CLASSIFICATIONS OF EVP’s

By: Kevin McBee

Texas Panhandle Paranormal Investigations

CLASS A- A clear and intelligent voice that is completely audible. Not just random words or noises. They have a direct response or reaction to a question or topic being discussed by investigators. No adjustment needs to be made to the audio clip and anyone listening can clearly distinguish, with no question, what the response is.

CLASS B- Not as clear or distinguishable as the Class A EVP. Parts of the word or phrase may be questioned or the clip has to be altered enough to determine what is being said. A disproportionate amount of time may have also passed before the sound or voice has reacted.

CLASS C- Random noises or words heard out of context to the surrounding questions or conversations. Extensive amount of filtering or adjusting to hear the EVP is needed. Even disagreement as to what is being said. Not everyone agrees with what they hear.

CLASS D- All that can not be classified as A,B or C is then categorized in here. The investigator can determine that something is present but can not determine the actual response.

Electronic Voice Phenomena or EVP is believed to be the voices of the dead recorded on magnetic audio or video tape and even digital recording devices. Fredrich Jurgenson is credited with the discovery of EVP’s back in the late 1950’s. He had been recording the sounds of birds for a study. When he played the tapes back he believed he heard a man discussing bird songs. It is said he eventually made a recording of his deceased mother as well. Since then the phenomena has taken hold of the paranormal community and the work of EVP research has taken on a life of it’s own.

In 1982, a devise known as "Spiricom" was built by George Meek and William O’Neal. Through experimentation with the devise they are said to have actually recordedtwo way conversations between them and the spirits of the dead. The plans to specifications to build the Spiricom are readily available on the internet today and many have built such devises with little or no success that Meek and O’Neal claim. Since then many groups have experimented in capturing this activity through various means of recordings. Some people can hear these voices without the use of recording equipment, some people only occasionally while others can not until played back.

EVP’s are probably the easiest anomalies to capture by an investigator as well as the hardest to find and decipher in a recording. Almost everyone uses some type of computer software today to aid in that task which makes it easier today than ever to listen and discover those voices. Depending on your knowledge, budget and time you can find software ranging in cost from free to hundreds of dollars.

The computer plays a major role in the realm of EVP’s as they have gotten much faster and the memory sizes have increased greatly over the last few years. I find it easiest to listen to my audio recording with just a simple set of headphones first and then record questionable clips to my computer. Once on my computer I can adjust the properties of the recording and enhance the sounds to try and make out what is being said. Although, I do listen and archive my finding on the computer I have a set of classifications I use to determine if I should keep something or discard it.

Happy Hunting!