In the study of ghosts and paranormal events, electronic voice phenomena (EVP) are sounds recorded on electronic devices that people believe are voices of spirits. Konstantīns Raudive, a parapsychologist who promoted the idea in the 1970s, explained that EVP recordings are usually short, often lasting only as long as a single word or a brief phrase.
People who are interested in paranormal activity 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 sounds that seem like voices in their own language, even though the sounds are random. Scientists also consider EVP to be part of pseudoscience, a term for beliefs that are not supported by scientific evidence and are often spread by popular culture. Common, non-paranormal explanations for EVP include apophenia (seeing or hearing patterns in random information), problems with recording equipment, or intentional tricks made by people.
History
During the 1840s–1940s, the Spiritualist religious movement gained popularity. A key belief of Spiritualists was that the spirits of the dead could be contacted by people called mediums. At the same time, new technologies like photography were used by Spiritualists to try to prove communication with the spirit world. These ideas became so widespread that Thomas Edison was asked by Scientific American to comment on whether his inventions could help communicate with spirits. Edison said that if spirits could only make small effects, a sensitive recording device might work better than methods like table tipping or using Ouija boards. However, there is no evidence that Edison ever created a device for this purpose. As sound recording became common, mediums also tried using this technology to show communication with the dead. Spiritualism declined later in the 20th century, but efforts to use portable recording devices and modern digital tools to contact spirits continued.
In 1941, American photographer Attila von Szalay began trying to record what he thought were voices of the dead to help his ghost investigations. He first used a 78 rpm record, but in 1956, after switching to a reel-to-reel tape recorder, he believed he succeeded. Working with Raymond Bayless, von Szalay made recordings using a special setup: a microphone in an insulated cabinet connected to a recording device and speaker. Szalay claimed to hear sounds on the tape that were not audible during recording, including some when no one was in the cabinet. He believed these were voices of spirits. Early recordings included messages like "This is G!" and "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all." 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 Friedrich Jürgenson was recording bird songs. When he played the tape later, he heard what he thought was his dead father’s voice and then his deceased wife calling his name. He made more recordings, including one he said contained a message from his late mother. Konstantin Raudive, a Latvian psychologist who worked with Jürgenson, made over 100,000 recordings he claimed were messages from spirits. Some were recorded in a special lab with radio shielding. Raudive invited people to listen to and interpret his recordings, believing the clear voices could not be explained naturally. He published his first book, Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead, in 1968.
In 1980, William O’Neil built a device called "The Spiricom," claiming he received its design instructions psychically from a dead scientist. At a 1982 press conference, O’Neil said he could talk to spirits using the device and shared its design with researchers. However, no one has replicated his results. O’Neil’s partner, George Meek, suggested O’Neil’s mediumship abilities were part of how the device worked. In 2020, Kenny Biddle wrote an article explaining the Spiricom’s origins and debunked its claimed "science," especially after its appearance on the TV show Ghosthunters.
In 2002, Frank Sumption created a device called "Frank’s Box" or the "Ghost Box" for real-time communication with spirits. He claimed the design came from the spirit world. The device combines a white noise generator and an AM radio, sweeping through the radio band to pick up short sound snippets. Critics say its effects are subjective and cannot be replicated, with results likely due to coincidence or pareidolia. 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 standardized methods for capturing it. Estep began studying EVP in 1976 and claims to have recorded messages from deceased people and even extraterrestrials.
The term "Instrumental Trans-Communication" (ITC) was introduced in the 1970s by Ernst Senkowski to describe communication through electronic devices like recorders, TVs, or computers between spirits and the living. One 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 involves feedback loops in TV and video cameras.
In 1979, parapsychologist D. Scott Rogo described reports of brief, one-time telephone calls from deceased people. Critics, like Rosemary Guiley, said Rogo’s work had flaws that led to incorrect conclusions.
In 1995, parapsychologist David Fontana suggested poltergeists might haunt tape recorders, citing the Enfield Poltergeist case. Skeptic Tom Flynn proposed a natural explanation: humidity and old tape could cause loops that create false recordings.
In 1997, Imants Barušs, a psychologist at the University of Western Ontario, tested methods used by EVP researcher Konstantin Raudive and ITC researcher Mar.
Explanations and origins
Paranormal ideas about the origin of electronic voice phenomena (EVP) suggest that living people might imprint thoughts directly onto electronic devices through psychokinesis, or that non-human entities such as spirits, natural energies, beings from other dimensions, or aliens might communicate through these recordings. Paranormal explanations often claim that EVP is created by intelligent sources using methods that differ from normal communication technology. Natural explanations, however, argue that these recordings can be explained by known scientific processes and do not require unproven or unusual mechanisms.
A study by psychologist Imants Barušs found that paranormal claims about EVP could not be confirmed under controlled conditions. Brian Regal, in Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia (2009), wrote that many EVPs are the result of mistakes in the recording process, which operators may not recognize. He noted that most EVPs have non-spiritual causes, and there is no clear proof that unusual cases are linked to spirits.
Some simple scientific reasons explain why people might believe they hear voices in static on audio devices. These include interference from radio signals and the brain’s tendency to find patterns in random noise. Some recordings may also be hoaxes created by people trying to trick others.
Auditory pareidolia occurs when the brain mistakes random sounds for familiar patterns, such as a human voice. In EVP, this might lead someone to hear a name they expect, like "Annie," in background noise. This is similar to a phenomenon called "Rorschach Audio," described by author Joe Banks, where people interpret random sounds as meaningful.
In 2019, paranormal researcher Kenny Biddle investigated a painting in a West Virginia museum. The museum claimed an EVP recording said the name "Annie," which was written on the back of the painting. Biddle explained that the name on the painting made listeners more likely to hear "Annie" in the noise. The recording used a modified radio that scanned radio frequencies continuously. He noted that people might hear names like "Annie" in background noise because they are listening to radio broadcasts, which often include names.
Skeptics such as David Federlein, Chris French, Terence Hines, and Michael Shermer argue that EVP recordings are often created by increasing the "noise floor"—the electrical background noise from devices. This noise can be filtered to sound like speech. Federlein compared this process to using a guitar effect called a "wah pedal," which creates sounds similar to some EVP. Other factors, like interference from radio signals or faulty wiring, can also create the illusion of voices. The brain naturally looks for patterns, and people may hear words in noise even if no real voice is present. Expectations and hopes can also influence people to believe they are hearing voices.
Apophenia is a related concept, where people see connections or meaning in random or 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 EVP is often the result of hope and expectation, and that these claims are not supported by scientific evidence.
Interference is common in EVP recordings, especially on devices with RLC circuitry, which can pick up radio signals from broadcasts or other sources. Signals from CB radios, baby monitors, or cross-modulation from other electronics are well-documented. Some circuits can even pick up radio signals without needing internal power.
Capture errors occur when audio is recorded improperly, such as when a signal is over-amplified. These errors can create unusual sounds in recordings.
Attempts to improve the clarity of a recording, such as re-sampling or adjusting frequencies, might also change the sound in unexpected ways.
The first EVP recordings may have come from early tape recorders with misaligned heads, which failed to erase previous recordings completely. This could leave faint sounds from earlier recordings mixed into new ones.
Radio signals above 30 MHz can sometimes reflect off meteors. As meteors pass through the atmosphere, they leave ionized trails that reflect radio waves. These signals can be picked up by receivers and may carry voices or sounds from distant transmitters. These reflections last only a short time, from 0.05 to 1 second, depending on the meteor’s size.
Organizations that show interest in EVP
There are many groups that study EVP and ITC or are interested in these topics. Members of these groups may investigate, write books or articles, give talks, and hold meetings to share their findings. Other groups argue that these phenomena are not real based on scientific evidence.
The Association TransCommunication (ATransC), which was once called the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP), and the International Ghost Hunters Society study EVP and ITC. They collect examples of EVP found online. The Rorschach Audio Project, started by artist Joe Banks, explains that EVP may result from radio interference and the brain's tendency to recognize patterns in sounds. The Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Biopsychocybernetics Research is a group 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 through electronic devices, known as EVP." A report from the group’s Department Of Phenomenal Evidence says that one-third of churches hold sessions where people use EVP to try to contact spirits.
The James Randi Educational Foundation once offered one million dollars for proof that any phenomena, including EVP, are caused by paranormal forces.
Demographics
In 2015, sociologist Marc Eaton studied the members of paranormal groups in the United States that use electronic devices to record voices. His research found that more white people joined these groups than expected, many of whom grew up in the Roman Catholic Church (a group that makes up only 21% of the U.S. population). These participants often had some college or higher education. While many studies suggest that women and people who are not as connected to their communities are more likely to believe in ghosts, Eaton’s research did not show these patterns in his sample group.
Cultural impact
The concept of EVP has influenced popular culture. It is popular as a fun activity, like ghost hunting, and as a way to help people deal with sadness. It has influenced books, radio shows, movies, TV shows, and music.
Studying EVP is the focus of many local and national groups and online forums. Paranormal investigator John Zaffis says, "There has been a big increase in ghost hunting since the Internet became widely used." Investigators use electronic tools, such as EMF meters, video cameras, and audio recorders, to search places said to be haunted, looking for visual or audio proof of ghosts. Many use portable recorders to try to capture EVP.
Movies that include EVP are Poltergeist, The Sixth Sense, and White Noise.
Sylvio is an independently developed first-person horror adventure video game released on Steam in June 2015 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and OS X, using the Unity engine. The game follows an audio recordist named Juliette Waters, who records ghost voices through EVP. She becomes trapped in an old family park, closed since a landslide in 1971, and must use her recorder to survive the night. A sequel, Sylvio 2, was released on October 11, 2017.
Phasmophobia is a cooperative horror video game where one to four players act as ghost hunters trying to identify hostile ghosts in different locations. The game includes a Spirit Box item used to capture EVPs from certain ghost types, helping players determine the ghost's identity. EVPs in Phasmophobia include recorded lines from news broadcasts, such as "Act of killing," "Elderly victim," and "From far away." Alternatively, the game allows players to use a sound recorder to capture words directly from a ghost or laughter.
EVP has been featured on TV shows like Ghost Whisperer, In Search Of… (1981), The Omega Factor, A Haunting, Ghost Hunters, MonsterQuest, Ghost Adventures, The Secret Saturdays, Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files, Supernatural, Derren Brown Investigates, Ghost Lab, and Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural.
In Legion, a 1983 novel by William Peter Blatty, there is a subplot where Dr. Vincent Amfortas, a terminally ill neurologist, leaves a "to-be-opened-upon-my-death" letter for Father Dyer, describing his contact with the dead, including his recently deceased wife, Ann, through EVP recordings. Amfortas and the EVP subplot are not in the film version of the novel, The Exorcist III. However, in Kinderman's dream, dead people are shown trying to communicate with the living through radio.
In Pattern Recognition, a 2003 novel by William Gibson, the main character's mother tries to convince her that her father is communicating with her through recordings after his death or disappearance during the September 11, 2001 attacks.
In Nyctivoe, a 2001 vampire-inspired play by Dimitris Lyacos, a male character and his deceased companion speak from a recording device over a static or white noise background.
In With the People from the Bridge, a 2014 play by Dimitris Lyacos based on the idea of the dead returning, the voice of the female character NCTV is transmitted from a television monitor over a static or white noise background.
EVP is the subject of Vyktoria Pratt Keating's song "Disembodied Voices on Tape" from her 2003 album Things That Fall from the Sky, produced by Andrew Giddings of Jethro Tull.
Laurie Anderson's "Example #22," from her 1981 album Big Science, mixes spoken German sentences with sung English passages to represent EVP.
During the outro of "Rubber Ring" by The Smiths, a sample from an EVP recording is repeated. The phrase "You are sleeping, you do not want to believe" is a "translation" of "spirit voices" from a 1970s flexitape. The original recording comes from the 1971 record that accompanied Raudive's book Breakthrough, which was reissued as a flexi-disc in the 1980s with The Unexplained magazine.
Bass Communion's 2004 album Ghosts on Magnetic Tape was inspired by EVP.
The band Giles Corey created the song "Empty Churches," which includes tracks 2 ("Raymond Cass"), 36 ("Justified Theft"), and 38 ("Tramping") from the album An Introduction to EVP by The Ghost Orchid. These tracks include excerpts from different EVP experiments by various researchers, some of whom are well-known, such as Friedrich Jurgenson, Raymond Cass, and Konstantin Raudive.
The 2017 album Katharsis (A Small Victory) by the Polish theatre group Teatr Tworzenia, composed by Jarosław Pijarowski, includes EVP recordings in the background of its second track, "Katharsis – Pandemonium."