Equipment – Event Showcase – Reports

Voice Recorder

These simple voice recorders are used to record questions asked by us to spirit in the hope that we record an answer. This would be known as an EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena). Since spirit voices can be quiet it is imperative when asking the questions to be as quiet as possible. When we analyse the audio recording, we can hear if there is a spirit response (although we may not clearly understand the words at first).
Often the spirit voice is quiet or at least lower than our own voices and we must listen for the tell-tale signs. On a computer using certain software it is possible to see the waveform of a spirit voice. Oddly or helpfully every spirit voice starts the same way when looking at the waveform, no matter what the response to the question is.

Since most spirit voices can be quiet (some are loud) we must remind people to be quiet, no talking or whispering as this could be mistaken for a spirit voice. No movement as clothing makes a noise, especially winter jackets. Plus, all mobile phones to be switched off as our audio equipment will pick up the carrier signals for incoming sms text or phone calls.

It is also important after asking a question to leave a silence period, so that spirit have the time to answer. We usually tell people to be silent for 5-10 seconds after asking a question.
It can be fulfilling to have an answer to a question you asked to spirit. It does not happen all the time, but with practise it is possible to have quality answers. Obviously, the questions need to be specific to the venue or location or the spirit. We often tell people to ask the sort of question you would answer if someone asked you that question. E.g. What’s your name? Did/do you work/live here?

If you have a rapport with a spirit (and have listened back to some recordings and know that you have some responses, even though you may not know what is said until after the investigation), you can ask more detailed questions or more personal questions. The idea through EVP is to be able to gather tangible evidence that could potentially be looked up or is known. One of our favourite questions is to ask spirit; how many people are in this room? Or how many can you see? Quite often we have had the right answer spoken back to us.

The simple Olympus ones that we use VN2100PC and VN3100PC are readily available on Amazon & eBay and can be picked up for about £15 each. You can get more expensive recorders including Tascam recorders, but the results are much the same.

You could probably use an old tape-based system, but in the digital age it is a lot easier to transfer a digital recording on a PC.