In the study of ghost hunting and paranormal activities, electronic voice phenomena (EVP) are sounds recorded on electronic devices that some people believe are voices of spirits. Konstantīns Raudive, a parapsychologist who promoted this idea in the 1970s, explained that EVP recordings are usually very short, often as brief as a single word or a short phrase.
People who are interested in paranormal topics often think EVP is a real phenomenon, especially when it appears in recordings with background noise or static. However, scientists believe EVP is an example of auditory pareidolia, which is when people hear random sounds as voices in their own language. Scientists also classify EVP as pseudoscience, meaning it is not supported by scientific evidence and is influenced by popular culture. Common non-paranormal explanations for EVP include apophenia (seeing patterns in random information), problems with recording equipment, and deliberate tricks or hoaxes.
History
During the 1840s to 1940s, the Spiritualist religious movement became popular. A key belief was that the spirits of the dead could be contacted by mediums. Spiritualists used new technologies like photography to try to show communication with the spirit world. These ideas were so popular that Thomas Edison was asked by Scientific American to comment on using his inventions to talk to spirits. Edison said that if spirits could only make small influences, a sensitive recording device might work better than the table tipping and ouija boards used by mediums. However, there's no evidence that Edison ever made a device for this. As sound recording became common, mediums tried using this technology to show communication with the dead. Spiritualism became less popular in the late 20th century, but people kept trying to use portable recorders and modern digital tech to talk to spirits.
American photographer Attila von Szalay was among the first to try recording what he believed to be voices of the dead as a way to help his ghost investigations. He began in 1941 using a 78 rpm record, but it wasn't until 1956—after switching to a reel-to-reel tape recorder—that he believed he was successful. Working with Raymond Bayless, von Szalay used a custom-made setup: a microphone in an insulated cabinet connected to a recording device and speaker. Szalay said he found sounds on the tape that could not be heard on the speaker during recording, some even when no one was in the cabinet. He believed these were voices of spirits. Messages like "This is G!" and "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all" were among the first recordings thought to be from spirits. Their work was published in 1959 by the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. Bayless later co-authored the 1979 book Phone Calls From the Dead.
In 1959, Swedish painter and film producer Friedrich Jürgenson was recording bird songs. Later, when he played the tape, he heard what he thought was his dead father's voice and then his late wife calling his name. He made more recordings, including one he said contained a message from his mother.
Konstantin Raudive, a Latvian psychologist who taught at Uppsala University in Sweden, worked with Jürgenson. He made over 100,000 recordings he described as communications with spirits. Some were done in a lab shielded from radio waves and included words Raudive said were clear. He invited listeners to hear and interpret his recordings, believing the voices could not be explained by normal means. Raudive published his first book, Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead, in 1968. It was translated into English in 1971.
In 1980, William O'Neil built an electronic audio device called "The Spiricom." He claimed the design came to him through a psychic message from George Mueller, a scientist who had died six years earlier. At a 1982 press conference in Washington, D.C., O'Neil said he could talk to spirits using the device and shared the design with researchers. However, no one has replicated his results. O'Neil's partner, George Meek, said O'Neil's medium abilities were part of the system. In 2020, Kenny Biddle wrote an article explaining the Spiricom's origins. He debunked the device's "science" after it appeared on the TV show Ghosthunters.
Another device made to capture EVP is "Frank's Box" or the "Ghost Box," created in 2002 by Frank Sumption. He said he got the design from spirits. The device mixes white noise and radio signals to pick up sounds. Critics say the results are subjective and not reproducible, and the sounds are likely due to pareidolia, or seeing patterns in random noise. Paranormal researcher Ben Radford called it a "modern version of the Ouija board," also known as the "broken radio."
In 1982, Sarah Estep founded the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) in Maryland. The group aims to raise awareness of EVP and teach standard methods for capturing it. Estep began studying EVP in 1976 and says she has recorded messages from deceased people and even extraterrestrials.
The term "Instrumental Trans-Communication" (ITC) was created in the 1970s by Ernst Senkowski to describe communication between spirits and the living using electronic devices like recorders, TVs, or computers. A famous ITC claim involved Friedrich Jürgenson's image appearing on a TV in a colleague's home on the day of his funeral. ITC supporters also study the Droste effect, which is a feedback loop in video cameras and TVs.
In 1979, parapsychologist D. Scott Rogo described a phenomenon where people reported receiving short, single calls from spirits. Rosemary Guiley noted critics said Rogo's work had poor research methods, leading to incorrect conclusions.
In 1995, parapsychologist David Fontana suggested poltergeists might haunt tape recorders, citing the Enfield Poltergeist case. However, Tom Flynn of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry proposed a natural explanation: under certain conditions, tape can stick to parts of a recorder, creating loops that cause strange sounds.
In 1997, Imants Barušs, a psychologist at the University of Western Ontario, tested methods used by EVP researcher Konstantin Raudive and I
Explanations and origins
Paranormal theories about the origin of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) suggest that living humans might imprint thoughts directly onto electronic devices through psychokinesis, or that non-human entities such as spirits, natural energies, beings from other dimensions, or extraterrestrials might communicate through these recordings. These paranormal explanations assume that EVP is created by an intelligence through methods that differ from normal communication technology. In contrast, natural explanations argue that EVP is not evidence of paranormal activity and instead offer explanations based on known scientific principles.
A study by psychologist Imants Barušs found that paranormal origins of EVP could not be confirmed when recordings were made under controlled conditions. Brian Regal, in Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia (2009), noted that many EVPs may be the result of mistakes or misunderstandings during the recording process. He also stated that most EVPs have non-spiritual causes, and those that appear unusual often lack clear evidence of spiritual origins.
Some simple scientific reasons explain why people might believe they hear voices in static or background noise on audio devices. These include interference from radio signals and the brain’s tendency to recognize patterns in random sounds. Some recordings may also be intentionally created as hoaxes by people trying to trick others.
Auditory pareidolia occurs when the brain mistakenly interprets random noise as familiar sounds, such as a human voice. In the case of EVP, this might lead someone to hear a name they expect, like "Annie," even if the sound is just random noise. This phenomenon is part of a broader category called "Rorschach Audio," described by author Joe Banks as a common explanation for many EVP recordings.
In 2019, paranormal researcher Kenny Biddle investigated a painting in a West Virginia museum claimed to be haunted. The museum owner and ghost hunters said an EVP recording clearly said the name "Annie," believed to be the voice of the woman in the portrait. The name "Annie" was written on the back of the painting, which might have influenced listeners to expect hearing that name. The EVP was created using a modified Radio Shack radio that continuously scanned radio frequencies. Biddle explained that listening to radio broadcasts, news, and commercials often includes names, which can be mistaken for voices. He noted that words like "company," "anything," or "many" might be heard in the background, and phrases like "…and he…" could sound like "Annie" to someone expecting that name.
Skeptics, including David Federlein, Chris French, Terence Hines, and Michael Shermer, argue that EVP recordings are often made by increasing the "noise floor"—the background electrical noise from devices—to create white noise. When this noise is filtered, it can sound like speech. Federlein compared this process to using a guitar effect called a "wah pedal," which creates vowel-like sounds. He said this is similar to how some EVPs are created. Other factors, such as interference from radio signals or faulty wiring, can also make random noise sound like voices. The human brain is naturally good at recognizing patterns, and repeated exposure to noise can lead people to hear words even when none exist. Expectations and hopes can also influence people to believe they are hearing voices.
Apophenia is a related concept, but it is different from pareidolia. Apophenia refers to seeing or hearing connections or meaning in random, unrelated events. Psychologist James Alcock suggested that what people hear in EVP recordings can be explained by apophenia, interference from radio signals, or expectations and wishful thinking. He concluded that EVPs are the result of hope and expectation, and these claims are not supported by scientific evidence.
Interference from radio signals is common in EVP recordings, especially on devices with RLC circuitry. These signals can include voices or sounds from broadcasts, such as CB radio transmissions or baby monitors. Cross-modulation from other electronic devices and ground loops are also known causes of interference. Some circuits can even resonate with radio signals without needing internal power.
Capture errors occur when audio signals are recorded incorrectly, such as when a signal is too loud and creates noise during recording. Artifacts from attempts to improve the clarity of a recording—like re-sampling, isolating frequencies, or reducing noise—can also change the original sound, making it appear different.
The earliest EVP recordings may have been caused by poorly aligned tape recording equipment. If the erasure and recording heads on a tape recorder were not properly aligned, previous audio on the tape might not be fully erased. This could cause faint sounds from earlier recordings to mix with new ones.
For radio signals above 30 MHz, which do not reflect off the ionosphere, meteors can reflect signals. As meteors pass through the atmosphere, they leave ionized trails that reflect radio waves. These reflected signals can carry voices or sounds from transmitters that are not visible from the receiver’s location. In Europe, this might briefly allow a foreign voice to be heard on a radio. These reflected signals last only a few seconds, depending on the size of the meteor.
Organizations that show interest in EVP
There are many groups that study EVP and ITC or are interested in these topics. People in these groups may help with research, write books or articles, give talks, and attend meetings where they share their findings. Some groups also argue that these phenomena are not real based on scientific reasons.
The Association TransCommunication (ATransC), which was once called the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP), and the International Ghost Hunters Society continue to research EVP and ITC. They collect examples of EVP found online. The Rorschach Audio Project, started by sound artist Joe Banks, explains that EVP may result from radio interference and a psychological tendency to hear patterns in sounds. Another group, the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Biopsychocybernetics Research, is a non-profit that studies unusual events connected to brain and body functions. According to AA-EVP, it is "the only organized group of researchers we know of specializing in the study of ITC."
Parapsychologists and spiritualists are interested in EVP. Many spiritualists try different methods to communicate with spirits, believing these methods show life continues after death. The National Spiritualist Association of Churches states, "An important modern development in mediumship is spirit communication using electronic devices, most commonly known as Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP)." A survey by the group's Department Of Phenomenal Evidence found that one-third of churches hold sessions where people use EVP to try to contact spirit entities.
The James Randi Educational Foundation offered one million dollars for proof that any phenomena, including EVP, are caused by paranormal events.
Demographics
In 2015, a study by sociologist Marc Eaton examined paranormal groups in the United States that use electronic voice phenomenon. The study found that white participants were more common than expected, with many raised in the Roman Catholic Church (which makes up only 21% of the U.S. population). Most of these participants had some post-secondary education. While other research suggests that women and individuals who are less socially connected are more likely to believe in ghosts, Eaton’s study did not find these patterns in its sample.
Cultural impact
The concept of EVP has affected how people in entertainment create stories and games. It is popular as a fun activity, like ghost hunting, and as a way to help people deal with sadness. EVP has influenced books, radio shows, movies, TV shows, and music.
Many groups and online communities study EVP. Paranormal investigator John Zaffis says, "Ghost hunting became more popular after the Internet became widely used." Investigators use tools such as EMF meters, video cameras, and audio recorders to search places said to be haunted. They try to find proof of ghosts through videos and sounds. Many use portable recorders to capture EVP.
Movies that include EVP are Poltergeist, The Sixth Sense, and White Noise.
Sylvio is a video game released in 2015 for computers and consoles. It uses the Unity engine and tells the story of a character named Juliette Waters, who records ghost voices through EVP. She is trapped in an old park and must use her recorder to survive the night. A follow-up game, Sylvio 2, was released in 2017.
Phasmophobia is a team-based horror game where players act as ghost hunters. They use a Spirit Box to capture EVPs from ghosts, which helps them identify the type of ghost they face. EVPs in the game include phrases like "Act of killing" or "From far away." Players can also use a sound recorder to capture direct messages from ghosts or sounds like laughter.
EVP has appeared in TV shows such as Ghost Whisperer, In Search Of…, Ghost Hunters, and Supernatural.
In Legion, a 1983 book by William Peter Blatty, a character named Dr. Vincent Amfortas leaves a letter for a priest describing his communication with the dead, including his wife, through EVP. This part of the story is not in the movie version of the book, The Exorcist III.
In Pattern Recognition, a 2003 book by William Gibson, the main character's mother believes her father is speaking to her through recordings made after his death in the September 11 attacks.
In Nyctivoe, a 2001 play by Dimitris Lyacos, a character and his deceased companion speak through a recording device with static background noise.
In With the People from the Bridge, a 2014 play by Dimitris Lyacos, a character's voice is heard through a television with static background noise.
EVP is featured in Vyktoria Pratt Keating's song "Disembodied Voices on Tape" from her 2003 album Things That Fall from the Sky.
Laurie Anderson's song "Example #22" from her 1981 album Big Science includes German spoken phrases mixed with English singing, representing EVP.
The outro of "Rubber Ring" by The Smiths includes a sample from an EVP recording. The phrase "You are sleeping, you do not want to believe" is a translation of "spirit voices" from a 1970s recording. This recording was included in Raudive's 1971 book Breakthrough and later reissued as a flexi-disc.
Bass Communion's 2004 album Ghosts on Magnetic Tape was inspired by EVP.
The band Giles Corey's song "Empty Churches" includes tracks from An Introduction to EVP by The Ghost Orchid, which features excerpts from various EVP experiments. Some researchers involved in these experiments include Friedrich Jurgenson, Raymond Cass, and Konstantin Raudive.
The 2017 album Katharsis (A Small Victory) by Polish theatre group Teatr Tworzenia includes EVP recordings in the background of its second track, "Katharsis – Pandemonium."