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Communication from a voice recorded on a tape recorder from which there is no known source. EVP researchers believe the voices captured on tape are those of spirits of the dead, but sceptics argue that they are simply voices from radio or TV transmissions being picked up by the recording device.

Interest in EVP began in the late 1920s when the famous inventor Thomas Edison predicted that one day there would be a machine to allow communication with the spirits. In 1959 EVP was said to have been discovered by accident by the Swedish filmmaker Friedrich Jürgenson. Jürgenson was recording birdsong when he discovered an unknown voice on his tape. On replaying the recording later he believed that he had recorded a message from his mother, who had died four years previously.

EVP was further reported in the 1970s by Latvian psychologist Konstantin Rau-dive, who picked up unexplained voices in the background while recording something else. He began to record in empty rooms and still picked up voices, which were later thought to be messages from spirits of the dead. Raudive published his research, in German, in The Inaudible Made Audible, which was translated into English in 1971 with a new title Breakthrough. EVP voices are also called Raudive Voices in recognition of the extensive work he did recording over 100,000 voices.

In the 1980s and 1990s there were thousands of EVP researchers at work devising machines and recording the phenomenon. Several organizations, including the American Electronic Voice Phenomenon in the United States, sprang into existence. Perhaps the most well-known and best-funded device was the ‘spiricom’, invented by George Meek, a retired engineer, with the alleged help of a discarnate scientist who communicated to him during a séance. Unfortunately the success rate of the spiri-com was poor but this did not stop Meek pursuing increasingly sophisticated ways to reach astral planes.

Allegedly EVP voices are never heard during recording, only on playback. They are said to be either faint or clear and can speak or sing in a variety of languages. They are identifiable as men, women and children and according to reports the voices suggest that they can communicate through central transmitting agencies in the spirit plane.

EVP has many enthusiastic supporters who believe the phenomenon is evidence of paranormal activity, but there are also many critics who doubt the recordings are genuine. Between 1970 and 1972 the Society for Psychical Research commissioned psychical researcher D J Ellis to investigate EVP voices, and he concluded that the sounds were susceptible to imagination and most likely a natural phenomenon. Other sceptics believe that the voices are caused by psychokinesis, when sounds are imprinted on the tape by the experimenter.

DIY EVP

There are many ways to attempt to record EVP voices, and enthusiasts tend to use highly sophisticated recording equipment, but perhaps the quickest and simplest way is to turn a recorder on and leave it running. Night-time seems to be the best time to reduce the risk of interference. Often headphones must be used to hear the voices. It is said that the attitude in which the experiment is approached is important and that an open minded, relaxed and positive attitude is best. Doubt has a negative impact on results.

Despite poor experimental records EVP researchers continue to devote time and energy to finding a way to capture something on tape that proves life after death. In the last decade or so EVP has moved into other media, including TV, video and film cameras and computers. Researchers all over the world have reported images and voices appearing or coming from their TVs for which there is no known cause, as well as spontaneous printouts from computers.