you can misinterpret an EMF meter, an IR thermometer or a thermal cam. And I know you can misuse them as well.
Or you can use a “psychic” or a “sensitive” on a hunt, attempting to prove one thing with another unproved thing. Surely you can see the tautology here.
One of the Plinys, elder, younger, I forget which, penned the first recorded ghost story in about 14AD.
Since then, we’ve been searching for such things, with little credible evidence.
We do have indoor plumbing, pizza, manned space flight, hot pockets, and hey, we harnessed the power of the universe, the atom, to end the world’s worst conflict to date . . .
And just to get this out of the way, I have had what might be termed paranormal experiences; first thing you do to debunk a personal experience is to eliminate every one that begins “I was in bed, but definitely awake . . .”
June 19th, 2008 at 9:14 am
I think you can also discard any experience in which an individual “sees” something from the corners of his eyes.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Resume..you are absolutely on the money with that one. Any peripheral vision claims hold no weight.
Randy..you are right on the money as well. We have to use equipment we think might be useful because their is no such thing as ghost hunting equipment. The theories that surround the cause of paranormal activity are just that–theories. They sound good and make some logical sense (emf, thermal, draining batteries, etc), but that is all we have to go by at this stage in the game. You sound like a very intelligent person who may have done his homewors–perhaps a skeptic believer–and I applaud you for that. But you have to agree that a sweeping statement that everyone makes this stuff up is not true. The painstaking efforts we go through listening and analyzing this stuff is staggering (at least my group and others that I know). In all of my research, I have formulated my own theories which I am in the process of experimenting with right now. I’ll give you one in relation to this topic of EVPs–could there be a natural cause to a sound being recorded on the environment? I am currently experimenting with wood and metal since most EVPs are caught indoors. Could the rafters or the stove or the floor boards or the bed (you get the idea) be a conductor of energy that allows the recording of certain sounds or voices, and if the environment is conducive and the right equipment available, will that sound replay itself? I am sure I must look crazy screaming into a metal bowl or growling at a piece of wood (much like AG Bell would have been talking into a box), but if I can somehow replay that sound, then I just might be on to something. Why would I do all of that? Because I have recorded some crazy things over the years where there is no current logical explanation for. Does the field jump the gun and call them ghosts? Maybe. But what else do you call the sound of a conversation when no one else is in the room? What is a ghost other than an imprint of the past. Bottom line is that we aren’t making this stuff up. It happens. We are just doing our best to make sense of it. Until then, it is defined as paranormal.
And by the way…ditto on psychics. There is no way we would use a feeling as any kind of proof.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:17 am
When I plug my Telecaster into one of my solid-state Marshall amps, and choose the bridge pickup, I hear voices. The first time it happened, it was a man speaking, the second a woman. The third time it happened, it was gibberish, but by then I realized I was listening to the local AM news station, and the bridge pickup of that guitar made the amp a radio receiving device. Doesn’t happen with the neck pickup, doesn’t happen with my Strat, doesn’t happen with my tube amp.
I know any number of credulous people that would believe without fail, that my amp was haunted.
Similarly, there is a security guard at my place of employment that is certain the warehouse is haunted. When I open the front door every morning, I am assaulted with tales of what went bump in the night, the night before. You should see the look I get when I offer him a chance to check out the warehouse before I turn on the lights.
Things echo in the warehouse: rodents, stuff falling for no other reason than gravity. The guard hears voices, and so do I sometimes; there is a DC next door that operates 24/7, and the thin wall beween us makes it sometimes seem I am not alone.
Guard wants to attribute this to ghosts, and can’t be swayed.
Point is, he wants it to be so for whatever reason; he hears what he hears, and sometimes allows his senses to fool him.
Maybe you don’t make stuff up as Randy put it, but maybe also you are mis-interpreting your senses. What I know for certain is many groups with this avocation DO lie, falsify “evidence” and whatnot.
Doesn’t help the cause.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Brad:
I am afraid I’m a dire skeptic when it comes to ghosts and the paranormal. For myself, neither the math, nor the physics are there.
Now M-Theory, String Theory . . . perhaps these will lead to some answers, but I am not versed enough in either to even ask the questions.
Eventually, we’re all gonna find out, but perhaps won’t be sentient to realize we have.