What is an EVP?


EVP stands for “Electronic Voice Phenomenon”.  They are typically sounds that the human ear does not register, but yet are picked up by recording devices.  They are often human sounding and provide direct responses to questions or circumstances.

EVPs are some of the most compelling paranormal evidence out there, and there is no current logical scientific explanation for how they are occurring.  Unfortunately, due to the “bad image” of paranormal research because of “psychics”, charlatans, and hoaxers… this phenomenon has not gotten the attention that it deserves from the mainstream scientific community.  In fact, it hasn’t gotten ANY real attention.

Even if you are new to this idea, if you are smart and scientific minded you already know what critics of this phenomenon would say, so I won’t bother repeating them here.  But understand this… when we at Lowcountry Paranormal present EVP evidence, it has to meet a certain criteria.  We attempt in every way possible to rule out our own voices, natural background noises, or some other explainable cause.

One of the best ways to do this is use multiple recording sources at the same time.  Then, place them into multi-track audio studio software.  This allows you to easily cross reference other audio sources, and you’ve drastically minimized the chance of accidentally presenting natural, explainable noise sources… like other members of your group!

I usually have one “primary recorder track” that I listen to very, very closely, and when I think I’ve got something… I line up the other tracks and listen to the exact same section.  What’s interesting is most of these are picked up by both recorders, even though they each usually have a different level of quality.  This is true even for the more “mechanical/electronic” sounding EVPs -the ones you would expect to be particular to only one recorder.

Also, a benefit of using any sort of computer audio studio program is VISUAL. I think it is absolutely crucial to be able to SEE the waveforms!  That way, you know when a loud section is coming up, and you know when a quiet section is about to come so you can get ready to listen “extra hard” with no surprises.

This process has definitely “cleared up” some potential EVPs, and in either direction, too… it’s resulted both in me putting some in the pile of “explained” and keeping some in the pile of ”definitely unexplained”!

I’m not going to lie… EVP listening is very difficult, grueling work!  However, it’s usually very rewarding… and you can be left with some amazing evidence that isn’t hard to get.

Aside from the time it takes to go through and listen to the audio evidence, the hardest part about EVPs is that you have to have a very quiet location.  If you have a really sensitive recorder, expect every car that passes by or every plane overhead to be a roar.  If you get a lot of “noise pollution” like that… expect your ears to feel like you went to a Def Leppard concert the night before because of the sheer volume you have to use when listening!

The only advice I have when going over the evidence -besides using a multi-track program- is to get in the habit of marking *every* unusual sound you hear on the tape (this keeps you sharp and focused), and to develop the talent of listening to the background versus the foreground.

-Lowcountry Paranormal



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