Buck Bannister

An EVP experiment

September 29, 2008 |  1 comment
Image Credit: sxc.hu Lately, I have been discussing Electronic Voice Phenomenon with author Cullan Hudson. Cullan had asked if any groups used live listening when conducting EVP sessions or even parabolic microphones or other devices. In my investigative group we do both of those things. Paul Bradford, one of our team leads and our tech guru uses a parabolic microphone during investigations that is linked both to headphones as well as a recording device. Kale Kelly, our Central team lead has pioneered using a digital recorder that allows him to actually listen live as he records. Several other members have purchased the same type of recorder and now utilize it to listen during EVP sessions while also recording the session. We have had some luck with this system in the past.

However, my discussions with Cullan have also made me reconsider some ideas I've had in the past and revisit them as I propose new experimental protocols.

Many years ago an experiment was conducted in Toronto by a parapsychology group headed by Dr. A.R.G. Owen. The results of the experiment indicated that it was possible for a group of researchers to generate responses psychically during séance when they focused their attention on an imaginary "ghost".

This experiment always intrigued me and has often led me to postulate that simply by studying paranormal phenomena we may be influencing or even creating it at times, Cullan rightly noted it is the Heisenberg Uncertainly Principle applied to ghost hunting.

In a similar vein, there are those who claim that EVP and responses recorded are in the language of the investigator regardless of the language used by the deceased entity in life. This idea just received a popular boost when Joshua Gates of Destination Truth hauled it out to explain an English sounding EVP caught in an Indonesian cave. I find this hard to accept unless there is some psychic connection with the investigator. If this is the case it would indicate that the investigator is not actually an observer but rather, possibly, the source of the phenomenon.

So, with these thoughts in mind, I have decided to propose a new experiment.

Before each investigation all team members are told a randomly assigned number between 1 and 10. During the EVP sessions, the lead questioner will announce: "We are now going to ask the number question." At this point each member present will clear their mind and think only of the assigned number. The lead questioner will then state: "We are thinking of a number. Can you tell us what that number is?"

In cases where there is a response, the response will be noted and assigned a "hit" or "miss" label. In cases, of no response that will also be noted. Over time, a statistical chart can be compiled that will show whether there is any statistical anomaly.If it is found that there is a higher incidence of correct hits, then it can be theorized that either a) spirits are capable of psychic communication or the investigators are creating the EVP response through their own psychic involvement (a la, Phillip).

If no statistical deviation can be shown, then we can assume that EVP is a truly external system of interaction or some natural phenomena entirely.



Of course, we would need to use as "hits" only those EVP's that are clear (Class A), in order to limit the chances that researchers are influencing results by "wanting" to hear correct answers in lower quality examples.

As a control, a second team would be sent into the same area and repeat the experiment however, they would purposely not think of a number, but rather a random word individual for each person. This would allow a baseline for determining the level of coincidence for a number response due to other factors such as reviewer eagerness to hear correct responses and environmental factors.

While it would not define the exact cause of an EVP, it will allow us to isolate where we need to search in order to define that cause. The results could move us one step further in understanding the nature of haunting phenomena as well as EVP phenomena.

I'd love to hear others thoughts on this experimental protocol and see other investigators adopt the experiment since the more data available, the better the end analysis will be.

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