Audio/Video

One thing all paranormal researchers and investigators hope to capture is some sort of evidence. Besides still photography, two other methods used are audio and video recording.

Electronic voice phenomena - or EVP - is a mysterious event in which voices from an unknown source are recorded on electronic media. Most often, EVPs have been captured on audiotape. These mysterious voices are normally not heard at the time of recording; it is only when the tape is played back that the voices are present.

In my years of attempting to record EVP, I have accumulated hundreds of hours of audio, both digital and analog. In all that time I have only captured two recordings that are what is known as "Class A" recordings. A "Class A" EVP is a message that can be heard without headphones and that people can generally agree on its content. I present these below:

April 3, 2004 - A Strange Arguement

My first successful EVP recording was actually caught completely by mistake. I was on an investigation with the Paranormal Activity Investigators. As part of the investigation I was doing an interview and walk through with one of the home owners. (I always record my interviews so I may transcribe them later.) About a half hour into my recording, I discovered this EVP. It seems to be at least one male and one female involved in an argument in the background. No one present in the home that night had any sort of argument, nor are these voices anyone that can be identified. Recorded on analog microcassette.

This first version is the original, exactly as it is on my cassette.


This second version is a more a cleaned up version sound wise. Bryan Kaplan from P.A.I. removed 90-95% of the homeowners voice from the clip so it is possible to focus on the actual EVP. From what we can make out, the main male voice is part of a violent argument that seems to says the following: "Give my daughter back to me (Then there is an audible Slap and a woman gasps) Martha... Ain't Funny Little Girl." "F*ck her up. F*ck..." In the more amplified second loop of the E.V.P. the word "Ain't" is replaced with a whistle, this is a result of the filter. The name Martha is a guess, although the name is similar to it, if not it.


Brendan Cook from the Ghost Investigators Society (G.I.S.) took a shot a cleaning the EVP up more and he was successful in bringing out the strong words of the EVP.

April 10, 2004 - Echra?

My second successful EVP capture was just about as amazing as my first. I was on vacation in Orlando, Florida visiting a friend, and the two of us (both female) were the only people present in her apartment. She was unsure about EVP so I wanted to show her how easy it was to set up to record. I wasn't expecting to get a Class A recording, just a Class C sample to make a believer out of her. We had talked about using a Ouija board earlier that day so we were thinking about doing that while we had the recording running.
This EVP was at the very beginning of the cassette. You will hear one of us say "sorry" followed by a male voice saying, "Hey." I then say in a silly voice, "I'm going to put the microphone on the gorilla" (it was a stuffed animal) followed by what sounds like the same male voice saying, "echra?"
Since this time I have done quite a bit of research into what "Echra" or "Ekrah" could mean. The first I found is "The Legend of Echra," an ancient myth about the origin of Merfolk. This Legend recounts the story of a human female who was cast down into the sea for daring to love the Sun.
Another possibility I found in a textbook on Islam. It is as follows: "The command "ekrah" [spelling uncertain] in the original Arabic is the imperative form of the command verb 'to read.' The word Koran also is derived from this word. In Arabic, as in English, 'read' can mean either to scan a text, to understand its meaning, or to pronounce the words of the text out loud." Which, since we were preparing to use the Ouija board, makes perfect sense.


As far as video goes, I have never been lucky enough to capture anything compelling, however I did capture a strange anomaly during an investigation once. This will be posted here shortly.

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