A candid conversation with author, paranormal investigator, and Spiritualist minister, Tim Shaw. Hear about everything from his fascinating childhood experiences at Lily Dale, to his research into the C2D1 Haunting!
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Are you fascinated by the EVP examples you hear on your favorite paranormal television shows? Have you ever wanted to learn just how to conduct an EVP session? Or maybe you’re already actively involved in an area of spirit communication, but you’d like to learn about someone else’s process and hear a new perspective on EVP. In this episode, I share the techniques that I’ve learned and use in my research on Electronic Voice Phenomena.
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There are many many ways of recording for and capturing EVP. For decades, people all over the world have successfully recorded spirit voices in their own individual way. There are basic techniques and there are techniques that are rather complicated, some requiring more equipment and more explanation. There are also techniques that due to times changing and new technology, are just outdated.
My experiences with EVP began as a paranormal investigator, but more recently it comes from research and conducting various experiments and seances, mostly in my home.
I want to make it clear that my intention for this episode is to share how I typically go about recording for EVP during experiments in my own home, specifically. The process might be a bit different during a paranormal investigation, especially if you are investigating with a group.
And before I really get into my process, I have to give some credit to the following researchers/authors who have influenced me in recent years: the late Sarah Estep, one of America’s great EVP pioneers; Tom and Lisa Butler, directors of Association TransCommunication; and Randall Keller, a wise and experienced researcher who has been a great mentor. And he’s also a former guest of the podcast, from Episode #8 from August 14, 2014. A lot of what I know and the “how to” came directly from these folks in one way or another.
Determine your location/recording environment
Recorders and their placement
Advice for saving time and frustration later
Just before the session
The Actual EVP Session
If you experience activity during the session
Before ending a session
I think my sessions are longer than most people prefer. A typical session for me is 15 to 20 minutes. Just remember that depending on how thorough you are during the analysis of your audio recordings, it will take at the very least twice as long to listen and analyze as it took to record. Some of my more complicated and longer sessions can take a day or more to get through. And that’s just with one recorder. You get the picture.
Other techniques and tools that you can combine with your EVP session
So as you can see… there are so many things you can do with an EVP session. You can have a very basic session, or you can be very detailed, go crazy with it, and pretty much make a full-time study of it. But as I always say, as long as you’re being respectful and have good positive intentions, there’s nothing wrong with it. Just be smart and have fun.
Perhaps in a future episode, I’ll get into how you can listen to and analyze your recordings, in search of those possible spirit voices.
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Sneak Peak at next week’s episode with returning guest, Karen A. Dahlman!
The Big Séance Podcast can be found right here, on iTunes, and on Stitcher. Please subscribe, submit a rating, or share with a fellow paranerd! Do you have any comments or feedback? Please contact me at Patrick@BigSeance.com. Consider recording your voice feedback directly from your device on my SpeakPipe page! You can also call the show and leave feedback at (775) 583-5563 (or 7755-TELL-ME). I would love to include your voice feedback in a future show. The candles are already lit, so come on in and join the séance!
You may be familiar with my Annual Thanksgiving Ouija sessions. This year Karen A. Dahlman encouraged me to have one on Halloween, and so I did. I decided to call this one a Ouija Séance, because well… it sounds cooler.
My planchette partner was my mother. I was so very lucky to have them visiting us over the Halloween weekend. It was really nice, and I wish we could have extended it for several more days.
In this post, I will share with you a brief report along with some audio artifacts from the séance.
It was such an unseasonably windy and cold night for trick-or-treating, but along with the neighbors, we did our usual “schtick” out on the front sidewalk. I was sure that we’d have a much bigger turnout this year with it being Friday and all, but I think the cold kept many of the kiddies in… or it at least kept them from being out too late, unless your costume involved a winter coat, ski mask, and gloves. But my hot apple cider was a bigger hit than ever. I always offer it to the “big people” who accompany most of the little costumed goblins. (I even had one family show up and say “We remember your hot apple cider from last year! We were hoping you’d be out here again!”) Thanks to the neighbors’ fire pit, we managed to stay warm and enjoy ourselves for most of the evening!
Oh yeah… and my Halloween window dressings were a big hit this year too! I think we’ll use them again next year!
I was very tired from an incredibly crazy week and busy night, and my mom was tired from being on the road, but once we were sure the trick-or-treaters had given up, and after we had the chance to watch the original 1978 version of Halloween, we began our séance shortly after midnight.
Our séance began after the rest of the house was asleep and bundled in their beds upstairs. All the candles on the Halloween Altar were lit, and we sat with the board, which was surrounded by many of the vintage Halloween cards and photos. I recorded our session with a digital audio recorder, and was also prepared with the spirit box that I got from Stephen Hill.
We opened the séance by clearly stating our intentions and having a moment of silence for prayer/meditation. We discovered fairly quickly that we’d have to cut the silence short to keep from falling asleep. (Seriously… I was nodding off.)
Within the first 5 minutes, we were hearing many knocks and pops. I acknowledged that the water line to the fridge (for the ice maker) was making a few noises, and it was clearly our first really cold and windy night of the year. But the heat was not on, and other than it being Halloween and having two extra guests in the house, nothing else was out of the ordinary in our immediate surroundings. I have never before noticed or heard so many loud knocks and pops in the lower level of our home in such a short time. I really want to be able to explain them, but the curious timing of the knocks (almost every one happened after a question, as if in response) combined with how loud they were, makes them really hard to ignore. I don’t know why I always seem to be the Spirit Rapping Whisperer, but I’ll let you be the judge on what exactly this is.
4 minutes and 24 seconds into the séance
11 minutes into the séance
13 minutes and 5 seconds into the séance
I don’t know that I can make a guess as to what any of these possible messages say. All I know is that I don’t typically flag too many interesting spirit box artifacts, especially those recorded in my own home. Most of the voices in the audio artifacts below seem to be the same voice that crosses over several to many frequencies or stations. That makes it significant in my book. I was sweeping the AM frequencies.
17 minutes and 55 seconds into the séance
Original Audio with no enhancements
Slowed down
19 minutes and 3 seconds into the séance
Original Audio with no enhancements
Noise removal and amplification
20 minutes and 27 seconds into the séance
I had just asked, “What is today?”
Original Audio with no enhancements
Noise removal and amplification
Noise removal, amplification, and slowed down
20 minutes and 49 seconds into the séance
I had just asked, “Do I know you?”
Original Audio with no enhancements
Noise removal and amplification
21 minutes and 43 seconds into the séance
I had just asked, “What am I touching right now?” (Hands were on the planchette/Ouija board.)
Original Audio with no enhancements
Noise removal and amplification
Noise removal, amplification, and slowed down
One other interesting detail is that at 20 minutes and 27 seconds into the séance, the little skeleton man that was sitting up in the center of the buffet/Halloween Altar, fell over. I was sitting in a chair directly in front of him with my back facing him. My mom watched it fall. Paranormal? I’m not sure. It was probably a couple of inches away from the back of my chair, but I wasn’t doing much moving around.
When we stopped after 28 minutes, it was because I was falling asleep. Once again, I must point out that we experienced no movement or activity coming directly from the Ouija board. This has been the case for every Ouija session I’ve had in the last three years or so.
Spirits of Ouija with Karen A. Dahlman – The Big Séance Podcast #5
Why I pushed pause on EVP and Ouija, and why it’s time to get going again!
Thanksgiving Ouija Session 2013
Wow! It has been so long since I’ve uploaded audio to this site, that I nearly forgot how to do it. It definitely took longer than it used to! In this post, and what will probably be the last of the Belvoir Winery T.A.P.S. Event series of posts, I wanted to share some highlights from two of the spirit box sessions, and one of the flashlight communication sessions. Obviously, video highlights would have been more entertaining, but if you’ve been following this series, you know about the frustrating, yet very paranormal disappearance of my video. I’ve not decided if I’m blaming aliens, the spirits of Belvoir, or a great conspiracy by Amy and Adam (so that their cute pose on my NightShot camera wouldn’t go public). Oh I’m only kidding, you two… kind of…
My Disclaimer
As an investigator and researcher, I tend to be very careful when declaring or classifying something as “paranormal”, and in these highlights, you won’t see any of that. So here’s my disclaimer. The highlights below are simply a collection of interesting clips from my evening at Belvoir Winery. I’ve not combed through the audio completely, and since the environment was not controlled, and since the group was large and meant to be just for fun, I probably won’t. When it comes to the Spirit Box (sometimes referred to as a “ghost box” or “Frank’s Box”), which uses a somewhat controversial technique called “radio sweep”, I remain fascinated, but openly skeptic about certain responses, specifically those that are short or one-syllable. Along with standard EVP, radio sweep falls under the category of ITC or Instrumental TransCommunication. For more on radio sweep or the spirit box, simply type “spirit box” into the search field above and to the right.
When it comes to flashlight communication, I’ve tried in my own investigating several times and got no results. I felt like many of the flashlight responses seemed more than coincidence, and could very well have been paranormal. With that being said, I don’t have a lot of experience in this area.
These highlights are taken from two different spirit box sessions in two different locations on the Belvoir Winery property. Together they lasted about 40 minutes. The P-SB7 spirit box we’re using is one that I got secondhand from Stephen Hill. In the first short clip in the highlights, you’ll hear Britt Griffith demonstrating it. Other voices you hear are of myself, Adam Berry, and other guests in our group for the evening. Toward the end of these highlights, you’ll hear the group laugh as the box froze on a few radio stations as I was adjusting. I thought they were funny. The “thank you” that just about everyone in the group heard at the very end was kind of a powerful moment. There are a few cuts in the audio, either to save time or because of unnecessary noise, otherwise these clips are unenhanced.
Though it’s hard to imagine exactly what’s happening, you’ll hear that the group is clearly impressed or moved by several of the responses. You’ll hear myself, our group’s wonderful guide, as well as other guests from our group. You’ll also hear some of the super creepy wind that we were hearing at this location. There were actually two flashlight communication sessions, but only one of them was captured in my audio recorder. The session that wasn’t captured was probably more impressive. I really wish the video of these moments could have been saved. Again, there are a few cuts in the audio, either to save time or because of unnecessary noise, otherwise these clips are unenhanced.
The Brilliant Britt Griffith!
Ghosts can do that? The Evidence… Sort of…
Amy, Adam, Britt, and Chip!
New Friends!
The Photos
I’m Baaaaaaaaaack!
TAPS and Chip Coffey at Belvoir Winery in March!
See the end of this post for links to previous posts in the series.
Two of the biggest highlights from my T.A.P.S. weekend at Belvoir Winery involve the brilliant Britt Griffith. Now a permanent member of the cast of SyFy’s Ghost Hunters, Britt brings a much-needed fresh voice to the team… oh and gadgets. Lots and lots of gadgets. But he knows how to use them, researches them, knows their background, and in some cases has a hand in their design!
I was able to sit in on his paranormal technology session on the second day. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I found that I learned quite a few things. The best was having some of my own personal opinions and experiences reinforced or validated by someone who clearly has knowledge and a lot of experience. As if I was sitting in an undergrad lecture, I took lots of notes (which is why I don’t have a better photo), but out of respect for Britt and these events, I won’t cover his whole session here. Instead, I’ll point out a few things that really hit me in the head.
It was already a pretty cool spirit box, considering I got this particular one secondhand from Stephen Hill. But then during the overnight investigation, Britt suggested we get it out for a demonstration in a room that had already proven to be a hot spot for spirit box communication. Because this was such an Elvis moment, I awkwardly fumbled around in the dark trying to set it up and get it working to hand it off to Britt. When it didn’t turn on, I remembered Stephen Hill has always told me to take the batteries out while not in use. I’ve never really been good at remembering to do this…. but it turns out the previous time I used it, I followed those orders. I somehow found batteries fairly quickly, turned it on, and handed it off. Several of the people in our group had never seen or heard of a spirit box. We did get some communication, but you’ll never see it since my video footage of that moment has mysteriously vanished into thin air. See this previous post for more on that story. Actually, I have digital audio of that moment, but I’m still in the process of going through all of that.
Britt keeps himself busy by doing so much more than just paranormal investigation! Did you know he has been in several movies?
Check out his acting reel!
And the trailer for the 2012 film, The Black Dahlia Haunting.
Thanks, Britt!
Ghosts can do that? The Evidence… Sort of…
Amy, Adam, Britt, and Chip!
New Friends!
The Photos
I’m Baaaaaaaaaack!
TAPS and Chip Coffey at Belvoir Winery in March!
From our Second Annual Thanksgiving Ouija Session
Mom and I sat down for our 2nd Annual Thanksgiving Ouija Session. We hit record, sat in silence for a quick prayer/meditation, and then began.
“We would like to request assistance from angels, guides… to guide us in communicating with any spirits or entities from the light that would like to communicate with us tonight, through the Ouija board, or the recorder, or through the spirit box. We’d like to learn from the Other Side, learn about the Other Side, or to receive any messages from loved ones, or spirits who would like to help us… from the light.”
We asked all of the typical questions for initiating spirit contact and gave plenty of time for response. We also encouraged communication through sounds, knocks, speaking, etc. Mom suggested blowing out a candle.
“I want you to be able to communicate in the best way that you can, so if that’s not moving this planchette on the Ouija board, then you can knock, or speak, or make a noise. Can you let us know somehow that you’re here and willing to communicate?”
We kept the session light and even started up some general conversation while we were waiting. I encouraged spirit to give us suggestions or advice to make communication easier or more successful.
No activity. No responses.
After fifteen minutes, I turned on a “new” spirit box, formerly owned by Stephen Hill, investigator and author of Something Unseen. Many of the same questions were asked again, including requests to say our names, before and after saying them aloud.
Our spirit box session lasted approximately 17 minutes.
After an initial review of all audio, no EVP were heard. During the spirit box session, a few possible “hello” responses could be considered, and several unimpressive quick snippet responses that didn’t last longer than one or two clicks or stations.
We gave the Ouija board one more try for just a few minutes before once again asking for feedback and suggestions on making communication easier or more successful.
No activity. No responses.
“Thank you for your energy and your presence. Thank you to any spirits who were here trying to communicate with us. And thank you to our guides for protecting us and helping.”
Hope you weren’t disappointed. Better luck next time? At least we got some pretty pictures out of the session, right? For last year’s Thanksgiving session, check out A Very Ouija Thanksgiving.
From our Second Annual Thanksgiving Ouija Session
My Rapper: Missing you, old friend (Big Séance)
An Early Summer Update & Some EVP from Papa Jack’s Pizza (Big Séance)
200th Post and Fort Chaffee Prison Spirit Box Session (Big Séance)
Hey paranerds! I haven’t done any experimenting with EVP, or any spirit communication for that matter, in a few months. That may disappoint some of you, but I have to be honest. Life gets going and then sometimes you like the idea of having a bit of true free/lazy time when you can get it… and it’s also possible that I was a little burned out with evidence review and analysis. It is now officially summer for me and lazy is exactly what I’ve been for a week and a half, but I’ve enjoyed every snore of it. In the next few weeks I’m likely to be out of town once or twice for several days at a time, but I do plan on getting started on some more Ouija/EVP/Spirit Box sessions soon, and I hope to be able to share results with you. I’m also excited to be jumping into several new books.
Since most of you tend to be more interested in the “spirit communication” posts, I think that maybe it’s time I shared just a few EVP with you. These will all be from MOSS’s Papa Jack’s Pizza investigation from January. Anyone interested in viewing and hearing all artifacts from that investigation should visit a previous post entitled Papa Jack’s Pizza: Final Investigation Report.
Papa Jack’s Pizza Investigation. “Can you repeat that?”
This first artifact is one that our friend and EVP researcher, Randall Keller, has already given me feedback on. He’s excellent at digging into them and really cleaning them up. I’ll let him determine if he’d like to share that here. I personally don’t hear it clearly enough to take a stab at what is being said. What do you think?
(From the Final Report)
11:58pm – While we’re in the back room behind the restaurant kitchen on the main level, from the PX-720 on the 2nd floor landing there appears to be a voice that responds when I ask the question “Is this not a place you like to be?” You can also hear a short snippet of the same noise or voice a few seconds later as I’m talking (which is hard to enhance or single out). Comparing this to the audio that was with us in that room, I can’t hear those noises or anything that would have created them. From the NightShot video I can’t tell either. This seems like a good EVP catch!
Artifact #12:
1-19-13-ART12-AUD-PX720 (unenhanced audio from the 2nd floor landing)
1-19-13-ART12-AUD-PX720-NR+AMP+HP (enhanced audio from the 2nd floor landing)
1-19-13-ART12-AUD-PX720-NR+AMP+HP+SL (same audio, same enhancements, first voice slowed down)
1-19-13-ART12-VID-NightShot (unenhanced NightShot video)
The next artifact was captured from the 2nd floor landing where we had a stationary digital audio recorder planted for a majority of the investigation. At this point in time, other than Linda who was at command central a floor below (and on the opposite side of the building), all other investigators were in the basement (two floors below). As you can see, in the final report I indicated that this was a “distant and very soft voice or shout” and “possibly someone outside.” I’ve since decided that this isn’t a shout, making it unlikely that it would have come from outside. If you listen several times very carefully, it sounds more to me like a short melody being sung or hummed. Enhancing this moment in the audio didn’t help to bring out the voice. It is important to note that whistling and singing are just a few of the claims of activity reported at Papa Jack’s Pizza. We did capture evidence of what sounds like whistling, and in those cases they were usually 2 or 3 short pitches, similar to below.
(From the Final Report)
12:12am – From the 2nd floor landing, a distant and very soft voice or shout was picked up in the PX-720. Possibly someone outside.Artifact #15:
1-19-13-ART15-AUD-PX720 (unenhanced audio from the 2nd floor landing)
The last artifact came from the spirit box during an investigation of the basement. I go back and forth with whether I’m hearing “messages to us” or not, and I’m not exactly sure how early the communication starts. There are several interesting sputters before “messages to us”.
12:27am – Toward the end of the sweep cycle that begins at 4:25:30 in PX-820 Track 1, in the audio I hear something that ends with “messages to us”. After analysis I no longer hear “messages to us”, but there seems to be a phrase there… just not sure what it is.
Artifact #23:
1-19-13-ART23-AUD-PX820 (unenhanced audio)
The Strangest Evidence from the Papa Jack’s Pizza Investigation (Big Séance)
200th Post and Fort Chaffee Prison Spirit Box Session (Big Séance)
EVP: “Hey! Great job, man.” Maybe? Maybe not. (Big Séance)
