EVP... Is it real?

[curleysound]

I tend to be an open minded skeptic to the paranormal world in general. There has been much debate in recent years over EVP, or Electronic Voice Phenomenon. The theory says that ghosts or spirits can imprint messages on recording equipment, resulting in a voice on the magnetic tape (or Magnetic Hard Disk?) that was not heard by folks in the room. This has been portrayed in shows like "Ghost Hunters", discussed ad nauseum on the radio show "Coast To Coast AM with George Noory", and in the Michael Keaton movie "White Noise" and it leaves me thinking about this forum.

  There are dozens if not hundreds of recording engineers of all kinds reading this forum. We have collectively listened to millions of hours of recorded sound over the years. Has anyone here experienced this phenomenon in the field? We've all probably worked in a place that is supposedly haunted, so shouldn't our gear work even better than the pocket recorders that GHI use?

[Guest Ken Mantlo]

It sure is!  Check out this video and you'll be a believer too!!

There's A Wetness Coming From My Pants

[Marc Wielage]

Maybe we should have a debate as to whether a Schoeps, a Sennheiser, or a Shure mike would capture paranormal activity better than other pickups.

Come to think of it, the cheap, crappy camera-mounted mike on the Sony EX-1 in the movie Paranormal Activity seemed to pick up the demon sounds very well. Well below 50 Hz, as I recall -- that's one helluva microphone.

--Marc W.

[Jon Gilbert]

I worked for 3 years on the UK show that helped start this paranormal boom, 'Most Haunted' and I did record a few things that are difficult to explain, only 2 or 3 in 3 years admittedly.

[Matt McGowin]

I never recorded evp that I know of. I dont doubt its existence but I dont really believe it is real.

If EVP was "heard" it has been run through a bunch of software filters. It isnt in the human freq range of hearing, and its only after the audio has been filtered and certain freqs are boosted that we hear evp.so I dont think it matters what mic was used. but It very well could be that spirits prefer analog to digital recordings.

An interesting topic, but I wouldnt want to get involved. You never know what kind of "voice" you are dealing with.