Friday, September 19, 2008

I WONDER...

If EVP is a very real phenomenon, why can't it be heard in real-time? We've so often heard of the trying ordeal investigators must endure after a long vigil at some haunted locale: the hours of audio to sift through. But why can it only be heard once he or she has returned home? Is there not a way to hear the voice right away? These are the experiments I never hear about. Has such a procedure been tested with various equipment, perhaps parabolic microphones? Investigations into these questions might lead us to a clearer understanding of just what EVP is. I remember just a few years back, everyone was warned not to use digital recorders for EVP work because they wouldn't capture the sounds. But now most everyone uses them. I think it's a field of study that's not really being studied at all. There's no science backing the decisions, just trial and error. Wouldn't understanding how and why something works make for better research in the future? It is time we start asking these questions in order to not only have a clearer understanding of the phenomenon but also, maybe, a clearer understanding as to just what is being said - and by whom.

2 comments:

Buck said...

Great article! We, at SPI, actually use parabolic mics in real time that also record as we listen (well Paul mainly). We also use newer digital recorders that actually allow you to listen as it records. That has given us some very interesting results since we can catch the EVP in real time and pursue a line of questioning if it seems to be a response.

Cullan Hudson said...

Well, I have to say that is impressive. It also seems to be stunningly rare. I must commend your team on doing such. I think so many are content to follow the guidelines established in the Ghost Hunter's Handbook or what not without pursuing further.

I may also post in the future my musings on why teams don't spend more time at the same site, revisiting over and over and over. I think for many, it's like collecting "friends" on myspace or something; check it off your list and move on.

I would really like to see more teams focus all their energies on a particularly active site and really push the envelope scientifically, designing experiments and testing out new methodologies. Seems like SPI is a group headed in that direction. Kudos!