Unveiling The EVP

Since its discovery, most researchers who dealt with the claimed that the EVP phenomenon reflected in the tape was a manifestation of the dead. However, this hypothesis is the one and since its inception has faced different investigators and parapsychologists, between those who defend the transcendent origin of the phenomenon, against those who argue that it is a phenomenon caused by the experimenter and would have nothing to do with elements outside their own mind.

The first voices recorded on magnetic tape, which may be obtained in the laboratory of physics at the University of the Sacred Heart in Milan by parents Ernetti Gemelli and the September 17, 1952. Both priests were recorded Gregorian chants in an ancient device, which used a wire to tape mode.

In one session, they recorded a voice that should not be there. In this first record and was succeeded by other investigations of the two priests on this phenomenon lasted throughout the decade, with various laboratory tests on the collection of voices. Years later, in 1986, Pellegrino Ernetti father gave an interview to the Italian magazine Oggi, where details on the results and research carried out since 1952.

A few years later, namely in 1956, the American researcher Raymond Bayless also captured voices of paranormal origin. During the research work being carried out with the psychic Attila von Slazay, were recorded on tape voices were not heard during the session mediumistic. Bayless tried to report their findings to the parapsychological community, but suffered the indifference of his colleagues who did not give importance to the phenomenon.

Other people had made at that time paranormal voices on tape. A student of insect life, the English physician Dr. Thomas E. New, have managed to record some voices resembling those of humans in their field. After a patient investigation, submitted its report to colleagues, but ended up giving up the research and dissemination of this phenomenon not to lose their professional standing.

Something very similar happened to German Karl Hintzman, who had caught unintelligible voices in the field. Like New, decided to drastically disrupt any investigation.

And although the EVP is a phenomenon since the emergence of the first tape, the truth is popularly attributed to the painter, musician and filmmaker Friedrich Swedish Jürgenson the discovery of the phenomenon.

By his own account, the discovery of paranormal voices came about quite by chance: It was in 1959 when Jürgenson went to a forest near his home in Mölnbo, a few miles from Stockholm, with the intention of recording chirping of finches to the soundtrack for a documentary on the life of birds. There he left his tape around a tree and left enough for the tape recording could be naturally birdsong.

More than trills

When he returned home ready to listen to the recorded material, noted that among the sounds of birds, human voices were heard, the researcher identified as words in Swedish and Norwegian, with some music. He returned days later to the forest to re-record the song of the finches, hoping that this time no voice “dirty” his record.

Having taken all precautions to ensure that there was not anyone made a new recording. Appeared again a voice calling him by his first name. At first thought Jürgenson those voices belonged to a radio station that had accidentally entered the tape recorder. After some tests, dismissed the idea of ​​a radio station and thought he was using a recycled tape and that those voices belonged to a previous record. After repeating the story several times and with the certainty of using new tapes, found that the voices were repeated on several recordings.

A month later, while working for radio, he thought he felt a voice in German called his name and told her things about Russia. At other times, I felt voices in other languages ​​such as Italian or Hungarian, but it is clear that Jürgenson-as another of the major researchers in the field, was a multilingual expert.

As usually voices were inaudible during recording and only became a whisper to listen to the tape, Jürgenson had sharpened his ear to the point where she fell into a process of auditory hallucinations, where voices played as almost any sound: rain noise, clicks, etc. In this situation, decided to stop his experiments for several months.

After resuming the tests, there was a “message” that is always repeated and inviting him to continue listening. And willing to give up from exhaustion, Jürgenson thought he heard a voice in his tape that he said -… wait, wait, hear us. At this time, was devoted entirely to research this phenomenon.

After several months of testing, and with the conviction that the voices of the tapes belonged to deceased loved, presented his recordings with the voices of members of the Paranormal Society of Stockholm, although, as expected, not gave too much importance to the phenomenon.

Debut of the voices

The lack of Swedes parapsychologists “voices” was not cause for discouragement Jürgenson, who in 1964 published his first book under the title of Rosterna Frän Rymden (Voices of the Universe), which also describes in detail the methodology required to obtain “voices”, expressed his opinion about the origin of the phenomenon. For the Swedish film, the voices were not from any physical element but the “Beyond.”

Some time later, Jürgenson published his second book under the title of Extreme Radio communication with the dead which he said “without any reservations, it was possible to maintain relatively fluid communication not only related persons already dead, but his method was used to communicate with historical figures from all eras.

Scientists then not challenged or discussed at any time Jürgenson’s thesis, but simply ignored him and his books. As much as did the parapsychologists, with the exception of Latvia Konstantin Raudive, a former psychology professor who in those years lived in Sweden. This scientist had for years been investigating the Paranormal phenomena, especially anything related to the supposed life after death, having published the book on “Man and overcoming chaos.”

Jürgenson Raudive met in 1964, and asked him to reproduce the phenomenon of voices. Jürgenson did so, he did listen to Raudive and a group of friends a selection of his best records. Raudive was impressed with the phenomenon of the voices and saw in it an opportunity to demonstrate, with empirical methods the survival of any life after physical death.

Since then, the two researchers began working together in obtaining “voices.” It was one of those voices on tape obtained, which greatly impressed Raudive. In it, the researcher associated voice to the recent death of his secretary, Margaret, who seem to “talk” to those voices.

In the course of their research, both researchers took note not only the contents of the “messages”, but also the conditions in which they were obtained. Having obtained an enormous amount of psychophonic records, concluded that the best quality recordings had been obtained in the summer, after sunset and when the weather was cold and dry. Instead of solar flares and the aurora borealis were seriously affecting the quality of the voices obtained. This suggested to many researchers, and not without reason, that the phenomenon of voices could have been due to electromagnetic interference, and more specifically to radio emissions that could easily “slip”, and in fact they do sometimes – on the tape recorder. This argument rests on the fact that radio waves, like the “voices” are seriously affected by solar storms and the aurora borealis.

Further investigation ruled that the phenomenon is due exclusively to radio stations and in different laboratories around the world EVP were obtained under the strictest control, by using microphones in soundproof chambers, Faraday cages, etc.

Jürgenson himself claims to have made recordings in the presence of renowned technical, and T. Lawrence, a professor at the Polytechnic of Stockholm or the Lemke electronic engineer from Munich, it is impossible to any external signal reception due to the strong shielding of electronic devices.

But before moving on early investigations, it should stop a while to figure Jürgenson.

The versatile Jürgenson

The professional life of this character was always linked to art in its different facets. From his early years he studied singing and painting. With the Russian Revolution, his family had to move to England, and in 1932 moved to Palestine to continue her studies in singing and painting. His career as an opera singer’s place in Milan between 1935 and 1938, but left due to health problems.

Since 1949, Jürgenson began his career as a painter. He worked at the Cathedral of San Pedro, where he painted for posterity “City of the Dead” below the crypt. He completed his work as a painter for the Church authorities made four paintings of Pope Pius XII, which are displayed at the Vatican.

After conducting excavations at Pompeii between 1967 and 1969, assumed a new artistic phase producing films for television. Among his works are “The Decline of Pompeii”, “The tomb of Peter” or “The Miracle of San Gennaro’s blood,” the latter award at Cannes in 1970.

The Pope forbade any filming of his person, but let Jürgenson rolled “Everyone wants to see the Pope”, by which he was awarded the decoration of “Commendatore di San Gregorio Magno”, despite not being Catholic.

From 1970 and until his death in 1987, Jürgenson devoted exclusively to research and dissemination of paranormal voices on tape.

His association with the Catholic Church has caused some suspicions among some researchers who doubt the accidental discovery of the voices, as might well have known Jürgenson investigations and Erneti Gemelli. Jürgenson died in 1987, having published three books and dozens of articles, very few translated into Castilian.

Investigations by Hans Bender

The German Hans Bender is perhaps one of the most famous European parapsychologists. He was director of the Institute for Border Areas of Psychology and psychohygiene, attached to the University of Freiburg. His research, are the most important cases of the world of parapsychology, including psychophonic phenomenon.

Bender had conducted numerous tests with Friedrich Jürgenson, which extended over several years, where he found the phenomenon empirically psychophonic, although Bender differed in the interpretation of the origin of the voices.

The first investigations of Bender, after some initial contacts with Jürgenson, took place in the summer of 1964, the German Institute of Physics Field, located in Northeim. There were present members of the institute, sound technicians, PhDs in physics and various members of Freiburg Institute. In the experience of several tape recorders were used the best quality at the time.

During the experiment designed to capture paranormal voices arose, according to the report, many voices Bender very weak, which could only be interpreted by Jürgenson, but others that were recorded were perceived by the majority of those present and partially understood. In the course of another recording, which used two cassette Uher Report simultaneously recorded Jürgenson a dissertation on the phenomenon of voices. One of the copies appeared psychophonic some inclusions. In a copy for the Institute who ran Bender’s, new voices on the tape. Further analysis of the frequency spectrum confirmed the presence of these voices in the new recording.

This first phase of experimentation by Bender and his team, was limited to analyzing only the voices recorded directly on magnetic tape, excluding those covered by the existing radio emission voices mixes with the alleged paranormal normal and may cause confusion . The first conclusions of this study pointed to the objectivity of the phenomena, discarding any manipulation of the tapes or equipment, or any confusion or misinterpretation.

Continue the experiments

The Freiburg Institute’s research on the phenomenon of voices, were interrupted for some time. By then, the phenomenon took a special role psychophonic, generating great excitement throughout the world.

Friedrich Jürgenson experiments and the voices were resumed during the first months of 1970. This new phase was developed in Nysund days 3 and May 8, 1970, with total and selfless cooperation of Jürgenson. Participated in the experiment, the following persons: Dr. J. Keil, Department of Psychology at the University of Tasmania, Eng N. Lemke and his wife, L Belanger and Hans Bender himself. Participants were arranged around a round table, except Jürgenson who stayed with his tape recorder (a Uher Report 4000).

Before each of the roundtable participants, was provided a microphone that was later added a small cardboard tube 30 cm in length to direct the sound. Suspended from the ceiling above the table, put another microphone connected to the tape of Jürgenson. The other sensors were connected to each of the other two tape channels, and they were all linked by short extension cables (up to 2.5 meters), so as not to interfere any radio signal. One last microphone was connected to an oscilloscope, so that any sound could be captured graphically monitor.

As a precaution, tapes used-new all-metal is rewound on reel, in order to remove any static electric charge. Lemke engineer crawl across the room with a specially equipped radio receiver, in order to detect high-power emissions that could interfere with the experience. Tests showed this possibility as excluded.

Results of experiments

Once created and verified all the conditions, there were dozens of recordings with this setup. Listening to the tapes might have seemed understandable to psychophonic inclusions present in 17 cases.

The first experiment was positive. Sandwiched between a conversation and Jürgenson Lemke, where they were talking about an antenna, you could hear a voice saying “SO HO HO.” The EVP was clearly audible in one of the tape, while the other voice was much weaker. Once you have seen the contents of these syllables was presented as an “S” sound, followed by the repetition of the vowel “O” on three occasions. According to Bender, “The formation of this objectively phonetic seemed a childish attempt to pretend to be speaking in Chinese and could be related to an earlier conversation with Jürgenson maintained.”

For the twelfth experience, performed on day 4, had already placed the cardboard tubes in microphones. During the conversation, where Bender had taken the word could be heard-in a gap between word and word-a voice saying “CHAPP.” Inclusion was observed on the oscilloscope, and captured with particular intensity in the tape that was attached to it and in the Jürgenson. The remaining teams picked up the voice with an intensity almost imperceptible.

During that same meeting, interspersed in the conversation, appeared the word “Rasmus”, delivered quickly. Although initially there were differences of views on the content of the speech, reescucha and subsequent analysis suggest that interpretation.

This word was taken with the greatest intensity in the Jürgenson tape recorder, but not in the rest of the computers that are poorly recorded. Paradoxically, according to Hans Bender recounts in his book Parapsychology and its problems “, Jürgenson was the only person, among those present, for whom no sense Rasmus. Bender interprets these facts as the inclusion with the highest potential of paranormal Jürgenson few were performed.

The experiments carried out by Bender and others made in control conditions, we are putting in the way of expression that have the voices, and their technical characteristics. In addition to those already noted, Bender and his staff made other equally enlightening experience.

The same day he made the previous experiences, it was agreed among all participants, a moment of silence, trying to capture sound without any sound interference paranormal. This pause was kept strictly in order to avoid any error.

The attention of those present focused on the oscilloscope screen, which showed a listing jumper with 22 seconds to end the silence agreed.

Listening to the tapes, all concurred that the voice is expressed in English and said something like “Stop – as you like …” The voice continued to express a few words, but I was at first unintelligible. After many listeners, these words were identified as “one pause.” According to Bender said, through the graphical test verified that the word was pronounced Stop American accent, ie an “a” instead of “or.” Also, the word “pause” could be heard without the final “e” and the vowels “au”.

All tapes had the same phonetic, but it was pretty weak in the tape recorder next to the oscilloscope. Bender also gives the inclusion a high level of paranormal for several reasons: First, considers it unlikely that anyone here, given the strict control of the situation and the actions of each of those gathered, and the type pronunciation of vowels “au” instead of “or.”

Neither considered likely capturing a random radio broadcast to a large extent by the findings made earlier in the experimental room, and the relationship of the content of the sentence with the situation created by the researchers.

Moreover, none of these, even Jürgenson, spoke English with a distinctive American accent.

The experiences of the subsequent days resulted in new voices whose origin was not explained with conventional theory. One of them was recorded on day 6 while debating the suggestions. In the middle of the phrase “Any suggestion, as you understand, nein meine Freunde (not my friends) – is …” . Bender considers this inclusion as alleged paranormal, to rule out any of the conventional explanations.

In the recording session held on day five, Jürgenson identified a total of 17 voices who were demonstrating on the same tape, but the rest of their colleagues’ experience did not reach agreement on them. On the other days also got new voices, allegedly paranormal, in which Bender pointed out the possibility that the voices were related to the figure of Friedrich Jürgenson.

Raudive’s work

Konstantin Raudive is undoubtedly one of the most important concerning the dissemination of paranormal voices on tape.

As Jurgenson, Raudive life was a constant journey through several countries in Europe. He studied philosophy and history of literature in Paris and Spain, where he was named “Ambassador of the Spanish spirit” for his translation into Latvian of the iconic “Don Quixote.”

His stay in Germany and Sweden extended their multilingual status, which would be reflected also in its work with the EVP, where as a Jürgenson-the “voices” they spoke in several languages.

After his work in common, and discrepancies of criteria and Jürgenson Raudive continued to work separately each year from 1969.

For its part, the researcher continued to conduct experiments Latvian voices, using a simple tape recorder with which he made more than 100,000 records. Sometimes, coupled to a radio tape recorder, as performed Jürgenson an indication of the voices. He was convinced that among the band of frequencies between two stations, it was easier to manifest their alleged partners. Including claimed Raudive identify the voices of people like Carl Jung, Adolf Hitler or Wolfgang von Goethe.

A CD with the voices

In 1969, he published a complete collection of Raudive’s work with the title “What is inaudible audible,” which also offered a recording with a selection of some of the best “voices” obtained during the experiment. His book alerted a number of skeptics, arguing that “Raudive Voices” were just misinterpretations of static electricity, noise from the tape itself and accused him of confusing radio voices of spirits.

Two years later, in 1971, an important English publisher was interested in launching an English translation of the book of Raudive. To make certain that offered credible evidence to the phenomenon of voices, some experiments were promoted by the editorial Colin Smith, jealous to keep their prestige rather than risk disclosure of a strange phenomenon.

For the first of these experiments, was convened on March 24, 1974 a group of audio professionals in Gerrard’s Cross (Buckinghanshire). Monitoring of the evidence was in charge of the Pye Records Ltd, under the guidance of the engineers and Keith Prickett Ray Attwood. The record company set up a series of devices which attempt to capture radio emissions, noise, etc., Through a great technical display. Four cassette would capture different sounds and used various computers protected against spurious emissions. As observers were Colin Smith, Peter Bander, Sir Robert Mayer and Raudive himself. The cassette recorded for 18 minutes, during which a special meter indicated that something was recorded on the tapes, but the headphone monitoring did not indicate anything.

During playback of recorded material, the present did not leave his astonishment. There had been more than 200 voices, 27 of which were perfectly understandable. Even Sir Robert Mayer thought he recognized one of them the voice of his friend Arthur Schanabel, late concert pianist.

Isolated radio frequencies

The second experiment was conducted just three days after the previous. This time it was in studies of the Belling & Lee, located at Enfield. This laboratory was equipped with a radio frequency screen that prevented any type of electromagnetic wave into the enclosure. Supervising experience were Peter Hale, an expert on this type of display, and Ralph Lowelock. Physics and electronics engineer. Despite the strong measures of control, again there were clear voices. After these tests, the publisher agreed to publish the book Raudive.

Without the avalanche of criticism from skeptics might make him bite, Konstantin Raudive continued to develop its collection of voices experiences while working on his thesis of “opposite world”, which would be linked to ours so that the two are complementary .

Raudive also ventured the hypothesis that the souls of the dead who were in that “world”, they might seek to communicate with the living world, and that the “voices” recorded on the tapes were the result of that communication. Raudive continued his research until his death in 1974.

In addition to his books, Raudive left a number of recordings on magnetic tape. Much of this material was kept in a gymnasium in Münster, Westphalia, Germany, where a hall dedicated to the memory of Konstantin Raudive and his wife Marina, being exposed to both the documentary material and technical equipment used in their research.