by Anabela Cardoso, Mario Salvatore Festa, David Fontana and Paolo Presi

Slightly abridged

The full text of this report can be read at www.terra.es/personal2/986313268/report.htm

Marcello Bacci uses the Direct Radio Voice Method (DRV), which is the method that seeks to obtain anomalous communications directly through the loudspeakers of radios. Such voices frequently refer to listeners by name, respond to questions put to them and sometimes provide relevant and lengthy items of information. For this purpose, he fevers a valve [tube] radio tuned to white noise in the short-wave band, rather than solid-state technology. The experiment detailed in this report was a sequel to a number of earlier successful investigations carried out into the voices received by Bacci using this Direct Radio Voice Method. Two of these earlier, carefully controlled investigations are of particular relevance to the present experiment. In the first of them, conducted in the presence of Dr. Eng. Carlo Trajna, a second radio was set up beside that used by Bacci, connected to the same power lead, with independent aerial and tuned to the same short-wave frequency. While Bacci’s radio was heard to receive the anomalous voice communications, the second radio was found to be receiving only normal white noise.

This experiment strongly discounts the possibility that the anomalous voices were fraudulently produced. In the second and equally ground-breaking investigation, Professor Mario Salvatore Festa, professor of Physics and Physical Radio Protection at Naples University, and Radio Technician Franco Santi, removed the FM valve and the AM/SW converter valve from Bacci’s radio during the receipt of anomalous voices. This established that even without these valves (in the absence of which no normal broadcasts can be received in the short wave band), the voices continued unabated. During this experiment, Professor Festa also measured the intensities respectively of the electric field and of the magnetic field adjacent to the radio with the radio switched off, and both during normal radio transmission and during the period when the voice phenomenon occurred. He found that these fields did not show any variation when the voice phenomenon started and also that the values measured after the valves were removed, but the voices continued, were practically identical to the values measured when the radio was turned off. The demonstration that the voices continued even in the absence of the valves, and that there was no variation in electric or magnetic fields during their reception, provides further convincing evidence that such voices cannot be accounted for by fraudulent transmissions.

The present experiment took place in Marcello Bacci’s laboratory in Grosseto, Italy, … [in attendance] at the session was a total of 37 people.

Proceedings commenced at 19.10 hours, with Bacci, the investigators and those elsewhere in the room all in their places. Audio tape recorders (analogue and digital) were switched on in order to record proceedings. Bacci began by turning on his radio and selecting the short wave band. He then, as is his usual practice, began slowly to turn the tuning control, scanning the range from 7 to 9 megahertz. As expected, this produced a range of radio transmissions interspersed with white noise. Bacci explained in Italian that he was "searching for good white noise." This procedure continued for 15-20 minutes until Bacci pronounced, again in Italian, "I can feel them – they will come." At this point, he stopped turning the dial, and the white noise was heard to change to a vortex-like sound that could variously be described as wind or the sound of waves. Shortly afterwards, this noise died down (though often it recurred simultaneously with the voices, as if they were in some way "carried" on its sound) and voices became audible from the radio. The first words were in Italian, and these were followed by words in Spanish. Bacci, again in Italian, informed those responsible for the voices that they could, "speak in Portuguese, English or Spanish." The invisible communicators then addressed David Fontana and Robin Foy in English and Anabela Cardoso in Spanish.

February of 2004, Debra Caruso’s son, Joey, was sixteen years old when he and her daughter, Alexa, were in a car accident while on vacation in Mexico. Joey, a junior in high school seemed to come out of the accident in pretty good shape with a dislocated shoulder. It was Debra’s eleven year old daughter, Alexa, who was in critical condition. Joey stayed at Debra’s side all day, as they would not even let her in to see her daughter.

That evening, the doctors took Joey in to reset his shoulder. He was given general anesthesia and died on the operating table from asphyxiation; he choked to death.

Alexa did not die and Debra was with her for six weeks in the hospital during her long and slow recovery. Finally she had to tell Alexa that Joey had died. One day in the hospital, Alexa said, "Mom, you told me that Joey died. It can’t be true because he talks to me every day."

In November of 2004, Debra contacted Shana from Winter Steel ( http://wintersteel.homestead.com/ ) to ask her opinion on a picture that she had taken. In the conversation, Shana mentioned that if she talked into a tape recorder, it was possible for someone (a spirit) to answer. Debra told us that, "Of course my first reaction was, ‘No way!’ I tried it by speaking into the sound recorder on my computer and Joey was on my first recording. He and others have been answering my questions since then."

Debbie’s website, www.listentothisforme.com , was created to share the many amazing messages coming from Joey and others through her Sony ICD-ST25 recorder.

Here are some of the messages from Joey:

Debra: When you die, where do you go?

Joey: Mom, up in Heaven.

Debra: Hi Joey, Its Mommy.

Joey: I’m having a good time. I like it here.

Debra: Do you want to say "Hi" to any of your friends?

Debra’s daughter, Alexa, and her friend do not know anything about the paranormal. They were concerned about something that happened to them and came to Debra. They had been in a friend’s car talking about a dream that one of them had about Joey. Every time Joey’s name was mentioned, the lights in the car would go on. She had to ask him if he was responsible.

Debra: Did you put the lights on?

Joey: Did it. I put them.

Debra: Hi Joey, are you here?

Joey: Yes, Mommy, I love you.

Debra: Joey is heaven on earth? Is it right here near us?

Joey: Right next to you.

In November, Debra started asking for longtime researcher, Erland Babcock, now on the other side, to come through.

Debra: Hi Erland, its Debbie.

Debra has also gotten messages during the Big Circle group recordings.

EVP: We found Rob in heaven.

Some of the names that she has recorded when she asks for names of people from the Big Circle are: Bob, Jonathan, Eva, Lexx, Sue, Sammy, Anthony, Rob, Peter, Joseph, Robbie, Maggie, David, Carol, Frank, Martha, Ruth or Ralph, Ilene and Michael.

Debra has gotten many validations for others. She had gone to breakfast with her friend, Patricia, and was telling her about EVP. Patricia asked if she could try and reach her friend, Sue, who died in the 9/11 disaster. The two went out to Debra’s car and used Debra’s recorder.

Debra has an Uncle that was skeptical about EVP. They were talking on the phone and Debra told him to ask (over the phone into her recorder) his mother, Rose, who died two years earlier, something that Debra would not know.

Uncle: Rose, what was Toby’s last name?

Debra was with a friend, Tammi, whose boyfriend was a firefighter who died in 9/11. The two tried to reach him.

Tammi: Nicky can you give me a sign?

Nicky was like a father to him. Nicky’s body was never recovered and Debra was very moved by this recording.

We were asked to go to LA in November to appear on Dead Famous Live, a 3-day TV show produced by TwoFour productions and shown in the UK.

The show was filmed in front of a live audience with several people working as authorities and commenting on what was happening to a hauntings investigation team. Filming was at three different locations over the three days. We were brought in to comment on EVP.

The Los Angeles Theater is one of the most beautiful historical movie theatres in the state of California. It was built at a cost of more than $1 million in 1931. It is considered the most lavish and the last of the great movie palaces built in downtown LA. Its central staircase and gold brocaded drapes (Versailles style) recall the glories of the French Baroque. It opened with the gala premiere of Chaplin’s City Lights. Its glorious splendor can still be seen once a year when its portals are opened during the LA Downtown Conservancy’s fund-raising sponsorship of old films in vintage theatres.

AA-EVP member, Chris Fleming is the male lead in the program that features Chris and his co-star conducting investigations at famous haunted locations. Chris is a medium and conducts EVP and photography experiments as part of the investigation. In one case, we were asked to comment on an EVP he recorded. It was played over the speakers in the live set we were on, and from which we were able to watch the investigation. We and members of the live audience in the UK came up with a couple of interpretations for the EVP, but "Don’t buy my coffin" dominated. As things go, it was not until we were off-camera that we realized that the EVP was actually very profound, as such a comment is a classic way of saying that we should not think that the etheric speaker was dead. Good work, Chris!

Right before we were to go to LA to work on Dead Famous Live, we had been helping the people at Ghost Whisperer with clearances for EVP examples to play at the opening of the show and to play on their web site. They had picked EVP from Sarah Estep, Karen Mossey and Linda Williamson and had requested some ITC pictures from us.

When they learned that we would be in the area, they invited us on a tour of the Universal back lot and the set of Ghost Whisperer, a TouchStone production, featured Friday nights on CBS.

The city square featured on every episode of Ghost Whisperer may look familiar. The antique store that Melinda owns is in this square and lots of the action always takes place there. The square is actually on the back lot of Universal Studios and there is a reason that it looks familiar. It is the same one used in the movie, Back to the Future.

Take another look at the picture of the square. We were shocked to learn that the trees were even fake.

We were taken by the house that Melinda and Jim live in. It is just down the street from Wisteria Lane of Desperate Housewives fame. Melinda’s house is used for exterior shots like most of the buildings in the square. The interior shots are all done on sets built in huge sound stages.

We recorded for EVP in the set of the interior of the house. It was difficult because we were dodging carpenters building a set for an upcoming episode, but we used two recorders and it really worked to point out the real voices from those of our unseen speakers. The EVP seemed kind of arcane. One said, "Hi, this is Black Bart." Does this have something to do with the history of the sound stage or is it just a humorous EVP? It was in response to a question asking if the etheric communicators had a message for the production crew. Another EVP said, "Testing the Water," and seemed to mean nothing until we were told that the episode that they were working on had lots to do with water.

In his 2002 book, The Afterlife Experiments, Dr. Gary Schwartz, professor of psychology, medicine, neurology, psychiatry, and surgery at the University of Arizona, offered "breakthrough scientific evidence of life after death" (the subtitle of the book) based on experiments carried out with five prominent mediums in his Human Energy Systems Laboratory.

While Schwartz, who received his doctorate from Harvard and taught at Yale before moving to Arizona, came under attack by some scientific fundamentalists for his methods and conclusions, he has not backed away from continuing survival research. "We are not just doing research to get percent hits under different levels of control [as is the focus of the book]," he told me in a recent interview. "We are now interested in studying the process. The whole idea of how you establish that the medium is actually receiving communication from a genuine, conscious, decision-making person (spirit) is a very important question, and we’re now asking questions as to what the afterlife is like. That takes the work substantially further."

Among the mediums studied by Schwartz have been John Edward, who hosted a popular television program, Crossing Over, and more recently, Allison Dubois, whose life as a psychic legal investigator is the model for the now popular television weekly drama, Medium.

An ongoing set of "discarnate intention" studies is called the "Departed Hypothesized Co-investigator Experiments" or the "double-deceased paradigm." The idea came to Schwartz not long ago when Janet Mayer, a St. Louis, Missouri housewife, contacted him and claimed to have received communication for him from Susy Smith. It was Smith, a medium and author on psychic subjects before her death in 2002, who introduced Schwartz to mediumship.

"She (Mayer) said that Susy was watching over me," Schwartz explained, "so I asked her if she could ask Susy what happened to me over the next 24 hours and then e-mail the information to me every day, Monday through Friday. The very first night I decided I would watch a movie, Field of Dreams, and order Chinese food in, which I almost never do, and the third thing is I watched the movie lying down in bed."

The following day, Schwartz received an e-mail from Mayer saying that Susy showed her something about baseball (the subject of the movie) and saw him eating some sort of unusual foreign food. She also saw him reclining. "Five days a week for a few months, it was as if they had a camera in my house," Schwartz exclaimed. "This did not prove, of course, that it was Susy. There are other explanations, like remote viewing."

During the personal experiment with Mayer, Schwartz visited a family one weekend. The wife had recently lost a sister and was grieving badly. Schwartz thought how nice it would be if people like her could have the verification that he had about survival. "The next morning, I’m back in Manhattan and get an e-mail from Janet," Schwartz continues the story. "Remember, she e-mailed me Monday through Friday, not on weekends, but she explained that she was driving her car Saturday night when Susy shows up in the car and insists she do a reading, saying she has brought along another deceased person. So Janet pulls over and took notes as she received communication from the unknown woman. I looked at the information and realized it might be the sister of the person I had been visiting the prior day."

Schwartz hesitated before calling the living sister he had just visited and went through the information item by item. Especially interesting and veridical was that Mayer was shown an eagle and told that it is very important to the family. As Schwartz would learn from the living sister, the deceased sister collected statues and paintings of eagles and at her memorial service a statue of an eagle was placed where the ashes of the woman would normally have been.

"I said, ‘Wow, one deceased person can bring another deceased person to a medium, that’s a great experimental paradigm,’" Schwartz said. "It shows intention on the part of the deceased and very hard to explain by superpsi."

Does he have any generalizations now relative to the afterlife? "There’s only one I feel comfortable about now, even though we have all the questions," he responded. "There is a massive amount of data and we are in the throes of analyzing it. What I find most amusing and potentially reassuring is that when we are ‘dead’ it’s easier to ‘multitask’ in the afterlife.

"Meaning, to do multiple things at the same time but also to be in ‘multiple places’ at the same time as well. The capacity for doing non-local and multi-process activities is just easier than when you are in the physical and located in a very specific place. That’s something that has been universally observed."

In spite of the attacks by closed-minded scientists, the indifference of orthodox religion, and generally inaccurate and unfair coverage by the mainstream media, Schwartz courageously moves on with his research, feeling that it is having some impact on the public. "I think it is ultimately the research mediums … as they become visible and public," he ended the interview, "who will awaken the public to the science, and then people can go to the science and reach their own conclusions."

If you are recording with a music quality recorder or a computer, it may be necessary to add background sound for EVP voice formation. When doing so, one problem is determining a good signal level for the added sound. If the added sound is too loud, then it is difficult to remove later and your voice might be hidden by the noise. If it is too low, the voices may not form.

One technique we use is to record in voice-activated recording mode. Then if the recorder does not turn on "by itself" after we ask our question, we know to check the signal level of the available background sound. We think this is true because the entities can apparently trigger the recording mode, so it may only mean that the entities are not talking if voice-activated recording does not turn on.

The best form of background sound is "live" sound caused by something like a fan, AM radio static or crowd babble. Digitally generated sound usually does not have amplitude variations and is not well suited for EVP. As such, we do not recommend commercially available CDs that contain digitally generated noise.

Supplied sound should not be loud enough to drown out your voice on the recording. As seen on the computer screen, a good level should be not much more than a faint background sound as you can see in the above picture. In the picture, you can see that there is something of a baseline of noise throughout the recording. What you are seeing is the combination of internally generated noise and ambient noise in a private home.

A second interesting characteristic to notice is that the EVP, "Betty’s in there," which is a Class A, is much stronger than the background noise from which it is supposed to be formed. Analysis of other examples has confirmed that the voices are formed from available sound energy. The results of other studies suggest that the entities are able to "gather" ambient sound and burst it as short statements.

Daniele Gullá is a forensic acoustics expert to the Italian Police and the Italian Courts of Justice. He is also doing research work with the Italian Il Laboratorio. He talked about listening abilities in his speech, "Computer-based Analysis of Apparently Paranormal Voices," at the First International Conference on Survival of Physical Death in Vigo, Spain, hosted by Anabela Cardoso and David Fontana.

Gullá said in his talk, "Every person is different as far as listener comprehension skills are concerned. Some people are able to catch small differences in sound nuances and/or to reproduce at will sounds already heard and mentally to compare them with familiar and novel sounds, but most of us are less proficient. When, for example, we study a foreign language, we are inevitably inclined to ‘hear’ the sounds of that language as sounds of our mother tongue. However, after a little practice, we can usually start to correctly compare the new learnt sounds with the familiar ones of our own language; we must exercise our ear to recognize the new sounds. The ability to learn new sounds could explain the differences in listener comprehension between those who regularly carry out EVP experiments and those who do so only rarely. The former have selectively trained their ears to listen to the unfamiliar sounds involved."

The proceedings of the First International Conference on Current Research into Survival of Physical Death with Special Reference of Instrumental Transcommunication, is available in English by writing Anabela Cardoso at c/Carral 23 A (bajo), 36202 Vigo Pontevedra, Spain. The cost is 12 Euros plus 8 Euros post and packing. This is about $25. Because of banking costs you will need to send Euros, or contact Anabela at the above address to ask how much more money you would have to send to her if you did send a check in dollars.

Martha Copeland has been writing a very interesting letter on the Idea Exchange before the Big Circle group recording sessions. The letter reports on the EVP received from the last "Big Circle" recording session, gives her thoughts on EVP and things happening in the world plus tips, advice and encouragement on recording. The latest letter was on the "Importance of Validations from the Big Circle." Martha had this to say about a Big Circle session that took place in September: "Karen Mossey picked up a message from the ‘Big Circle.’ Vicki Talbot heard from her son, Braden, who has proven to be a very active member of the Big Circle. Several other members reported contact, such as Terry Dublin who recognized her son’s voice while recording beside his grave. This validates that our loved ones in the Spiritual World want to communicate with us.

"Some people are skeptical about the existence of the Big Circle, but we have heard the voices from beyond and we do not feel the need to prove anything. We know what we hear, and what we hear is all the evidence we need.

"Science has already proven that energy never dies; and if we are energy … the only thing that changes after our physical death … is our energy form. It amazes me how people can take this simple truth and make it into something complicated. Once we realize that our spiritual life is not complex, we can find our individual pathway to enlightenment. By not overanalyzing how or why we are able to communicate using EVP, we can relax and "go with the flow." Perhaps those who have successfully used EVP to communicate with loved ones in the Spiritual World have learned this simple lesson: To communicate using EVP you just have to B-E-L-I-E-V-E it is possible.

"However, don’t get me wrong, ... EVP requires an ability to reach a higher level of spiritual awareness in order to contact our loved ones from beyond. These special communications may test our patience, and may be frustrating at times. However, those who persist may gain the greatest reward by hearing that familiar voice once more, even if it’s no more than a brief word, or two."

Martha Copeland notes that joining the recording group every other Thursday at 8:00 PM EST can be very difficult for members who reside in different time zones. She wrote, "The group energy will be there and if you miss a recording session try to do one when you can. If you receive EVP please share them with the AA-EVP group. You may record the voice of another member’s loved one. Spirit may use someone else in the group as a channel to get their message across to their loved one in the physical world."

If you have questions, check the AA-EVP Idea Exchange message board in the topic, "Recording Circle – Bridge to the Afterlife" or contact Martha.

We had high hopes for the Ghost Whisperer episode that would feature EVP. After all, each Ghost Whisperer episode that we have watched has always ended with a Kleenex to dab at the tears. It is co-produced by James Van Praagh, a person familiar with and sympathetic toward those in spirit and spirit communications. But this email from Andrea Morese pretty much summed it up.

"I have to say that I don’t think the Ghost Whisperer producers did the real EVP folks any favors with this show. The story, which could have been poignant, was made into a mini-horror flick with Mom chasing down this poor kid to his near destruction. I guess my horror at this misrepresentation of love from the other side clouded my ability to appreciate any messages they were trying to convey. Also, I wish they could have not been so heavy-handed with all the transmissions (between radio and TV). The worst part is that it might mislead some people into thinking that this fun house approach to EVP and ITC (which they lump together) actually works this way."

Other things that members might be ready to talk about:

We had hoped to get lots of correspondence and questions about EVP. What we got was an increase of about 300 hits on the web site, which is pretty sad, considering that ads for White Noise brought in 30 to 80 thousand hits a day.

However, EVP proved to once again be a good marketing tool. This episode of Ghost Whisperer brought in a season high of 12.8 million viewers. It is obvious with that many viewers and no email that the show did not raise viewer curiosity about EVP.

We did receive a couple of emails from people saying that they enjoyed the episode so maybe those of us who know about what EVP is really like, can’t distance ourselves enough from the inaccuracies to enjoy the show. I did not think I would ever say this but this made the depiction of EVP in White Noise look good. At least the star was grieving and trying to reach his wife!

In October, longtime ITC researcher, Erland Babcock, made a peaceful transition with his wife Mary at his side. Erland had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in May. He went through an operation to remove as much of the tumor as possible, saying that he was not afraid to die on the operating table. He came through this and went on to 6 weeks of chemotherapy and radiation only to learn that the cancer was still there. He participated in the AA-EVP and helped members right up to his transition.

He once wrote, "To me, personally, EVP and pictures are the result of over 25 years of practice. I have tried so many experiments that I have lost count; everything from tape recorders to lasers. I have written 26 journals of about 300 pages.… All I can say is whatever works for you [in EVP and ITC experimentation] stick with it and keep on improving it. I am very fortunate to have a background in electronics and photography. I like to say I cut my teeth on vacuum tubes. I repaired my first radio in 1938 and have been into photography for close to 50 years. I am not an expert in anything. I have enough knowledge to be dangerous."

AA-EVP members Karen Mossey and Mike Sullivan were close friends with Erland and Mary and were able to attend his service. They said that it was a wonderful service and that it was nice to meet the wonderful family that Erland always talked about. (The AA-EVP sent flowers to the funeral from all of the AA-EVP members.)

I am afraid space does not allow the many pages written in tribute to Erland but here is a sampling from a few members.

Andrea Carr wrote, "I will never forget meeting him for the first time in November of 2003, at the Hills Cemetery. He was always so determined. He needed double knee replacement surgery at the time but still made it to come up to Hudson, NH at Hills Cemetery. He was kind, warm, generous and extremely intelligent…. The fact I was able to meet him and know him was one of the highest honors.

Richard Schenk had this to say, "Even though I never met Erland in person, I felt like he was a close family member, a true friend, the many emails we shared about EVP, ITC, photography.... We were both involved in research, served in the military service and are within a year or so of the same age and have both been married over 55 years.… I have always been amazed at his knowledge and interest in his research projects and so many other things.

"We worked on the 4Cell Delta experiment until he became too ill to continue. I will treasure … the interest and guidance he gave me for the rest of my physical life, and when my time comes, I hope to join him on the other side and learn from him and continue the research and development of communication with the physical side. I know he is chomping at the bit to get started! I will miss him so very much, but know his messages will come through with his special "Greetings," like in his emails.… Almost　every email we shared, Erland　spoke of Mary and his great love　for her."

Rob Smith wrote, "I just wanted noted the admiration and appreciation　I will always have for Erland’s guiding hand in my　EVP/ITC development. But more than that; he was an exceptional gifted man of vision with a special discernment and a pioneer and mentor for many of us.

Karen Mossey wrote: "Erland was a good man and I will greatly miss him. I began a connection with Erland when I first came to the AA-EVP and this became a wonderful friendship. I truly enjoyed Erland and I learned many things from him. I admired how proud he was of his work and his accomplishments and how he honored his life and the people he knew and how devoted he was to his wife and family. We can all take this lesson from Erland because those are characteristics we all need to appreciate in ourselves. He shared this with all and helped anyone with a desire to learn…. Death was no stranger to Erland. He told me he had died twice and come back. These experiences from his early childhood on led him to know there is no death. Death was not a concern to Erland. Life was.

"Erland and Mary joined AA-EVP members and friends on field trips to record EVP, lectures, and several of us were able to see his wonderful spirit photography exhibit at the Burlington library. Erland would never miss a chance to help someone with enhancement on a photograph…. I am so glad we had so many special times together and Erland took every moment with gratitude."

Every member that talked about Erland also felt that he would be one who would very likely use EVP to communicate with members and he has not disappointed us. Both Rob Smith and Richard Shenk felt that they had heard from Erland almost immediately, and as you may read, Debra Caruso has also gotten some very good EVP from Erland along with confirmations. See Joey Speaks From Heaven

Video ITC of Erland Babcock It does not take much to become a pioneer in the field of ITC research. All that is needed is years of dedication trying every imaginable combination of technology that might improve transcommunication, a keen understanding of that technology and substantial ability to communicate across the veil. Erland Babcock’s pioneering specialty was visual forms of ITC. Here, we have included a number of his finer examples.

Several people emailed us asking about an online EVP experiment at http://evp.linc.ox.ac.uk/. The web address looked like it was associated with Oxford University and we became concerned that we had a university that was trying to prove that EVP was all in our heads.

We wrote to longtime EVP researcher, Alexander MacRae, who is in Scotland, and asked him what he knew about it. Alec advised us that the group conducting the experiment was the Association for Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena. He then tracked down the people who were conducting the experiment and asked if we could interview them. Thanks Alec!

We were able to interview the people responsible for the experiment, Cherill Penton and Stefan Lobuczek

AA-EVP: What is the Association for Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena (ASSAP)?

ASSAP: The ASSAP is a group run solely by volunteers to study and document all aspects of the paranormal and　is a registered charity. The founders of ASSAP are Maurice Townsend and Dr Hugh Pincott, both of whom are still very active within the group.　 ASSAP’s 25th Anniversary will be in 2006. The Association is run by an executive committee and Lionel Fanthorpe is the president.

The ASSAP trains investigators in the field of scientific investigating and report writing.　 Once a person has completed the training and submitted a report or a historical research piece to ASSAP, they become known as an Accredited Investigator (as long as the report was up to the standard, of course).

AA-EVP: Are you associated with any Universities?

ASSAP: The ASSAP is not directly associated with any university?

AA-EVP: Who are Susan (Cherill) Penton and Stefan Lobuczek?

ASSAP: We are the founders of Paranormal Awakening, an ASSAP affiliated group.　 That means our group conducts investigations to ASSAP standards and submits reports to the ASSAP National Investigation Coordinator for them to be scrutinized and logged for cross reference and future collaboration.　 For a group to become affiliated it has to have at least two accredited investigators.

Our first recorded sound was not voice but the sound of an old-fashioned working windmill!　 Stefan recorded it in a derelict building that is just an empty shell!　 We had the sound verified by an expert in windmills, but the scientists in England just passed over it as if it were nothing!　 The recording can be found on P.A. website at www.paranormalawakening.com it is the opening sound from the homepage.

Stefan Lobuczek and I devised the Audio Perception Experiment and ASSAP agreed to host the on-line version as they have a bigger　membership than we do. Paranormal Awakening is mostly based in Staffordshire and the West Midlands but we have members in London and the USA.

AA-EVP: What is your objective in doing the Audio Perception and EVP experiment?

ASSAP: Our objective in this experiment is to try to discover why certain people do not hear EVP in recordings.　 We were getting a lot of unexplained voices in our investigation recordings and we asked people to tell us what they think the voices were saying.　 We put the clips on our own website and discovered that some people could not even hear the voices and others interpreted the words differently from each other.　 I wanted to know why.　 So I devised the questionnaire to see if a person’s ethnic background, education or lifestyle affected the way they interpreted the sound.

AA-EVP: Where did you get the sound files?

ASSAP: The sound files are totally manmade. Stefan gained samples of white, pink and brown noise plus he mixed them to create four different noise levels. The EVP is actually someone speaking into the noise on a computer.

AA-EVP: What kind of conclusions can you draw from this experiment?

ASSAP: The conclusions we seek to draw from this experiment will hopefully tell us if all people are capable of hearing EVP, and if not, why not!　 There is already a trend showing in the paper and CD versions that I can see.　 I am waiting for the on-line experiment to end and then I can analyze the results.

We are operating on the assumptions that not everyone can hear certain sounds.

AA-EVP: How long will the experiment run and how many sample listeners do you hope to get?

ASSAP: The experiment will end at the　end of February. As for the sample - I have no idea yet how many people have taken part in the on-line version but I hope we will have over 100 combined total.

We were so relieved that Cherill and Stefan were not out to prove that EVP was just people hearing things that were not there that we emailed them and told them that we planned to use information on the experiment in the NewsJournal. Cherill was very excited and wrote back telling us that they would extend the experiment originally set to end in January to the end of February in hopes that AA-EVP members would go to the website and take the experiment. The website for the online experiment is Http://evp.linc.ox.ac.uk/

Rachelle Morrison attended the ‘04 AA-EVP conference in Reno, Nevada, and had Mark Macy (right) take her picture after his talk on ITC. The Luminator is a device developed by Patrick Richards to assist human health analysis. The device is thought to modify the environment near it, such that a Polaroid picture of a person standing in the field will show differently depending on the health of the individual. Mark Macy, who will present at the 2006 AA-EVP conference in Atlanta, Georgia, uses the device as a way to produce phenomenal pictures that often show transfiguration, and in Shell’s case, a genuine "extra."

The first picture shows Shell standing in the hall just on the other side of the wall from the Luminator. Mark took the Polaroid picture without a tripod, and as you can see, there is apparently a little camera movement. We believe that movement may actually provide optical energy for feature formation. However it works, if you look above Shell’s right shoulder (your left in the above picture), you will see what appears to be a "skin and bones" head looking over her shoulder. Shell told us that, other than Mark, she was alone in the hall. Although not visible in the enlargement at the right, we were able to identify at least two more well formed but much harder to see faces around Shell’s right shoulder.

In early 2006, Alexander MacRae will have another project going. This will be called the "Names Project" and it is being supported by a Euro Fund. Alec plans to collect as many full names as he can through EVP. Then through websites, Alec will try to find people who recognize the names that have been recorded. He will then try to get a recording of the person’s voice while alive. A comparison of the two voices will then be done using special forensic computer equipment from Russia. Alec points out that his project is statistical and that he will need lots of results. Possibly 900 sessions will be required to get a statistically significant number of final results.

In a similar experiment, Sonia Rinaldi has recorded a spirit voice that the Italian researchers at Il Laboratorio were able to analyze against the girl’s voice when alive. Their tests show the likelihood that both set of words were spoken by the same person at 98 to 99%.

by David Mierzwinski

For nearly a year, I have been conducting various experiments in an attempt to enhance the chances of clear EVP captures. These experiments have led me down many different paths including the use of electromagnetic fields, Tesla coils, audio resonance in musical instruments, 13 tones, etc. In my most recent experiments, I have begun exploring the properties of light. This has been exciting and has produced some encouraging results. I would like to share a simple project some of you may wish to replicate and experiment with. Even if you do not succeed in getting EVP captures with this device it is still a very interesting "science project" and will provide yourself and others with entertainment and wonder.

This project explores the unusual properties of light given off by a basic oil lamp. I discovered in my experiments, testing various light sources, that the flame of an oil lamp, when detected by a photodiode and amplified to a high degree, is capable of acting as a carrier to transmit sound. This "sound" is rather noisy by nature, and from what I have observed, can be used, along with our voices, by Spirits. In fact, to optimize this system, it is best to use your own voice to set up the link for maximum clarity and strength. This seems to be the optimum settings for Spirit voices as well.

The Burr-Brown division of Texas Instruments ( www.burr-brown.com ) makes the best combination of photodiode and amplifier I have found. This part is the "eye" or receiving end of the optical signal from the oil lamp. This part is all self-contained requiring only a few external connections and a nine-volt battery which will power the device chip for a year or more. I was able to find this part on eBay, or you can check with a distributor in your area (not Radio Shack). I bought my oil lamp from K-Mart. It is the large size lamp with a wide flat wick (important). The cost was around $7. The other parts and cables can be obtained from your local Radio Shack store.

Martha Copeland has agreed to once again be the chairperson for the conference in Atlanta in 2006. New member Sandra Champlain has offered to be Martha’s right hand in co-coordinating volunteers and helpers. Already, members Carol Peterson, Jim Stonier and Heidi Spencer have volunteered to help. We need members to help on the reservation table and also to help at the AA-EVP book sales table. If you are going to the conference and are willing to help out a little please contact Martha.

We are planning on having a one-on-one workshop in which members will help other members with the hardware part of EVP. Members will be available to show you how to download EVP and talk to you about sound editing software. If you are good with the technical side of EVP, send us an email to volunteer to help attendees at the conference.

Science magazine’s list of the top one hundred unanswered questions in science reminds us that the paranormal is not the only thing that we do not always understand. The list glaringly shows how little we know about our fundamental reality. Some of the questions listed were: What is the Universe made of? How and where did life on Earth arise? What is the basis for consciousness? How many species are there on Earth? What are the roots of human culture, language and music? Why do we sleep? Why do we dream?

Of course, we can add a few to that list, such as: Why does the orthodox scientific community resist considering the evidence for personal survival, and if there is an etheric aspect of awareness, what is its origin.
 

The October 2005 issue of the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research included a second article by Alexander MacRae. In this one, Alec details the EVP experiments he conducted in the Institute of Noetic Sciences screen room. Remember that the JSPR is a refereed, peer-review journal and that the article necessarily meets the SPR’s high standard for thoroughness and documentation. Here is the abstract:

by Alexander MacRae

An Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) experiment is described which took place in a laboratory screened against e.m. radiation and also acoustically isolated. The subsequent treatment of the results through sound-processing is outlined, and the final analysis of the results through the use of a unique multiple-choice system is described. Comparative spectrograms of one EVP utterance and the same thing spoken in normal speech are provided to assess the physical basis of the results. The conclusion is drawn that voices of no natural origin were received in the screened laboratory.

Reading many of the EVP histories found around the Internet gives the impression that Thomas Edison invented EVP. In fact, we have found no support for anything more than a retired Edison speculating about instrumental spirit communication in his journals. This, however, is not the case for the etheric Thomas Edison. Alexander MacRae tells us that the design for the Scole Device was given to the Scole Group when their etheric contact group relayed Edison’s design.

We recently received an email from Mark Scammell who told us that, "My great grandfather, Ernest Valentine Scammell, was a spiritualist and an electrician for Marylebone Council, London. Thomas Edison contacted him spiritually and gave him the plans of how to build an instrument to contact the dead. He built this instrument and finished it just after the Second World War. It was passed down to my grandfather, my father and now to me after the recent death of my father."

Alexander MacRae indicated to us that he would be happy to reverse engineer the device and test it, along with the Scole Device he is building as part of his SPR grant.

• Heidi and Bill Armbruster asked, "Are you here Mike?" and recorded, "Course I’m here Dad ... Don’t you get it?"

• Joseph Arcara asked a dear friend what the weather is like there and received, "Beautiful … You’d have to see it."

• Jenanne Bull was listening to a voice mail when she heard a beep-beep signaling that someone else was calling. She hung up from voice mail and checked for the calling number but none was listed. In fact, there was no record of a call coming in. She again went back into her voice mail and now found a new one marked urgent. The message is quite loud and sounds like it is saying, "Real to me." Jenanne was at the house where a relative of the family had died from terminal cancer. She wrote, "Her cat jumped up on my lap as I listened to the message and so I wondered right away if it was her."

• Sandra Champlain recorded with a friend who was trying to reach her father. The man came through saying her name, "Derdre" and "I love you." He communicated that it was easy to talk and breathe now. Derdre then told Sandra that he had a tracheotomy!

• Terry Dulin asked her son, "Is it really you I’m talking to? Does the spirit survive death as an individual?" She recorded, "Surviving through death … we’ll be together … one to another … with the heart." Terri felt that he was saying we survive death and will be together again with those we love.

• Linda Gregory got an EVP saying, "Cat," and thought it might be Martha Copeland’s daughter Cathy. Martha confirmed it and Linda wrote, "I am thrilled Cat came through to me and hopefully she will help my dad to someday come through."

• Christine Jenkins wrote, "I have been receiving a lot of messages lately referring to ‘John.’ My husband’s name is John so I have been asking him to let me record with him. He is … still a little nervous about my recording. Yesterday he was talking about his grandmother (who has passed) so I decided to record." They were both amazed to hear the EVP, "Hi John."

• Helen Kolln was recording in a very active old jail. She put her recorder down and you can hear her say, "It’s probably going to record voices." Her voice is followed by an EVP saying, "Exactly."

• Alexander MacRae wrote to us that he had gotten one of the most evidential EVP that he had ever recorded. About a month ago, on a Monday, he recorded, "Norman the Duke is dead." Alec wrote, "To almost everybody that means nothing. But to anyone over 50 from this village, it is like a coded message, a nickname, full of significance. Next day I saw a funeral notice at our post office regarding someone I knew very well and to whom that message was directly attributable. Unknown to me, he had died on the Sunday. Monday, I got the message. Tuesday, I found out he had died. Wednesday, I was at his funeral. He was a very good friend in my frightening first days at school."

• David Mierzwinski wrote, "I found this to be an interesting coincidence." We had just emailed David and asked him to write an article about a recent experiment for the NewJournal (see "A Simple Optical Microphone" on page 14) and include some pictures of the components used. David was doing a recording session while he composed the answer to Tom. He recorded, "Take pictures," then something that is unclear and then, "Transmit" and then, "Pictures," again.

• Karen Mossey shared an EVP that she thinks is from her father saying, "I love you." She wrote, "Love is the strongest emotion for those in the higher levels and my heart is always delighted to hear it from them.

• Patti Newall’s ghost hunting group was doing a fundraiser for a local theater. She did not expect to get anything as there were so many people there. They had been discussing the woman who supposedly haunts the theater and someone said that she sounded snobby. Patti asked, "Clarissa, are you snobby?" On playback there is a little voice that whispers, "Yes."

• Ginny Sawyer captured a recording that contained many references to the "Big Circle." Ginny said she felt she was listening to a conversation that was taking place in the Spiritual World, as they were talking about the Big Circle.

• Richard Shenk tried to reach Erland Babcock the day after his transition and ask Erland if he had a message for him. He recorded, "I feel good, Richard."

• Rob Smith wrote, "I received an EVP back in June stating that, ‘Mr Konstantin’ would ‘Help me.’ Rob sent the voice to Rolf-Dietmar Ehrdardt who confirmed that is was the voice of pioneer EVP researcher, Konstantin Raudive.

• Heidi Spencer has worked very hard in helping a grieving member learn how to record and has also recorded on her own, trying to reach the member’s son. She was thrilled in November when she recorded the son’s name and was able to share it with his mother.

• Vicki Talbott shared a recording that she got while participating in the Bridge to the Afterlife (Big Circle) recording session. She wrote, "I rarely answer the phone, and especially when Braden was alive because of all his friends calling. We had a running joke about how he used to try to get me to answer the phone. He would say repeatedly, ‘Pick up the phone, mom (usually long and drawn out), until I was so sick of it that I’d pick up." The first EVP is Braden saying, "Pick up the phone … mom!" Then a female voice saying in a sing-song voice, "Braden’s on that phone." Vicki continued, "Then someone else says to remind me that it’s a joke, "Not really.

• Karen Thorne wrote that she had a hostile, angry ghost in the laundry room of her apartment building who was always saying, "Get out!" She wrote, "We tried doing a cleansing, and for a few days it seemed to work." But just a few days later she shared a recording that said, "Get out now … I’ll never leave!"

• Glenda Turner wrote, "I recorded a voice on my desktop computer using Wavepad and the voice sounds male. I asked the question, ‘What is your name?’ and the voice replied, ‘This is Michael.’ What is amazing about this is the fact that a friend of mine died suddenly two months before I did the recording and his name was Michael.

• Dawn Wise sent us an email on her son’s birthday telling us her son, Andrew Conover, would have been 11 years old. Andrew was just 5 months old when he crossed to spirit. Dawn went to her son’s gravesite and shared the touching EVP she captured saying, "Mommy."