I'm new to this forum, just logged in, but I feel the need to tell people about what I heard last night.

I'm 24, and I regard myself as an open-minded person. However I don't believe in God in any form, so I'm not pre-disposed to spiritual matters.

My wife and I saw the movie 'White Noise'. I thought it was a good movie, to be taken as seriously as the X-Files, as in not very seriously ('nice idea, but it's still just a movie'). My wife was inspired though.

We got talking about it two nights ago and I flicked through some sites, and became increasingly sceptical of the whole thing. .wav files downloaded that claim to be voices from the dead leave me thinking of how UFO sightings have dropped considerably since the proliferation of camcorders.

However, yesterday morning, my wife produced a basic tape recorder, and last night, on her request, we went to Radioshack and bought a small microphone, for lectures and the like. Getting home, we set it up, and my wife started talking into the microphone. She believes in Wiccan philosophies; I don't, but it wasn't me doing the recording, I was just listening. She blessed the recording from harm by Mother Goddess etc etc, and invited anyone to talk. As per instructions she had, we left it running for about 90 seconds, then I said something which was on the sheet which I thought was rather cheesy... 'are there any spirit friends there?'. I felt pretty stupid.
My wife waited another 30 seconds, and spoke, asking if anyone wanted to say something. After another two minutes, we called an end, 'thanked' anyone who had been present, and rewound the tape.

I hooked the tape player up to our entertainment system, using a headphone to twin phono jack and pressed play. The volume needed turning down while our talking on the tape was played back. There was nothing, maybe a few bumps, but otherwise just static. After a while, we heard my voice asking my question, then nothing.

Then, in what we estimate to be about ten seconds before Julie asks the second question, I heard something that made the hair on my skin stand on end. It was audible whispering, a definite voice. Without a shadow of a doubt there is a voice on that tape. What he or she or it is saying, I don't know. It sounds like about six syllables, perhaps using the word 'coming' or 'something', and another syllable following it and previous to it that I don't understand.

Considering that it might be something else other than a voice, I listened to it about ten times, using headphones. The whispering rises above the static in a way that our voices do not, it is there, although I cannot understand what is being said. It is not basic static, there is the throaty sound that comes with whispering, and the formation of a sound that is made using lips. We weren't recording the static from a radio, or a TV, just the sound of the tape recording air. I don't give a damn whether anyone else believes it, but there was nothing else that could have caused that sound. Anyone who hears it will think that is a voice too.

We did another recording, but to no success, so we simply announced that we would be on again tonight. (date: March 10th).

For my wife, this is merely a confirmation of the spiritual world she so firmly, and up until now I thought, without reason, believes in. For me, if that was a voice, it turns my whole world upside down, for I always believed that the world was firmly composed of physical things, that what couldn't be seen or touched or felt could not be true, but merely the human need for there to be something deeper in our existence and surroundings. Humans are inherently lonely creatures, we seek answers, and will find them wherever we can, in 'burning bushes' or a voice from the sky, or simply belief that thir lives serve a purpose and destiny will lead them. I believed none of these things, because I understand human psychology and understand what part of us craves these things.

Now, I just don't know.

I seek the audience and advice and experiences from you all, those that believe and those that don't, the open minded and the cynical. Just please be respectful.

A word of caution in exploring EVP. As with Ouija boards and tarot cards you leave yourself open to deception from malevolent spirits.
Much as predatory animals are attracted to the smell of fear these spirits are attracted to human attention.

Quick question: did you have all the lights and appliances "off" within 10 feet of the recorder?

Also, was the recorder operating on batteries or was it plugged into an outlet?

Electricity flowing can cause enough of a field to create "distortion" on a magnetic or digital recording device... and depending on the sensitivity of the microphone, light air drafts can also do that... kinda like a small version of blowing over a soda bottle (get a whistling or humming noise).

I am also a sceptic... just as you stated... so I'd be very interested in hearing the progress of your research.

-tj

Do you have any way of anlayzing this tape? Because many (if not most) EVP recordings can't be heard very well because they tend to be in the very low frequency ranges. Reducing the distortion and such might help you get a better idea of whether or not this really is a voice, if so what it is saying, and if there is anything else there that you just couldn't hear on your own.

And be careful of White Noise, it took the definition of EVP a little too broadly and sensationally for my tastes.

Yeah, as far as White Noise goes.. I saw the previews and it just didn't strike me as anything that I would really care to see. Anyway, it's to bad there isn't a way to upload that portion of your recording. It would be great to be able to hear it.

Shem
If you look back at any posts on evp here you will see that i always have something to say on it....like you i thought this cant be true ,but started doing some research and read about 6 books on the subject ...and trawled every website....the voices are there...you will be told it's this or that ..make up your own mind.
Here is a link to a website where ordinary joe bloggs do their own research and share results....they are just people like anyone else on any other forum....but they also know what you do now....maybe its not the spirit world maybe it is ...unless we keep asking and looking we will never know.
Anyway beware of the con artists.
Here are what i consider to be the best sites around at the moment.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grassharp

ordinary people getting evp's

www.worlditc.org

free books here for download

www.aaevp.com

set up by grieving parents

Also look up Marcello bacci
and
Sonia rinaldi

good luck.....try opening your mind slightly.....and see if your results improve.....they will !

Hello there...
In answer to your questions:
Yes there was a light switched on near the tape. All other appliances were off within about 20ft of the recording.
The recording was performed in a basement, with no discernible air-flow.
The recording was done with batteries in the recorder.
And thanks for the links. I'll look into those.

I agree with your comments on the film. Like most Hollywood movies, it wasn't left with just recordings, he could tell the future, they could hurt him etc etc. I'm trying to stick with what i have, not conjecture or imagination.

Now, and help me with this if you can, I have a mic and a headphones connection on the tape player for output. Surely if I can connect the headphones to an input on my PC that might help me to record it? I have a basic soundcard... , three inputs; headphones, mic and one more, which I assume is auxiliary? I could really do with a soundcard that had phono inputs, I can work on that. Any ideas appreciated. Then I can get this sound to you. Maybe as MP3 format, I want you to hear the whole thing.

I appreciate cynicism, it keeps my feet on the ground, but this does not sound like anything but a voice. At work now, but I want to get home and get another recording going...

thanks all...

Check out the links i gave you...important !!!!!!!
Take some advice on protocol before you rush into it okay.
worlditc has a "getting started" section.
Grassharp has many people who can give you practical and technical advice....dont rush headlong into it and you'll be okay

I would be very interested to hear your recording. I'm a very much an open minded sceptic, and i must admit that even if you did produce the recording in a format you could upload, we still only have your word it isn't fake - not that i don't believe you but i wouldn't be able to take it as proof positive, if you see what i mean.

As for uploading it, you should be able to record it to your PC via headphone jack to input jack on your soundcard, using something like Musicmatch jukebox to mp3 it.

Anyway, good luck - the only advise i would give is to approach it as scientifically as possible to eliminate the possibility it isn't some known phenomena

Okay, went out and bought a double ended 3.5mm headphone jack, connected one end into the headphone jack and the other end into the line-in on my PC, and I have got a recording using Windows sound recorder. I've just condensed it down to the sound, nothing else, and I haven't messed about with the speed/volume etc.

It's attached, so i hope this works.

Let me know what you think.

The most common form of evp to be picked up is in whispers....this doesn't mean that they are whispering though........it just means that it's the best you can pick up......experience for most is that the more work put in...the better the resolution gets !
I heard it....most will tell you it could be anything.....you will now see what its like to be on the other side of a sceptic.

It does sound like a voice, although there could be a few other explanations for it. As someone else said, we have no way of knowing if it's authentic, however I'll take your word for it, since there's no evidence against you.

It you listen closely, the recording kind of sounds a little bit like someone shuffling around -- kind of like someone brushed up against something close to the microphone. Is there any chance that you or your wife were moving around while you were recording, and could have made the noise in doing so? I'm just trying to eliminate all possibilities, before I start treating this like a truly supernatural recording.

Also, there is the option that one of you had whispered something to the other, and then forgot about it. Then again, that's a pretty weak explanation for it, but it's still a possibility.

No, it's not weak, and initially it was my first question. When I snapped the tape off after hearing it, I ran everything through my mind (I wanted it to be anything but a supernatural thing). I was sitting away from the microphone, and I didnn't whisper anything to my wife, that I am absolutely sure of.

As for it's authenticity, you only have my word. In the end it is inconsequential whether anyone else believes it to be a true source, if they do and help, thats a bonus to my understanding of the phenomena I heard. If I wanted to undermine the efforts of the people here I would have applied logic to arguments; that's the kind of person I am. I wouldn't create false recordings. Hoaxes are often created to shock and stun people, I don't think the community here are likely to be shocked after hearing one more recording. To the serious investigators, this might just be further proof.

Thanks for your continued help.

Any ideas on what is being said?

You know, this may be as far fetched as you can get.. but after listening to it over and over, it sounds like "Auntie McGregor". Of course, it might be the mind wanting to hear something, or it could be something else said that is entirely different.

To me, it kinda sounded like, "thank you for coming"

Any updates Shem ?

Ok, if any of you are familiar with sounds open your sound recording program and play this through. You will see the needs jump, that is no brushing up of the microphone. I am a skeptic but this, this is werid. I am trying to clean it up some and I will post as soons as possible

By the way, I have absolute confidence in this person. His story sounds very geniune and legit.

All i can say is wow, i definitely heard a voice, i'm so glad you found something.

It sure makes you take a step back and think..

Fascinating. In a way i wish i hadn't read the rest of this thread before listening to it - all i could hear was either "Auntie McGregor" or "Thank you for coming" as suggested above. I got my flatmate to listen to it without telling him anything about it and he suggested it said "Enter the room". The only other thing it sounds like is the croaking of a toad or frog or, less likely, a cricket.

Unfortunately we only have your word for this as this sort of thing could easily be faked, but thank you for sharing it nevertheless. I am gonna get a sound engineer friend to have a look at the recording to see if he can get anything else out of it.

Any plans to repeat the experiment?

I'm going to get a few friends to listen to this and see what they think

one other thing is it possible to give us the whole recording? From what you say i assume the bit provided so far is just snippet

The bit shouldnt matter, now knowing the kind of microphone, the recorder and a picture of your surronding would be extremly useful.

the whole recording does matter, you can then judge how loud the 'voice' is compared to the people's voices on the tape.

... your right but he said nothing else was on the tape.

First of all, thank you for your confidence in me and the recording I posted, it's reassuring to know that this can be taken seriously as to give serious thought to the questions the recording produces.

Having listened to it several times now, I am convinced it is a voice and not an interference anomoly or other phenomena. However, after having consulted a friend who is an ex Radio Office for merchant vessels, a few possibilities have come to light:
One, although there was no 'source' of noise on the tape; we were recording nothing but air, the tape player remains a magnetic recording device, capable of picking up frequencies. It might have been a mobile phone, (though it would have to be of the analogue variety, which I don't think anyone uses anymore). Or a CB radio in the vicinity. Or perhaps it is a manufacturing defect, some thing that affecting the magnetism of the tape as the machine in the factory was spooling it. These are all possibilities, and only experience in detecting the difference between the various possibilities and ruling them out (as in having PurpleStuarts sound engineering friend to hear it through) will give us any insight.

I haven't had the opportunity to do any new recordings (I work awful hours) but when I do I will post any updates.


I hope this helps. It has been recorded in Windows Sound Recorder, straight off the original tape.
Specs of the equipment we used? A GE battery operated tape recorder (it says 3-5027 under the GE logo) and a small microphone from Radio-Shack, I think for microcassette recorders originally. Says on the website under the mic that the range is 100-10,000 Hz.

Also, as per request is a more complete recording. At the start you can hear me speak (that cheesy sentence I thought was kinda silly) then noise, then the 'voice', after which my wife asks her second question.

Due to the limitations in uploading attachments in this forum, in order to get the 40sec. recording to you, I was forced to convert it to MP3 at 40kbps (using DBpoweramp). It's lousy compared to the original one I posted, but it gives you and idea of the contrast between our voices and 'the voice'.[attachmentid=12734]

Using Adobe Audition 1.5, I reduced the hiss and amplified wave pattern. At first I thought it was saying "Magic ....", but I looked over the posts in this thread. And yes, it does sound like it's saying "Aunty McGregor". It makes more sense.

I tried amplifying it more, but the name McGregor starts to sound more of a croak and is harder to make out.

Here's the amplified version below.
And yes, I believe in an afterlife, and this only confirms my belief as what your wife says, Shem_orion.
-----


It doesn't sound like it's saying Enter the room. Nor does it sound like a reasonable answer to Shem_orions question, "Do we have any spirit world friend's here?".

The Spirit friend, gave her name as "Aunty McGregor", since it's the most reasonable answer suggested so far.

Your brain is an identfication tool, if you see something and you hear it your brain wants to think its what has been seen. It can kind of be related to inertia, any object in motion wants to stay in motion ... kinda sorta maybe? I will have an unbiased friend look @ it, who also happens to be a Radio Engineer. Thank you for responding Blue!

Look, try this " Dont take McGregor "

BS - you're right, i don't think it sounds anything like "Enter the room" either - i wanted an unbiased person to listen to it without knowing what they were listening to and see what they made of it.

I also posted it on my Livejournal to see what my friends made of it and i got one person saying it mentioned the word "coming", two believed it just to be static or a scratching noise - possibily a pen. One though it was a man ordering a kebab - "I'll take the donner"
and another reckoned it sounded more like "I shagged madonna"!

listening to it again it could be "Andy McGregor".
Shem_orion - know any McGregors? Previous tenants/owners?

wow, that recording gets creepier every time! I have to say that this is one of the better, clearer recordings I have heard. I would also be keen to hear of any progress on this one.

Hoagy

Another suggestion given to me was "I'll take your mother"

I listened to it several times again. And it also sounds like it's saying "Antique McGregor". Or something like that.

I just loaded Sony SoundForge and had a mess around. My suggestion to what it might be saying is "Don't take my brother." Sit that suggestion in your mindset and try listening again. I think it correlates pretty well.

And yes, I can listen to this fifty times and it still creeps the hell out of me, just to think of the implications of it.

Actually now that I think about it. That kinda does fit. Hmm. Have you tried doing another EVP session? Maybe get a few more answers. Your wife could use some of her protection "spells" or something, if you feel the need to or just to be on the safe side.

Shem
I noticed that you joined the yahoo group...!
Do you think that all these people are getting stray signals ?.
Do you honestly think that they are all there to discuss and share experiences that are not really there ?
I'm sorry to hear that you are doubting your results because to pick something up at your first attempt is a good sign,and with experience your contacts can only improve.
I dont think that evp maker and similar programs are the way to go as it's too open to debunking,the simple tape recorder is the way....digital or magnetic.Anyways i hope you keep up the work ...even for a while to see if you can convince yourself......

Well, I am sick with nothing to do, so I fiddled around with the .wav some for fun.

The voice is now more audible, and the noise is less intrusive.

I still have no idea what it is saying tho.

Also, someone mentioned it sounded like it saying "I'll take your mother".

I think it sounds more like "brother" than "mother" ("br" rather than "m). Just a thought.

After hearing the new more audible one, I still am hearing the same that I heard before. At least we can say that there is five distinguishable syllables. Maybe the reason why I can make that out is that I'm trying to sum up the question asked. I still hear a name.

hey, y'know, with that cleaned up version, it sounds like 'let it burn, let me'

*yeek*

Hoagy

what equipment was used and what kinda controlled conditions set? I may be going over old ground here if so, sorry - am considering giving the EVP recording thing a go in my mates spooksome house!

Thanks

Sam

***update ***

ignore this post! Have read all the info and have changed my mind. I will never sleep again!

Chicken ......

Too bloody right! Thats some spookiness right there!!!!