Electronic Voice Phenomena

A great many people since then have claimed to have heard or recorded unearthly, discarnate voices on different types of electronic gadgets. The phenomenon seems to have grown along with the technology.

Radio transmissions and the amount of people listening increased greatly during World War II. Some people reported hearing weird voices imparting strange messages. It was assumed, of course, that this was enemy code, but radio operators and code breakers remained baffled.

In 1952, in Milan, two highly respected catholic priests were engaged in a project to record Gregorian chant. One of them, Father Gemelli, was not happy with the sound he was hearing. In a moment of exasperation he implored his dead father for help. When they replayed the recording they were astonished to hear a voice saying "I am always with you and help you". The voice belonged to the priest's dead father.

The Pope was fascinated by this discovery and it is thought that the Vatican has become expert in EVP techniques. Hopefully, one day they will make their secrets known.

One of Britain's leading EVP investigators is Judith Chisholm who founded The EVP and Transcommunication Society in 1996.

Judith had suffered a terrible tragedy - her eldest son had died suddenly and unexpectedly. Like many others in similar circumstances she was desperate to contact her dead son. She joined a psychic group and got into the habit of tape recording the sessions. One evening she played the tape back and heard a woman whispering her name. The voice did not belong to anybody else in the group and sounded unnatural - a sort of flat, monotone.She was convinced a deceased person was trying to make contact with her.

Judith began to make recordings in her own house in the hope that her late son might leave a message. However, nothing happened for several months and, thoroughly disheartened, she was about to give up. Then, on playing back one of the tapes, she was amazed to hear the voice of a man saying clearly "I've been every week".

It was as if the spirits, sensing she was about to give up, decided to make an effort at contact.

The tapes began to pick up voices on a regular basis. At first they were very faint and difficult to understand. Gradually these disembodied voices became stronger and more meaningful and Judith's son did seem to make contact from the spirit world.

Strangely, he kept uttering the word "reason" over and over again. Judith was confused at first but later realised that her son was trying to tell her that he had died for a reason and that everything, in fact, happened for a reason.

Other voices were captured, some from other deceased relatives. One of them commented on the quality of Judith's tea. A voice she recognised as her dead mother-in-law informed her that it wasn't cold enough to snow. One spirit left a message that said "I'm praying".

In 1999 Judith bought a new-fangled digital voice recorder to replace her cassette tapes. She wasn't too sure about digital recording and wondered aloud if the spirits would like it. She was amazed at the response.

A mans voice, clear and happy, was caught on the recorder, "we like it" he said. This man was then heard to issue an order, seemingly to another spirit, "go and find Hallam".

Jack Hallam was a close friend of Judith Chisholm who had died a few years previously. A short while later the deceased Mr Hallam left a message on the digital recorder and has been leaving messages ever since.

I find this story intriguing, not simply because a dead person' voice can be recorded, but because it suggests that spirits form themselves into friends and groups just as we do in the physical world.

BGAH haven't been quite as successful as Judith Chisholm in the field of EVP, but we have managed to record the odd unexplained scream, moan, and whisper.

Some friends of ours set up recording equipment in some empty stables in South Birmingham. These stables were situated in a field where Cromwell and his army once camped. When they played back the recording they could hear horses even though the stables were completely empty. They could also hear metal bashing sounds as if a blacksmith was at work.

EVP is a fascinating subject and is pretty easy for anybody to experiment with. There are plenty of websites that give advice on how to get the best results, but all you really need to do is leave a digital voice recorder in an empty room. Obviously you will need a bit of patience when listening to the play back.

I believe that some people act as "beacons" where spirits are concerned. Spirits are attracted to some people and maybe you are one of them.

Who knows? You could get a message from your great grandmother telling you to wash behind your ears!