Tom Butler – Page 8

Butler ITC Gallery 2

11/ 202009/ 2002 by Tom and Lisa Butler

Pictures from the Summer 2002 AA-EVP Newsletter
Also see Butler ITC Gallery 1, Butler ITC Gallery 3,
Perception of Visual ITC Images and Video-Loop, Visual ITC Recording Technique

We have continued to receive interesting results from both our ITC and EVP experiments in the past three months. We were preparing to do a presentation at the International Spiritualist Federation Congress in Toronto, Canada and asked to receive some EVP messages that would be of interest to this group and that would be clear and loud enough to play for the members. Immediately after we said this, a loud Class A voice said, “Spirit is helping.” We asked what our friends thought about mediums and they replied loudly, “Hear us through them.” We asked them what they thought about the Spiritualist belief in life after death. Again they came through loud and clear with the message “In the end has tendency to help you.” We laughed at this message but they certainly made their point. Our friends on the other side never fail to be there to help us, and when we ask for EVP messages for presentations, they have always come through.

Other EVP messages have been very interesting. On one experiment we asked if a channel to them was open. A voice came back saying, “Test, open the channel.” Another loud message that did not make sense came immediately after. We reversed it and it said, “This is now coded.” Other messages have told us that we, “Now have the computers.”

We have of course asked who is sending and helping us with the ITC pictures. Various names and transmitting stations have been noted. We would like to get more verification before mentioning these. However, one message said they were transmitting through the “Anderson Switch,” a station that we have not heard referred to by other researchers.

Some of the interesting things that we have found in regard to the ITC pictures are that there are EVP on the audio track of the video. We had read not to bother with listening to these audio tracks, as there was never any EVP on them. This is not the case, but so far these have not come in as clearly as through an EVP experiment with our usual equipment. Two such messages, on the audio track of the video, mentioned dates. These dates had passed by the time we decided to see if there was EVP on the video.

We have set the video camera at various distances from the TV screen. We have defocused the camera past and in front of the TV screen. We have set up inches from the screen and several feet away. In every experiment ITC features have come through.

Our transpartners were providing help to meet criticisms before we even knew that they would come. We are finding the features at all four rotations of the video frames. In other words, we rotate a frame 90, 180 or 270 degrees and find faces. We have faced the criticism that we are doing nothing more than picking up TV transmissions even though the TV is not hooked up to an antenna or cable. We do not believe that TV transmissions are sent sideways or upside down.

It seems like they do things in series. One experiment resulted in many images of people and their pets. For instance, a woman sitting with her dog and another of a man who is proudly holding his dog in his arms. Other experiments seem to have a series of frames with certain nationalities of peoples. One feature that we were very excited about was of a lady sitting at a table. A perfect long-stemmed rose is on the table.

The bridge is getting stronger. We know this from the results that we are getting and we feel blessed with the results we have gotten in a mere seven months.

The pictures in order: man’s head; woman’s face; Einstein (?); young woman’s face; clown; man in armor; and, man holding dog.

Carol Barron-Karajohn-EVP

06/ 202009/ 2016 by Tom Butler

Carol Barron-Karajohn, wrote “ This is my favorite Class ‘A’ EVP Message, largely because I knew the fellow who had just crossed over and it sounds just like him! I have an audio cassette of his voice while living and it’s the same voice.” The enthusiastic voice states “I’m Alive!”

This one of Carol’s can be heard to say, “Hello Mother.”

EVP of Tom and Lisa Butler

09/ 202109/ 2016 by Tom and Lisa Butler

Tom and Lisa Butler on the porch of the Marlin Monroe Cabin at the Cal-Neva Casino, Lake Tahoe.

John Belushi

We were invited to help Universal Pictures to help them market the movie, White Noise. For the DVD release party that was held in the famous and haunted Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, we were asked to record for EVP in the hotel and play the resulting examples on camera. During that process, Lisa recorded, “John Belushi” in the Lombard-Gable Penthouse. We later learned that Belushi lived in the hotel when he first moved to LA, and that he learned to love the old hotel.

Prepare to die

We are often asked about the dangers involved in opening communication with the other side. All and all, recording for EVP is safe. Some message can be a little unnerving, but we are pretty sure those are a reflection of our own fears. It is in the eyes or ears of the perceiver. In this case, we recorded the EVP, “Prepare to die,” when we asked, “Do you not want people here?” The words are spoken by what sounds like a southern gentleman about to engage his opponent in a duel, and we feel that the utterance being so dramatic, is more a humorous response than something that should be taken as threatening. This was recorded in the Levi House in Reno, Nevada.

We keep looking for peace

In an investigation of the Cal-Neva Resort at Lake Tahoe for the Dead Famous television series, we were able to record in the theater built by Frank Sinatra while he owned the casino. Several mediums had reported a threatening personality lurking at the back of the stage area. In that same area, we recorded, “We keep looking for peace.” Our sense is that it was spoken by one of the bodyguards who protected some of the famous personalities who visited there.

Hidden morphine

On the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe is the Thunderbird Lodge built by George Whittell. We have participated in a couple of media events there that included opportunities to record for EVP. In this example, you will hear the voice of a woman say, “Hidden morphine.” We later learned that Whittell was addicted to morphine and his lady friend was a nurse who gave him morphine shots.

Betty’s in there

One of the bonus features on the White Noise DVD includes us recording in the haunted, Hollymont Castle in Beechwood Canyon, near Los Angeles, California. Lisa recorded “Betty’s in there” as we approached a bedroom. The Bedroom is at the top of the same stairs near which an orb was seen in the DVD bonus feature at about three minutes. As you can see in the picture below the white arrow is pointing at the black, fussy puff. It is shown a little clearer in the inset. The orb was rapidly moving and was only in a few frames.

(cc)aaevp2006-audacity_noise_levels_web

Think Positively … instantly away

When we visited Alcatraz, we recorded for EVP at a place from which San Francisco can be seen through a barred window. The city is beautiful and seemed very close. We knew it must have been terrible torture for the inmates to see freedom so close, yet so far away. Lisa said as much while recording, and captured this voice saying, “Think Positively … instantly away.”

Paolo Presi … Alexander MacRae

We had expected to encounter angry and confused personalities, but instead, recorded many positive remarks. We even recorded several voices saying “Paolo Presi,” an Italian ITC researcher we sometimes work with. This is followed by other voices saying, “Alexander MacRae.”

Please don’t come

An example of an EVP being appropriate to a circumstance is an EVP recorded by Lisa Butler. The Butlers were asking a woman about the upstairs lighting and sound room for the Frank Sinatra Theater at the Cal-Neva Casino at Lake Tahoe, CA. They had heard that the heavy door to the room often shut for no apparent reason, scaring the crews setting up lights and sound systems for shows. The woman told them that she would never ever go up there. Lisa’s recorder was on while she thanked the woman for her assistance. On the recording, Lisa can be heard saying, “Thank you very much.” Underneath her voice, is a clearly heard paranormal voice saying, “Please don’t come.”However politely said, it seems obvious someone did not want to be disturbed.

The Death Knell

Lisa and I were asked by Universal Studios to help them market the Mickael Keaton movie, White Noise. They took us to a few reportedly haunted places where we did a walkabout while recording for EVP. One such place was the -Excalibur night club in Chicago. It was used as a temporary morgue for bodies from the ship, Eastland. Western Electric was having a company party on it, and before the ship left the dock, it rolled over and many people died.

Lisa recorded the EVP “Death knell.” You can hear her ask, “Why do I feel so much sadness here?” Then a pause, followed by what sounds like a water drum “Da-dum!” and then the voice “The death knell.” Alternatively, it may say “The death toll.” See The Eastland Disaster Killed More Passengers Than the Titanic and the Lusitania. Why Has It Been Forgotten?

The first version below is as it was recorded. The words are Class C so I amplified it for the second exampled. We speculate that the drum sound is a lot like what rescue workers heard through the metal hull as trapped passengers tried to get out.

Original The Death Knell

Amplified The Death Knell

Downey Synthesized Speech EVP

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Tom and Lisa Butler

recorded by Margaret Downey
©Margaret Downey – All Rights Reserved

Speech Synthesis can be tricky to work with, so please be sure to use a witness panel.

As the technology of EVP recording evolves, new techniques have brought new forms of the phenomenon. The most common and best understood is the technique using a recorder, microphone and supplied noise for voice formation. It is theorized that actual voice formation is accomplished by amplifying a small telekinetic signal in the active region of transistors via stochastic resonance acting on ambient noise energy. This is a hypothesis, but it answers most of the evidence. We refer to this form of EVP as “Transform EVP,” and most of the examples on this website are of this kind.

A currently popular technique for EVP collection is referred to as “radio-sweep.” This may be automated or manual, and depends on the live voice of broadcast radio as a sound source. Small fragments of sound are formed into a new sound stream by rapidly sweeping the radio dial. This form of EVP may be referred to as “opportunistic EVP” because it depends on the availability of sounds necessary to form the message just when they are needed at the moment each station is selected.

A second approach to opportunistic EVP is EVPmaker. This computer program loads an input sound file into a buffer, and then using a random process to determine which part of the buffer to use as the next fragment of the output sound stream, forms a new sound stream. Several “random” sources are available and the fragment length is determined by the operator. Assuming prerecorded voice is used, the output is a staccato sound that contains randomly arranged voice fragments. Meaningful messages are sometimes found in the output, and it is thought that the communicating entity is influencing the random process to access the buffer to select the needed sounds.

A great deal is known about transform EVP and false positive results are usually easily detected. Radio-sweep and EVPmaker pose the problem that normally occurring words and phrases in the live voice are easily mistaken as phenomenal message, and use of live voice makes these technology unlikely candidates for research. See Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives for a discussion of this problem.

A new technique for voice formation involves speech synthesis, rather than live voice. For instance, Stefan Bion introduced a set of SpeekJet allophones on his website. These are fragments of sound used for the synthesis of speech for robotics. A few words may naturally occur when the allophones are used with EVPmaker, but in general, if a word is formed and it seems to be meaningful, then it is unlikely to be a natural product of the technology.

Real-Time Conversation Using EVPmaker and Allophones

Margaret Downey has recorded convincing examples of EVP using just about every technique she has tried. In the example provided here, she used the allophones with EVPmaker in an attempt to conduct a real-time conversation. The output of EVPmaker is a steady staccato string of pieces of voice. Margaret spoke over this, so that you can hear her voice and the EVPmaker output in the background. She then lowered her voice in the recording and removed the non-relevant EVPmaker output for clarity. Here is the script:

Margaret: Can you say A.B.C.?

EVP: A.B.C.D.E. (this is buried in the main sound)

Margaret: How about Tom Butler?

EVP: Tom Butler.

Margaret: Do you know the name of either of Tom Butler’s cats?
EVP: (Sh)asta’s their cat. (the “Sh” sound is weak or missing)

“Shasta” is the name of one of the Butler’s cats.

Margaret: Do you have any pets?
EVP: I have a pet.

Margaret: I heard you say I have a…?
EVP: Pet.

Margaret: You have a what?
EVP: Pet.

Margaret: What kind of pet do you have?
EVP: An animal. (Ask a silly question, get a silly answer!)

Margaret: I understand you have a pet animal, but what is the species?
EVP: A purple deer.

Margaret: OK, I could have sworn you said you have a purple deer.
EVP: I told you, purple deer.

Margaret: OK, I’m gonna close for the evening. Can you tell me goodbye?
EVP: I love you.

Margaret: I heard you say I love you. Love you too.
EVP: Thank you.

Conversation With Arthur

It is important to note that it is common in in transform EVP to recognize the voice of the person thought to be speaking, sex and approximate age of the speaker. This added information helps people recognize loved ones, and a message from a loved one is often very therapeutic. The output sound stream of EVPmaker can be transformed into voice as in transform EVP, but it is more common for EVP made with current applications of speech synthesis to be a more robotic voice with little personality.

Another point that needs to be made is that, even though the voice is an emulation of live speech made by transforming noise into voice, transform EVP often includes the nuances of speech, such as plural and accents. Opportunistic EVP is more often an approximation based on available sounds that are close to what is needed. Thus, “I love you” might actually sound like “eh ove u.” In speech synthesis, the word can be more closely matched, but we do see novel spelling when the words are translated to text.

Real-Time Communication Using the Paranormal Puck and Allophones

A recent innovation in technology for EVP is the introduction of the Paranormal Puck by Digital Dowsing: Owner and developer is Bill Chappell. This device connects to a Windows computer via a USB port. It includes temperature and electromagnetic sensors and a SpeekJet microchip. In one mode, the output is an environmentally stimulated string of allophones.

Margaret Downey conducted sessions with the Puck by asking a question, and then turning on the puck for thirty seconds. She then turned off the puck and asked another question for repeated sessions. The result is the appearance of conversation, but be aware that this is a very new technology and it is difficult to know what is actually occurring. The impression is that questions are ask and correctly answered.

In this example, Margaret had the device turned on but had not decided whether or not she was going to conduct an experiment so she had said nothing.

Puck: Talk to him.

Margaret: In this I asked, “Please say my grandson or granddaughter’s name.” (Dylan Scott or Hazel Ann – both on the other side)

Puck: Scott

Margaret: This wasn’t the answer I expected, but I like it, “Who are the babies with?” At 16 seconds, I heard, “Margaret” followed by “Dylan” at 23.5 seconds phoneme: ovrat (for Margaret) oops, forgot to note what it was for Dylan. Timing altered.

Puck: Margaret, Dylan

Margaret: The previous three questions were answered the first time I asked. This was the third time in a row I had asked this question (and would have been my last attempt before moving onto the next question.)

It is important to remember that the technology being used in these examples should not normally produce recognizable speech. Yes, there is the probability of an occasional string of sound bits producing a recognizable word. A good comparison is that a thousand typing monkeys will eventually produce something meaningful; however, what is the likelihood of the monkeys producing something meaningful that is also a correct answer to a question just asked?

Our Introduction to Faces in Light Reflected from Water

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Tom and Lisa Butler

Visual ITC can be encountered in many different ways. The common denominator is the availability of chaotic light somewhere in the field of view of a camera. For instance, the video feedback loop is used as a chaotic light generator. As you will see below, light reflected from many different surfaces is also chaotic, and when closely examined in photographs, may support phenomenal images.

This example was collected by Arthur Soesman using what is sometimes referred to as the Arthur Soesman method. It is illustrated in the accompanying picture (right). In this technique, the bottle is partially filled with liquid and then agitated while a picture is taken of the surface of the water.

In the picture at the left, you can see the face of a man inside of the red square.

Diana and Alan Bennett ITC

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Lisa Butler

Diana and Alan speaking at the 2006 ATransC Conference.

Also, see
Diana and Alan Bennett- ITC and Diana and Alan Bennett – Crystal Imaging

Extracted from Winter 2002 The Spiritual Scientist Bulletin
©Diana and Alan Bennett – All Rights Reserved

Most of our members know about the Scole Experiments. The four members of the Scole Experimental Group (Sandra and Robin Foy and Diana and Alan Bennett) sat over a period of four years. The Spirit Team at Scole was prolific, using a new spirit-world technology that did not require the use of ectoplasm for the production of physical phenomena. Phenomena included solid spirit beings and fifty small objects received as apports. People, such as psychic researchers from the SPR, witnessed physical phenomena including pictures, handwriting, symbols and messages that appeared on factory-sealed unopened photographic film.

The phenomenal success of the group and their Spirit Team resulted in the book, The Scole Experiment, by Grant and Jane Solomon and 32 issues of The Spiritual Scientist Bulletin, a quarterly magazine, which was temporarily retired with the Winter 2002 issue.

With the sadness of seeing the last publication of the Bulletin also came excitement. The Scole mediums Diana and Alan Bennett have been exploring their own particular interests in psychic phenomena and healing. They felt that they owed so much to those in the higher realms and knew in their hearts that they would continue to experiment in one way or another. Alan wrote, “I have always seen in my mind’s eye, a phoenix rising from the ashes with renewed vigor to live through another cycle. Diana has always had that wonderful gift of ‘far sight’ and receiving guidance in her dreams, so it was no surprise when she told me that she had ‘seen’ the two of us working together again. She was told how we should take the first step in the form of a shared experience. We followed her vision of a simple experiment using a crystal, where the two of us linked together mentally and shared a journey of exploration.

“This experience was incredible; as we were both shown such wonders and places. We were guided by a sentient being through a wonderful ‘magical mystery tour’ where we met another being whom we conversed with. Through several other forms of communication, we were shown how to set up an experiment that would, they explained, enable us to glimpse into other worlds (dimensions). We found that it was necessary to continue to follow our intuition, and to be ‘guided’ by them, if we were to achieve satisfactory results. It has required total dedication and perseverance as well as an open but still discerning mind.

“Before I continue, I would like to mention one very important factor, and that is that old chestnut ‘total darkness.’ We were ‘guided’ to do this new work in full light. After so much criticism in the past regarding physical phenomena obtained in total darkness, we decided that we would only continue to work as mediums in full light. This has proven not to be prohibitive in anyway whatsoever, as we have achieved very encouraging results.

“These experiments are primarily attempts to see into, and capture, visions of other dimensions of existence. To be more precise, these visions are more like frozen images or pictures, of different moments in time as we look into these dimensions.”

Since that first experiment, the Bennetts have conducted many more experiments, progressing and building on what they have learned. Alan told us, “It seems that the possibilities are endless, as we modify and introduce other equipment into the experiments. The experiments are based on the idea that there are dimensions not only beyond our own but within them also. By using a combination of electronic and photographic equipment coupled to image enhancement computer software (for magnification purposes only), we have been fortunate enough to obtain fleeting glimpses into these ‘other’ dimensions during our experimental sessions. The experiments also require focused visualization by the two of us to create a central focal point for the experiment.”

Diana writes, “The images pictured here were obtained with the use of an ordinary camera and a good lens (not digital). The process requires us to strategically place crystals, according to instructions given by spirit. (This varies with each experiment.) Light is focused over the crystal area, some through mirrors, colored filters and/or reflective surfaces. We intuitively know when it is the optimum time to take the picture. When the pictures are developed, they are digitized, enlarged and then examined using Photoshop. As you can see, the images and colors are fascinating. Sometimes, the images take up most of the frame sometimes only a small part.”

What excites Alan is that, “this new approach is only now possible with the advancement in electronics and the related computer technologies. Therefore, where will we be and what will we discover in the years ahead?”

We are very excited to be able to report on Diana and Alan’s work and thank them for sharing some of the results that they have achieved.

The face of a woman. She is a helper and the Bennetts have been given her name	An old man facing right	White Owl
Man facing left	Child-like face	A face

Diana and Alan Bennett ITC-2

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Diana and Alan Bennett

Diana and Alan speaking at the 2006 ATransC Conference.

Also, see
Diana and Alan Bennett- ITC and Diana and Alan Bennett – Crystal Imaging
©Diana and Alan Bennett – All Rights Reserved

We are pleased to be able to share with you some of our more recent work in the field of ITC imaging.

Since our Scole Group days, Diana and I have been continuing our work in trans-dimensional imaging. As some of you may know, this new work has taken us on quite a different path from those interesting experiments back in ‘96 – ‘97. In those days we relied entirely on ‘spirit’ communication for direction, now it is a combination of communication and (more recently) allowing our ‘higher minds’ to guide us.

We have felt for some time that the chances of getting good results are greatly improved if we offer as many variables as possible within the experimental framework. By this we mean, thinking of the experiments themselves as multi-dimensional and not just a singular attempt to get a singular result. We firmly believe that by supplying a randomized source of material for the ‘other side’ to use, we (and they) stand a far greater chance of success. Having found a working ‘formula’, we then attempt to get repeatable results until inspired to change direction.

Faces seem to be the most common results up to this time. From the many images we have, around 90% are faces, or parts of faces. Sometimes the images are very small, so we cannot overemphasize the importance of studying in detail when checking the results.

Our current experiments mainly take the form of a joint meditative session, where we raise our consciousness and focus together on our objective for that experiment. The equipment is pre-configured and ready to run, allowing us to focus on providing the best energy conditions. We usually have several ‘takes’ during a typical session, again leaving it to what feels right.

Refraction and Reflection

c2005bennett_man_mirrored_web — Man with beard created using a mirror—left side is reflection of right

We have used mirrors in a variety of ways. For example, to reflect a light source back into the point of focus (where we capture the images), to give the subject depth. Have you ever looked through a simple microscope and seen how adjusting the mirror (light source) gives the object greater depth and makes it stand out against its background? This is similar to what the camera sees during our experiments.

Within our light experiments, we generate a vast spectrum of color and light intensities. Some of the light frequencies generated are of course beyond our own visible spectrum, so the resulting light contains much more information than we realize.

We may include a mirror between the source and the subject or even beyond the focal point, allowing the light to flood back onto the subject. Apart from ordinary mirrors, we have used convex and concave types to very good effect. We have also experimented with polished metallic disks such as brass (yellow) and copper (red), which have created some of the more striking images.

Clarity

c2005bennett_man_with_hand_to_mouth_web — Man looking down, apparently with his hand near his face.

We are now experimenting with other cameras and video, trying to increase the clarity of the images. Without getting too technical, it is the resolution of the captured image that governs the quality. If you haven’t captured a particularly clear image to start with, enlarging it (often necessary) only makes it worse not better. We have found that most video cameras ‘off the shelf’ offer a far too low resolution for what we need. Having said that, they certainly have their place and do allow us to capture a ‘stream’ of frames all in one go. As a point of interest, we have captured at 25 frames per second but get better results at 10 fps. The reasoning behind this, again, is image (frame) quality. We also capture as a stream of individual bitmaps and not frames (more on this perhaps another time).

Another factor that governs resolution and image quality is transferring your images into your computer. This requires imaging software and a ‘Capture card’ to be installed. We have found that some of these capture devices can be insufficient in their capture capabilities, so it’s money well spent when buying the best you can.

Some of our best images have been obtained using ordinary photographic film. The results, whether transparencies or not, can be magnified many times without losing quality, allowing for a very fine image definition. This is due to fact we’re working with the ‘grain’ of a film and not ‘pixels’ as in digital photography. In an ideal world we need the best of both systems, and it is to this end that we are now working toward with new equipment.

Karen Mossey EVP

07/ 202109/ 2016 by Tom and Lisa Butler

Karen related this story to us about cross-correspondence told to her by her friend.
(paraphrasing some) “When we went to my friend’s house, my son Alex went right to a bedroom and stood there. My friend Deb said ‘Alex do you see something ?’ and he lifted his hand and pointed straight to the corner. [at an orb?] Deb went in the room with her camera and the orb went straight from the corner right into the closet. We felt the spirit to be one of a little girl that had lived in the house and had been abused by the grandfather and often locked into the closet. Deb (she is a medium) spoke to her and told her not to be afraid. As we stood there, the home owner’s cat ran into the closet. I (Karen) captured the EVP attached below. We later found out from Linda the name of her cat is Frank and it is obvious the little girl knew and loved the cat.

Comment: This is an example of establishing cross-correspondence with more than one form of phenomena. The event included a child who is known to be able to sense “spirit” energy, several witness of an orb that moved in a meaningful way, speech in an EVP that correctly named the cat at the right time to be meaningful and historical record of the place.

“Its Frank”

When Karen recorded this EVP she immediately recognized the voice to be that of her father. Other friends and relatives also recognized his voice.

“I love you”

Karen’s father was a legislator in life and worked on passing laws. You will see that this is exactly the same voice as the “I love you” EVP.

“I’m gonna pass a law … to pay you.”

Faces in Light Reflected from Crystals

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Tom and Lisa Butler

We have been so inspired by the amazing results of Diane and Alan Bennett, and their results from reflecting light off of crystals, that we had been wanting to also try experimenting in this way. Diana and Alan had been kind enough to provide a couple of diagrams of their experimental setups, and we now had a higher resolution camera, so set up an area in the ITC room to run a couple of crystal experiments. After arranging the camera, lights and crystal in a configuration we felt would work, we did our normal meditation and then took a few pictures. We actually recorded some interesting results on our first attempts. The fourth experiment brought several more faces along with this interesting three-dimensional face. We were very pleased with the open mouth, as the mouth is often obscured in many of our pictures.

Our next success with the crystal experiments was quite a surprise. We met with a small group every Sunday morning for an hour of meditation. After our meditation, one of the members, Mary Beth, handed Lisa a picture of her parents and ask us to keep a lookout for them in our experiments. Lisa asked her to write the names of her parents on the back of the picture and then put it on her desk when we returned home. That afternoon we did another meditation on our own and conducted a few EVP experiments to test various settings on the two recorders we would be using at a video session for a shoot with the Sci Fi channel. We also worked with reflecting light off a couple of different crystals. When we looked at the results, the image of a man was clearly seen on the very first picture. The resemblance between the ITC picture and Mary Beth’s dad was noted with surprise. It was like he had heard her and stopped by during our experiment to make sure she got an ITC picture of him.

Mary Beth felt that it was her father. We were so surprised with his answering her request so quickly that we wondered if he had been a powerful medium or something, but she explained that she had never known her father. He had left her mother before she was born. He had crossed over many years ago and they had never met. Mary Beth also told us that she had received a message from a medium at a Spiritualist church who had asked her who Franklin was (this was her father’s middle name). The medium told her that Franklin was saying that he was sorry that he had not been part of her life. We were honored that the picture was so meaningful to Mary Beth and we also felt that the positive result was also due to the wonderful positive energy of our meditation group.

Linda Williamson EVP

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Lisa Butler

Linda has sent us a number of interesting soundtracks. Included here are three that you may find interesting. Linda began recording when she encountered a “negative entity” where she once worked. She purchased a Dictaphone to keep oral notes about this continuing encounter at her workplace. As you might guess, she discovered unexpected sounds and voices mixed amongst her recorded thoughts. Thus, began her search to understand EVP.

We should note that Linda is Scottish. Thus, you will note that her EVP have a detectable Scottish accent.

The first track is a man saying, “I need a match.” The voice is thought to be that of the grandfather of a person who was present for the recording session. He was always running out of matches.

A man saying, “I need a match.”

A woman saying, “I see her.”

A man saying, “Good luck.”

Martha Copeland EVP

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Lisa Butler

Martha Copeland’s daughter, Cathy, transitioned as a young woman. Martha had accidentally left Cathy’s dog, Dojo, in the house when she left to go shopping. She had also left her voice activated IC recorder on. No one was in the house except for the animals. Dojo tore up a potted plant and made a great mess. You can hear an EVP from Cathy as she scolds the dog saying, “Doja No.”

“Doja No.”

Martha was repeatedly recording the voice of a grumpy old man. She decided that it might be her grandfather. When she asked, “Can you tell me the grump’s name,” you hear the sarcastic response, “Tell her it’s Satan!” The “Tell her it’s Satan” portion has been amplified.

“Can you tell me the grump’s name”? … “Tell her it’s Satan!”

Phyllis Delduque Visual ITC

06/ 201809/ 2016 by Tom Butler

Phyllis Delduque is a Brazilian researcher who has been working with ITC since 1998. She works with both voices and images. She told us that ITC not only changes one’s ideas about the continuation of life but also transforms the consciousness of the individual. Her contacts from the other side share teachings as well as messages from friends and relatives who have already gone to the other side of life. Phyllis feels that the majority of what she receives through ITC is related to spiritual mediumship with the other factors being the equipment and methodology.

Phyllis has a blog with examples at transcomunicaoinstrumental.blogspot.com

Please note: Phyllis worked with Paulo Cabral between 1998 and 2007 when Paulo made his transition. The Video loopback pictures below were recorded by them.

Sarah Estep EVP

02/ 202109/ 2016 by Tom and Lisa Butler

The following examples have been recorded by Sara Estep, the founder of AA-EVP (now the ATransC). She usually used an audio tape recorder and external sound source; however, she also has had great success recording in the field with little more than a simple hand-held cassette recorder.

Sarah asked, “Were you aware that I was on the porch last evening when I went out there?” Answer, “I found you there.” This is a singing voice.

As Sarah begins recording, someone said, “That is your girl.” This is taken from the reverse side of the tape–you can hear Sarah’s voice in reverse followed by a singing voice.

An entity said, “Death no more a casket.”

Sarah had been setting in her office reading the night before this recording was made. She noticed a black and silver object spinning about a foot off the floor, several feet from her. It was in view for about two seconds. The following morning, she asked what the object was. On the reverse side of the tape, a voice replied, “We’re down beside ya.” You can hear Sarah’s voice in reverse followed by a male voice.

Sarah has taped in many places that would be considered to have ghosts. This voice was recorded at Point Lookout, a haunted lighthouse in Maryland. It was used during the Civil War as a prison camp. “I was seeing the war.”

Please read before emailing us about this EVP: It is interesting that we have had several messages from visitors to this site that have wanted us to know that they hear the EVP we call, “I was seeing the war,” in other ways. For instance, “I was seeing the water” or “I will see you no more.” We can understand how these alternative interpretations are possible. Sarah was in a lighthouse that was used as a Civil War hospital, and it is natural for her to have been looking for a Civil War related interpretation. Someone listening to the EVP in a different setting could very easily hear the utterance in a different way. Sarah has given her permission for Universal to use this example with the interpretation that better supports the story in White Noise. We do not know who the person is to which Universal attributes the voice.

The Butler’s were on-site for a television program and standing in front of the video camera for an interview. On cue, the “I was seeing the war” example was played over a pair of very large studio speakers that were on the floor directly behind them. There was no doubt that there was a “ter” sound at the end of the utterance. This might be a good example of how EVP are not made like normal voice, and how they are listened to has a lot to do with how they are understood. See the online listening trials report for a discussion about this.

Sarah asked entities how they can locate her when she is sitting at her tape recorder. Answer, “I found the link.”

Please see the FAQ: Beethoven did not speak English, so why would his ghost be able to?

Sarah was apparently in contact with the great composer, Beethoven for many of her experiments. Here is one saying “Ludwig.” You first hear Sarah introducing the example. This is a Class C example and would not normally be exhibited except for its historical value.
In this example, you hear Sarah introduce the EVP and then the EVP: “You have the famous Beethoven.” It is repeated after about a half second of silence. Some of the noise has been removed in the repeat. This is a Class C example and would not normally be exhibited except for its historical value.
Sarah recorded an EVP stating that Beethoven would play music for her that evening. Even though there was a thunderstorm underway, she recorded and you will hear the resulting music. You also hear Sarah speaking over the music at one point, and also the sound of thunder. Remember that she could not hear the EVP as she recorded it.
The complete Beethoven EVP

Did Sarah Estep invent the Class A. B and C classification system?

We originally understood Sarah to say that she “invented” the system when we read her book, Voices of Eternity where she wrote:

It is astounding to receive any communication from another dimension. Even hearing raps, which many people who sit in séance circles have reported, boggles the mind. How much more startling if the unseen can come through with even one word on recording tape! Most messages, I discovered, are faint, whispery voices I call Class C. Headphones must be worn to hear them, and rarely can all the words be interpreted.

Class B messages are louder and clearer and can often be heard without headphones.

Class A voices are the most gratifying. Loud and clear, they can be duplicated onto other tapes. No headphones are required.

It has been recently pointed out to us by a friend in the UK that Konstantin Raudive wrote about the Class system in his book, Breakthrough, which we attribute as the book that brought EVP to the English-speaking world. Raudive wrote:

The microphone voices fall into three classes of audibility: Class “A” voices can be heard and identified by anyone with normal hearing and knowledge of the language spoken; no special training of the ear is needed to detect them. There are several hundred microphone-voices amongst my recordings that fall into this group. It is easy to make tape copies of “A” voices, and they can be repeated as often as desired. Thus, I have analysed roughly 25,000 voices according to speech content, language and rhythm. By this method of repetition, the acoustic reality of the voices can be established beyond doubt, and hallucinations of the ear are excluded.

Class “B” voices speak more rapidly and more softly, but are still quite plainly audible to a trained and attentive ear. The ability to differentiate increases with practice, but this is a slow and wearisome process. For this reason it is difficult to use non-regular participants for experimental purposes with class “B” voices.

Class “C” consists of the most interesting voices; voices that give us a great deal of information and much paranormal data. Unfortunately, these can be heard only in fragments, even by a trained ear, but with improved technical aids, it may eventually become possible to hear and demonstrate these voices, which lie beyond our range of hearing, without trouble.

This grading and my comments are but a rough guide in the present stage of our approach to the psycho-acoustic aspect of the investigation. We do not know if that was the first use of the A, B and C classification system but we know that Sarah was at least the second person to use it and it has become a very popular system.

Transcommunication Via Telephone Calls

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Tom Butler

Copyrighted Material
Previously published in the Spring 2012 ATransC NewsJournal, (Updated 12-12-2013)

Transcommunication via telephones has been around for years. In their groundbreaking 1995 book, Hello From Heaven, Bill and Judy Guggenheim (after-death.com) identified twelve of the more common types of After Death Communication (ADC). One was telephone calls, about which they wrote:

“These ADCs may occur during sleep or when you are wide awake. You will hear a phone ringing, and if you answer it, your loved one will give you a short message. Two-way conversations are possible. His or her voice will usually be clear but may seem far away. If you are awake, you will probably not hear a disconnect sound or a dial tone when the call is completed.”

Please note that the ATransC has not received official permission to use it here, and is doing so with the hope that the owner will contacts the Association to provide background information.

Possible Cellphone Message from a Person Still in the Physical

Shortly after an appearance on the Montel Williams Show, the Butlers were contacted by one of the show’s staff, asking for an opinion about a cell phone message a viewer had submitted. They were told the woman was sleeping in one room and her husband, John, was sleeping in another. They were also told that he was snoring rather loudly.

The first part of the recording is a confusing sound similar to the sound of quickly turning a radio dial between a strong station and noise. During that sequence, a woman’s voice can be heard to

saying “speak,” something about “Johnny,” “John” and several unintelligible words, all intersticed with bursts of noise and short intervals of relative quiet. The last of these sounds are shown in part (1) of the waveform to the right.

“Johnny” raw file

“Johnny” part discussed below enhanced

As if the intelligence controlling the signal finally found the right frequency, there is a strong burst of noise (2) which tapers off to relative silence and a woman’s voice says “Johny” (3). This is followed by the same voice singing “Johny, I’ve got Johnny in my ear, in my ear, in my ear.” (4-8) After this, you hear the telephone company announcement that the message is complete.

Even though we provided a detailed analysis of the recording, the Montel Williams staff did not respond to our questions and we do not know who made the recording. It is a very interesting example and we would like to know more about it. We are interested in receiving other examples.

Other examples have many of the same characteristics as the Montel Williams example, leading to the speculation that the study of these messages might shed light on a form of transcommunication that is not normally experienced with transform or opportunistic EVP.

Characteristics

As the Guggenheims described telephone call ADCs, the voice typically sounds “far away.” Other characteristics include:

The circuit often sounds hollow as if there is a little echo, but echo that is unstable as if blown by the wind.
There is often a “tuning in” or “breaking in” of the signal. As in wave shape (2) in the figure, this “tuning in” is heard as a gradual suppression of noise and momentary emergence of a coherent signal.
Both in the Montel Williams example and in the one sent by the website visitor, speakers often seem to be speaking near the limit of their vocal range as if trying to project their voice to be heard.
The message is not always personal or even meaningful to the receiver. As with the Montel Williams example, the message is more like the subconscious musing of a sleeping wife.
In the calls referred to in the article on Bobby (page 3) received by the Michael Hauser family, the calls came first on an answering machine and then showed up as coming from various family members’ cell phones without any physical record of them coming from those phones.
In other examples that we have received, there are no telltale telephone circuit sounds. The calling number may be shown but the calling telephone is turned off or broken, again leaving no evidence the call was made by that device.

These characteristics lead to the speculation about some form of discontinuity in time, much as Ken Webster described in his book, The Vertical Plane. In that book, he reported a spontaneous series of messages in 1984 from a person living in the past, and later, a person living in the future–all via his low-tech computer. *

Are some of the telephone calls evidence of a slip in time, rather than messages from people on the other side? If some of the messages are via slips in time or even slips in space, are trans-etheric messages (EVP and the telephone calls from loved ones) made possible by the same technology? Some EVP are clearly communications from transitioned loved ones, but some are also from people still in the physical.

This is one of the reasons we speculate in the Implicit Cosmology essay that our personality is always in the etheric–whether we are still in the physical or transitioned to the other side. If this is true, then all phenomena involving subtle energy are probably a trans-etheric influence. Considering this, then do all of the messages Alison is recording–slips in time and normal EVP– involve the same technology?

It is interesting to speculate about these phenomena, but there is considerable work that needs to be done before we can speculate with any authority. More telephone call examples need to be studied and it would be nice to receive more examples of messages that seem to be from the past or from time slips. On her part, Alison has agreed to work with scientists to better understand the nature of her communication but that would need funding and qualified scientists to carry out the work. And as always, what our members are interested in studying does not even come close to what mainstream science is interested in studying. The issue of money continues to be our biggest problem with research.

Let us know if you have other examples or ideas that might further our understanding of these phenomena. The website article will also ask for input and you can use that as a reference.

* Senkowski, Ernst, (1995) Instrumental TransCommunication, Chapter F-38, WorldITC.org

Tina Laurent EVP

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Lisa Butler

AA-EVP member, Tina Laurent, lives in Wales. As a long-time EVP experimenter, she offers lectures on ghost and paranormal communication. Tina is a considerable authority in the subject.

On the EVP example of Tina’s that is offered here, you can hear Tina ask if the communicating entities “Pray to God.” She was using a French speaking radio program for background noise, and you can hear the French words as they are remodulated to form recognizable English words. We believe the answer to her question from the entities was, “Of course I pray, the very idea.” Look for French words at the beginning of the answer, and then the words turn into recognizable, “Of Course I pray.” This is followed by more French words and then ends with, “The very idea.”

Please note that the original sound track has been selectively amplified and filtered. It is the filtering that causes a slight “tinkle” sound in the sound track.

EVP and Geomagnetic Fields: Is There a Correlation?

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Dave Schumacher, Cindy Heinen and Chris Carter

Southern Wisconsin Paranormal Research Group
©Dave Schumacher, Cindy Heinen – All Rights Reserved

Director’s Brief:

Research compilations for ambient magnetic conditions and psi functioning provided by S. James P. Spottiswoode (2) suggest a negative correlation: “Retrospective analyses of putative spontaneous psi, or anomalous cognition (AC), events have shown a tendency for these to be reported on days of relatively low geomagnetic disturbance.” jsasoc.com/library.html

Haunting events and EVP are believed to be a psi function, but nevertheless, there has been no research reported that supports the view that EVP is influenced by the magnetic environment The following research report details an effort to determine if there is a detectable correlation.

Introduction

Those who believe EVP to be real think that the voices of the dead are being recorded while those who do not believe in the paranormal nature of these phenomena claim that they are nothing more than stray radio waves or auditory pareidolia or apophenia. It is a proven fact that the human mind can create meaning out of insignificant sound and random noise. Those who support the paranormal nature of this phenomena claim that the voices are interactive and can be identified as someone who has died. The question then, is how do the deceased manifest their voices on the recording equipment?

Some EVP researchers, ghost hunters and paranormal investigators believe that entities use physical sound energy and re-modulate it to form words. In addition, there is anecdotal evidence that:

More messages are recorded at night or during stormy weather than during the day or when the weather is clear,
There is a relationship between EVP and electrical or moisture conditions of the atmosphere,
Other types of energy, such as light and magnetism, can influence EVP recordings (1).

The ghost hunting community overall believes that times of increased solar activity are ideal for ghost hunting. It is thought that, with enough energy in the air from charged ions and an energized electromagnetic field, manifestations, including EVP, are more plentiful and clear (9, 10). This belief is due to investigator’s personal experiences and the extrapolation and interpretation of the published scientific literature.

There are published studies in peer reviewed academic journals and books that describe a correlation between paranormal activity and geomagnetic fields (3, 8). Some studies have shown there is an increase in poltergeist (Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis or RSPK) events when there is an increase in the geomagnetic field (3, 6), while others found a correlation between an increase in the geomagnetic field and an increase in haunt phenomena, postmortem apparitions, and sensed presences (5, 8). The interpretation of these correlations is open to debate. Some think that the increase in geomagnetic activity either triggers and/or fuels the activity (especially in the RSPK studies) while others feel that the changes in geomagnetic fields and complex electromagnetic fields can induce hallucinations.

There is little or no formal analysis that increased geomagnetic activity leads to an increase in the frequency and clarity of EVP. This study is an attempt to determine if there is a correlation between geomagnetic activity and the quantity of EVP.

Methods

EVP: EVP from 2001 to 2005 were obtained from the Southern Wisconsin Paranormal Research Group case files, the South Jersey Ghost Research Group and the personal files of Cindy Heinen. The number of EVP recorded on each day were tabulated in an Excel spreadsheet. Both days with EVP recorded and days where recording for EVP was attempted but there were no EVP recorded were included.

Geomagnetic Activity

Magnetic field variation can come from currents caused by solar radiation changes. Solarwinds can interact with the magnetosphere. The magnetosphere and ionosphere can cause magnetic field changes by themselves. Magnetic activity indices provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) are used to describe the variation in the geomagnetic field (13).

The a-index is a 3-hourly “equivalent amplitude” index of the local geomagnetic activity; “a” is related to the 3-hourly K-index.

The A-index is the daily index of geomagnetic activity derived as the average of the eight 3-hourly a-indices.

The Ap-index is an average planetary A-index based on data from a set of specific stations (11). The estimated planetary A-index from NOAA (12) was used for this study.

A-index values (24-hrs) of the following determine the geomagnetic conditions:

0 to 7                “Quiet” geomagnetic conditions
8 to 15              “Unsettled” geomagnetic conditions
16 to 24            “Active” geomagnetic conditions
25 to 35            “Minor storm”
36+                   “Major storm”

Statistical Analysis

To determine if there was a correlation between the number of EVP recorded and the estimated Ap-index, the number of EVP vs. the estimated Ap-index was plotted and a nonparametric correlation Spearman r analysis was performed using GraphPad InStat version 3.05 for Windows 95/NT, GraphPad Software, San Diego California USA, www.graphpad.com

To determine if there was a difference in the mean estimated Ap-index for when EVP were recorded vs. when no EVP were recorded, a nonparametric Mann-Whitney t-test was performed using GraphPad InStat.

Finally, to determine if a certain level of enhanced geomagnetic activity leads to more EVP, the mean number of EVP was compared for the following:

Ap-index of 0 to 7 “Quiet” vs. 8 to 15 “Unsettled”
Ap-index of 0 to 7 “Quiet” vs. 16 to 24 “Active”
Ap-index of 0 to 7 “Quiet” vs. 25 to 35 “Minor Storm”
Ap-index of 0 to 7 “Quiet” vs. 36+ “Major Storm”

The analysis for each was done with a nonparametric Mann-Whitney t-test using GraphPad InStat.

Results

Two hundred and ten data points were collected and spanned the time period of January 6^th, 2001 to August 27^th, 2005. There were 101 days with EVP and 109 days without EVP. The number of data points for each estimated Ap-index range/geomagnetic condition were: 0 to 7/“Quiet” = 61; 8 to 15/”Unsettled” = 82; 16 to 24/”Active” = 39; 25 to 35/”Minor Storm” = 18; 36+/”Major Storm” = 10.

0 to 7/“Quiet” = 61
8 to 15/”Unsettled” = 82
16 to 24/”Active” = 39
25 to 35/”Minor Storm” = 18
36+/”Major Storm” = 10.

Figure 1 shows the number of EVP plotted against the estimated Ap-index. Spearman r = 0.02882 (95% CI –0.110 to 0.1675; P=0.6779; not significant). r = 0.02882, 95% CI –0.110 to 0.1675; P=0.6779; not significant

Comparison	P-value	Significance
Estimated Ap-index when no EVPs were recorded vs. estimated Ap-index when EVPs were recorded	0.4477	Not significant
Mean number of EVPs for “Quiet” vs “Unsettled”	0.5571	Not significant
Mean number of EVPs for “Quiet” vs “Active”	0.9546	Not significant
Mean number of EVPs for “Quiet” vs “Minor Storm”	0.7120	Not significant
Mean number of EVPs for “Quiet” vs “Major Storm”	0.4319	Not significant

Table 1 shows the results of the statistical analysis for the various comparisons.

Discussion

There is a general belief among the hauntings investigation community that an increase in the geomagnetic field enables paranormal manifestations to be more plentiful and clear. It has been speculated that this extends to EVP as well (9, 10). These beliefs are based on investigator’s personal experiences and conclusions they draw from reading the published scientific literature. There is little if any formal analysis indicating that increases in geomagnetic activity leads to an increase in the number of EVP. This study explored the possibility that increases in the geomagnetic field (as measured with the estimated Ap-index) would lead to an increase in the quantity of EVP.

There was no significant correlation found between the estimated Ap-index and the number of EVP. In addition, there was no significant difference in the mean number of EVP recorded during “Quiet” geomagnetic conditions vs. the mean number of EVP recorded during “Unsettled”, “Active”, “Minor Storm”, or “Major Storm” geomagnetic conditions.

This study has several limitations:

First, the EVP data was collected from three different sources. Since identifying an EVP is highly subjective, different people may classify different things as EVP.

Second, the number of EVP data points became very small when analyzing the different geomagnetic conditions. For example, there were only ten data points in the 36+/”Major Storm” geomagnetic condition. This can limit the statistical power to determine a significant difference.

Third, this study does not address the issue of whether or not EVP have more clarity with elevated geomagnetic conditions. EVP classifications are extremely subjective and were not available in the data sets used in this analysis. This issue needs to be studied in a similar manner.

Fourth, this is only one study based on three data sets from three different sources. It should be repeated with more data sets. It would also be interesting to look at other parameters besides the estimated Ap-index. Formal analysis of various atmospheric conditions would also be interesting.

Conclusion

Despite the limitations, this study has shown that there doesn’t appear to be any correlation between geomagnetic conditions and the number of EVP recorded. However, more studies will need to be done looking at various other factors to see if any other environmental conditions can affect the quantity and quality of EVP.

References

Butler, T. “ATransC White Paper on Transcommunication.” Association TransCommunication. Revised 9-2020. atransc.org/itc-white-paper/
Spottiswoode, S. James P. “Apparent Association Between Effect Size in Free Response Anomalous Cognition Experiments and Local Sidereal Time.” The Journal of Scientific Exploration. Society for Scientific Exploration. 1997. jsasoc.com/docs/JSE-LST.pdf
Roll, W.G. and Gearhart, L. (1974). Geomagnetic perturbations and RSPK. In W.G. Roll, R.L. Morris and J. Morris (Eds.), Research in parapsychology, 1973 (pp.44-46). Metuchen, NJ : Scarecrow.
Gearhart, L. and Persinger, M.A. (1986). Geophysical variables and behavior: XXXIII. Onsets of historical and contemporary poltergeists episodes occurred with sudden increases in geomagnetic activity. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 62, pp.463-466.
Persinger, M.A. and Koren, S.A. (2001). Predicting the characteristics of haunt phenomena from geomagnetic factors and brain sensitivity: Evidence from field and experimental studies. In J. Houran and R. Lange (Eds.), Hauntings and poltergeists: Multidisciplinary perspectives, (pp.179-194). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc.
Roll, W.G. and Persinger, M.A. (2001). Investigations of poltergeists and haunts: A review and interpretation. In J. Houran and R. Lange (Eds.), Hauntings and poltergeists: Multidisciplinary perspectives, (pp.123-163). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc.
Persinger, M.A. and Richards, P.M. (1995). Vestibular experiences of humans during brief periods of partial sensory deprivation are enhanced when daily geomagnetic activity exceeds 15-20nT. Neuroscience Letters, 194, pp.69-72.
Persinger, M.A. (1988). Increased geomagnetic activity and the occurrence of bereavement hallucinations: Evidence for melatonin-mediated microseizuring in the temporal lobe? Neuroscience Letters, 88, pp.271-274.
Chaney, S. (2006). I’ll give you the sun and moon… TAPS Paramagazine, Vol. 1, No. 6, pp.13-14.
Farrell, M. (2005). The astronomy of ghost hunting. Ghost! Issue 2, pp.70.
NOAA Glossary: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/info/glossary.html
NOAA: http://ftp2.sec.noaa.gov/alerts/solar_indices.html
NOAA Geomagnetic Kp and Ap Indices: noaa.gov/stp/GEOMAG/kp_ap.html

Voice in Death Same as that in Life

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Lisa Butler

Previously published in the Winter 2005 ATransC NewsJournal

We have published several articles on the work of Brazilian ITC researcher, Sonia Rinaldi. Sonia has been helping people by making phone calls to those on the Other Side since March 2001. Most of these calls are for parents who have lost their children. Because she has been unable to find funding for her research, Sonia must work full-time and is only able to occasionally conduct calls for people.

Sonia’s friend, Cleusa, lost her daughter, Edna, during Carnival in 2000 when she was just sixteen years old. Edna was playing in the street and was hit and killed by a car. Sonia had facilitated phone calls between her friend and Edna several times and each time Cleusa had recognized Edna’s voice.

On Edna’s birthday in 2004, as a gift, Sonia invited Cleusa to make another phone call to her dear daughter now on the other side. The phone conversation between the two generated seventy-eight replies and nearly all of them were in Edna’s voice.

During these conversations, the families call Sonia on the telephone. Sonia is on one telephone set and leaves another extension off the hook for those on the others side to use. She records the conversation directly into her computer. As a sound source, she plays three compact disks (CD) with phoneme sounds, which are small segments of human voice that have no meaning by themselves, but from which words are formed. Sonia wrote, “Those phoneme sounds were placed so that no word in Portuguese may be formed. Playing only ‘sounds,’ it is absolutely impossible to form a full and coherent sentence that is meaningful and clear.”

Sonia had Cleusa on the telephone line speaking to Edna. They had been on the line fifteen minutes or more and were about to finish the call. Sonia wrote, “All the time the sound source was playing. So to close the recording I thanked the Spirit Friends and said: “E estamos encerrando esta gravação…” (Translation: “And we are finishing this recording…”). Sonia then turned off the three CDs. Sonia continues, “While doing this a fantastic phenomenon happened: the entrance of a paranormal sentence, half modulated on the sound-source and half OVER NO SOUND AT ALL! Edna’s voice says: “Só não entendeu irmã, conta com o novo de reclamar!” (Translation: “Only you, sister, didn’t perceive; count with a new (phase) due to complaining”). The ‘Só não entendeu irmã’ sentence was modulated over the sound-source while I was turning the CDs off. And the sequence, ‘Conta com o novo de reclamar,’ was recorded when all sounds were completely off. So, we had Edna’s voice speaking clearly over silence.

“This paranormal sentence is fully coherent because during this recording both Cleusa and I had mentioned the financial difficulties we are facing to carry on the research, so in fact, I have been complaining to my Spirit Friends. In truth I had stopped with ITC research since February and started working with design; illustration of books. I just recorded this phone call for Cleusa because it was her birthday that day and I knew it was the best gift she could receive.”

Cleusa had a recording of Edna’s voice when she was alive on an answering machine. Sonia copied it and sent it along with the sentence that she had received from Edna during the recording to Daniele Gulla for comparison. Daniele later sent us an excited Email stating that he had compared the voice using FBI pattern recognition software and that he had obtained, “One fantastic result!” The matching voice comparison was ninety-nine percent. The voice of Edna in life

Why Has There Not Been More Study of the Paranormal?

08/ 202409/ 2016 by Tom Butler

by Tom Butler

A 2005 Gallup survey shows that just about three in four Americans believe in the paranormal. So the question that needs to be asked is, “With such a large percentage of our population interested in the paranormal, why has there not been more study of the paranormal?” The scientific community is largely funded with public money. For instance, the US Department of Energy Office of Science, NASA and National Science Foundation each received $62.5 million, much of which is earmarked for education.¹Tuition fees do not cover the cost of universities and public funding is required. This means that science degrees are subsidized by the public.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is a department of the Federal Government chartered to advance the national health, prosperity and welfare by way of funding research and development. It is funded by the public at the annual rate of around $7 billion. Yet according to the NSF in the 2006 annual Science and Technology report, “A recent study of 20 years of survey data collected by NSF concluded that ‘many Americans accept pseudoscientific beliefs,’ such as astrology, lucky numbers, the existence of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), extrasensory perception (ESP), and magnetic therapy (Losh et al. 2003). Such beliefs indicate a lack of understanding of how science works and how evidence is investigated and subsequently determined to be either valid or not.”²

“Losh et al” is a reference to an article in the Skeptical Inquirer. A further comment about “pseudoscientific beliefs” is based on a reference from the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOPS) now known as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), which states: “According to one group studying such phenomena, pseudoscientific topics include yogi flying, therapeutic touch, astrology, fire walking, voodoo magical thinking, alternative medicine, channeling, psychic hotlines and detectives, near-death experiences, unidentified flying objects and alien abductions, the Bermuda Triangle, homeopathy, faith healing, and reincarnation.” The celebrity skeptic, James Randi, is one of the founders and is the publisher of the Skeptical Inquirer.

According to the NSF, “The federal government provided 59% ($32.6 billion) of the $54.9 billion of academic spending on S&E R&D in FY 2009.” and “In FY 2009, the federal share of support for all academic research equipment funding was 55%.” and “Throughout the 1973–2008 period, fewer than half of full-time S&E faculty received federal support, whereas the share of postdocs who received federal support was more than 70%.” ³

So the answer to the question is that the organizations we are paying to help us understand and live with nature are the same ones that think we are uneducated about these subjects and misguided. Well, it is actually worse than that. The publicly funded organizations such as universities and the NSF are also very much aligned with the skeptical community which is determined to protect the intellectually naïve masses (that is three in four Americans) from belief in anything that is not specifically supported by mainstream science. Their assumption is that, “if it is not accounted for in mainstream science, it is impossible and therefore cannot be.” The skeptical community has little or no research supporting their view of frontier subjects such as EVP and mediumship, so the net result is that they win their point by being the dominant group and discrediting research that does support the subject. In a very real sense, social pressure brought by the skeptics to potential research donors and scientists has and continues to prevent research that might prove or disprove our hypotheses. That is simply stopping progress to preserve the status quo.

One technique used to discredit a subject such as psi functioning is to put it in the same group as belief in a flat earth and the moon landing conspiracy theories. If one must be seen as unlikely, then all must be equally unlikely. But there is another factor involved in the success of the skeptical community. Many of the concepts involved in psychic ability (psi functioning) and survival are shared by religions. This leads to people thinking of such concepts as ghosts in religious terms such as demons and possession, rather than in terms of what is empirically supported. In his short essay, The Fallacy of Paranormal Democratic Science, David Wood explores the idea that some people assume knowledge of a subject by ignoring those who are possibly more experienced. The real answer to the question might be that we are not very clear about what we believe.

Psi studies are fairly well represented by parapsychology. It is true that parapsychologists are shunned by mainstream science, but they at least have a culture of collaboration and peer-reviewed journals. There are even doctoral programs in some universities. Parapsychology claims to study survival, but other than reincarnation, near-death and out-of-body experiences, that community shuns etheric studies as much as mainstream science shuns them.

The skeptical community will only change its mind about survival of personality if mainstream science begins to openly study the evidence and conclude that the evidence indicates a real effect, rather than our delusion. Mainstream science will not study our subject if we do not present it in a rational manner. Making research funds available for projects conducted with good science is one way that we can attract mainstream science, but the most important thing we can do is to develop a community in which evidence-based reports are held in high regard, and collaboration amongst researchers is seen as a natural part of learning. It is important that we learn how to talk about our subject so that we can accurately report our experiences and research results. Peer review will only be possible when we learn to respect knowledge. If we do not develop the culture of a scientific community, there is little hope that we will gain the respect of mainstream science.

You are a member of this community and in a very real sense, you control if or when our field will attract serious research. Learn all you can; avoid “assuming knowledge.”

American Institute of Physics, “Success: President Signs Bill Providing Additional Science Funding.” aip.org/fyi/2008/072.html
National Science Foundation, “Science and Engineering Indicator 2006: Chapter 7: Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Understanding,” nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/c7/c7s2.htm Reviewed 30 December 2012
National Science Foundation, “Science and Engineering Indicator 2012: Chapter 5: Academic Research and Development: Financial Resources for Academic R&D,” nsf.gov/statistics/seind12/c5/c5h.htm Reviewed 30 December 2012

Recording EVP Using a Telephone

12/ 202009/ 2016 by Tom and Lisa Butler

Debra Ann’s Telephone Recording EVP Using a Telephone
Previously published in the Spring 2007 ATransC NewsJournal
Also see: Phone Line EVP and EVP Using VoIP and Telephones

Please note that Debbie has made her transition to the other side

Debbie Caruso has been learning to use a telephone and computer for recording EVP. The results have been very promising. She has always been one of our braver members who is willing to try new ideas and record for others. Recording for others is a challenge because it takes quite a lot of time and most people need to learn how to hear examples that are not always Class A.

The elements of Debbie’s setup are shown in this diagram. Of course, a computer is used, and a recording program such as Audacity or Audition. She is using HyperTerminal to control the modem for phone connections. It comes with Microsoft Windows:

Legacy: Start > Programs > Accessories > Communications

In Windows 10: Type “Hyper-V in the “Ask Me Anything” window and check mark “Hyper-V” in the “Turn Windows Features on or off” widow.

She uses a telephone set connected to a second telephone wall jack, but she could use a headset equipped with individual jacks that connect to the Headphone Out and Microphone In jacks of the computer.

If modem and control software are not available, Radio Shack sells a “Recorder Control” for $27 that Debbie has used with success. See model number is 43-228. This unit connects to the telephone jack and plugs into the computer’s Line In or Microphone In jack.

Debbie arranges with a person or persons with whom she will record to call her, and with the computer connected to the line, she is able to speak with the callers and record the conversation. Once the connection is established, the recording session is conducted as if she is in the same room with the other person and using a standard audio recorder. It is also possible to have a second telephone receiver off hook and near a fan or some other sound source.

A telephone line is designed to provide enough feedback from the microphone to the speaker to give the sense of a “live” circuit. This is a byproduct of the conversion from two-wire between the home and the central office and four-wire between central offices. It is known that a little feedback in the EVP circuit sometimes helps for EVP.

Sonia Rinaldi uses a similar setup for recording and has been very successful in making contact with loved ones for families. However, there is little public information about her methods, so Debbie is taking the old “trial and error” approach. It seems to be working, though. Martha Copeland wrote, “Debbie has been experimenting on her own, and I happen to be one of her guinea pigs! On our first experiment we picked up my daughter, Cathy’s voice saying, “Keep trying.”

Participants in group sessions call into (now out of service) ConFreeCall.com, an online conference service. The group first discusses what they want to ask, and then Debbie begins the recording process. Four or five questions are asked during a one-minute, forty-second recording session. Some of the participants record at the same time. While everyone is still on the line, Debbie plays back her recording so that all can hear what may have been recorded. Others who have recorded also review their recordings during the call so that the results can be shared before the session is ended.

As Debbie explained, “The conference calls are a great way for a lot of people to record together. When recording for the Big Circle (BC), we all call in at 8 PM, ask “Who’s here from the BC?” and then wait approximately one-minute, forty-seconds in silence. We play it back, see if anyone answered and that helps us decide our next question.

“Other than the BC, there are no set schedules. People will want to record and we’ll just meet in the Conference Room at a time convenient for all. It’s just an easy way to record with a lot of people. What I would like to concentrate on now is people meeting to record for one specific person. I would love for many family members to be in the room to contact one special person.”

Because of the possibility of overwhelming Debbie with requests, please contact her via a personal message in the Idea Exchange. She wants to help as many people as she can but please understand that she may not have time to meet all requests. We encourage others to try the computer/telephone technique. Also, the conference room approach to group recording offers some interesting possibilities. Let us know if any of you have successes to report.

Examples of Debbie’s work may be listened to here

Using Live Voice Input Files for EVP

11/ 202004/ 2012 by Tom and Lisa Butler

Previously published in the Spring 2012 ATransC NewsJournal

Several members in the Idea Exchange have been using recordings of foreign language as background sound for EVP sessions. What we refer to as “live voice” is not understandable to our English-trained ears so there seemed to be little danger of mistaking the input speech for EVP. Well, … that is the theory.

We used the same foreign-language input file for the Big Circle recording sessions over six months. This gave us ample opportunity to test the technique. What we found has been a real eye-opener. Both of us recorded and nearly every utterance one of us identified as an EVP could be found on the other person’s recording and the original sound file.

Each session, we played the foreign-language sound with a Sony ICD-B26 and recorded with a pair of Panasonic RR-DR60s placed about two feet away from the Sony. The only other sound in the meditation room we used is the normal, ambient sounds one would expect from a closed room with no forced air movement. Lisa typically turns off the Sony while we ask a question and then turns it back on while we seek a reply. DR60s are always in VOX mode.

The input file includes both male and female voice, making it easy for us to locate segments to compare. Because we did identify a few utterances in the input file that sounded a lot like English, we began comparing the two output sound files to see if any suspected EVP were in both. As it turned out, the majority were.

The current best practice for field recording is to use two recorders and discard anything found in both recording processes. (See: Using a Control Recorder for EVP) This is a good practice because it is well established that EVP occurs in one analog segment so that two recorders will not “normally” record the same EVP.

EVP does occur as a transformation of the foreign language into English words, but based on our study, naturally occurring sounds in the foreign language are too often mistaken as English. This is enough of a problem to warrant recommending that, when using live voice, two recorders should be used and both output files examined to assure suspected EVP are only in one of the files.

This recommendation applies to all forms of live voice including recording with EVPmaker, radio-sweep, and of course, foreign language speech. The opportunistic presence of English sounding words does not automatically mean transcommunication. This is especially true of short utterances, for instance, “yes” and “help.”

The best practice for using a control recorder will be updated in the Collective forum and a new one for live voice will be started. These practices are considered “living documents,” and will evolve as we learn. You are invited to help us develop these and similar articles. Your viewpoint is important and may help many others as a practice.