STRAWBERRY HILL MUSEUM - POSSIBLE EVP's

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Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) - Disembodied "voices" and sounds imprinted on audio recording devices....they are alleged to be from the dead. Reviewing the audio-tapes that we recorded at the Strawberry Hill Museum, we found a number of strange sounds that needed to be examined further. They were listened to over and over again, compared to video tape that was recorded at the same time, and they were played for several of the investigators. Some were found to be recording errors and some were found to be things said by investigators...rather than being "disembodied voices." None of our audio has undergone any filtering or alteration. This first EVP on this page was found to have a natural explanation. The second one on this page is still considered to be unexplained.... POSSIBLE EVP #1 - NUNS HALLWAY - DEBUNKED This first possible EVP was recorded in the Nuns Hallway on an analog microcassette recorder at around 10:30 PM. When you listen to the long version of this MP3 file you will hear me asking, "The house looks beautiful to us, does it look beautiful to you?" There will then be a long period of silence and then you will hear the segment of tape we originally believed was an EVP. There is then a short period of silence followed by me saying, "People hear music up here...or singing up here..." We believed the EVP was possibly saying, "Highway," or "Howard," or "If I was." Here's the short version of this MP3 file... WAV files in case MP3's don't work for you: Long Version, Short Version Dave Berg and I both listened to it many times. Dave felt it might be my voice saying something, and I came to believe it might be one of our other investigators (Chris) saying something. We went back and forth on what it might actually be saying.   Finally we decided it was time to review the video tape in an attempt to either to confirm or to debunk this possible EVP. Click Here to view the video tape segment for yourself...and then keep reading. In the video I ask, "The house looks beautiful to us, does it look beautiful to you?" Chris and I can be seen waiting quietly for an answer. Then I look at Chris and say, "I thought of one." (That's our possible EVP.) I then wait a few seconds and begin the question I had thought up..."People hear music up hear...or singing up here..." I didn't exactly whisper the words "I thought of one," I just said them in a softer tone of voice, since I was talking to Chris and not asking an EVP question. But that change of tone was enough to make us believe that we had possibly caught an EVP. Through determined analysis and having video tape as a back-up, we were able to correctly debunk this possible EVP. POSSIBLE EVP #2 - DORMITORY HALLWAY - UNEXPLAINED This second possible EVP was recorded in the Dormitory Hallway on an analog microcassette recorder at around 10:50 PM. When you listen to the long version of this MP3 file you will hear Chris asking, "Show me some emotion...why you don't like this?" There will then be a short period of silence during which you will hear three sound that were not heard by Chris at the time he recorded this tape. The sounds do not constitute "words" exactly, but they are interesting sounds. The end of this MP3 has some loud crackling noises as Chris shifts the recorder and microphone in his hands. We pulled out this short version of the MP3 and this other short version of the MP3. Both focus on just the unexplained sounds themselves.. WAV files in case MP3's don't work for you: Long Version, Short Version, Other Short Version We initially thought these might be mechanical noises made by the tape recorder, but the unexplained sounds do not appear anywhere else on the tape on which they were captured. It should also be noted that noises originating from outside the museum would be very reduced or diminished in the Dormitory Hallway, due to its location at the center of the 2nd floor of the building. There were no windows or outside walls nearby. We were unfortunately not video-taping at the time these sounds were recorded, so we don't have a video tape back-up to which to refer. Once you have listened to these MP3's, please Click Here to go over to our message board and read our theories as to what caused these sounds. While you are there, please take a few moments and post your theory as to what caused these sounds. We'd like to hear everyone's impressions. SOMETHING TO CONSIDER ABOUT EVP's When listening to audio tapes or reviewing photos and videos, its important to keep the following concept in mind: Pareidolia - (from Greek para, amiss, faulty, wrong + eidolon, diminutive of eidos appearance, form) is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (usually an image) being mistakenly perceived as recognizable. Common examples include images of animals or faces in clouds, seeing the man in the moon, and hearing messages on records played in reverse. Pareidolia can affect your perception of an image or visual stimulus...but it is also affect your perception of an auditory stimulus. Our brains are hard-wired to interpret sounds as something we recognize...and many times it will interpret sounds as voices. The sound of a bubbling creek will sound like chidren whispering. Tires screeching will sound like someone screaming. A door squeaking might sound like a small crying sound. There are a number of questions that need to be asked when doing EVP work. Any of these factors can increase the chance of getting EVP false positives.... What is the level of quality of the microphone? The better the microphone, the more sound it picks up. Microphones of extreme quality will pick up the sound of investigators breathing and swallowing, the sound of stomaches growling in the room, sounds coming from other rooms and outside the building, and other sounds that investigators won't even be aware of at the time the recording is being made. Are the investigators standing still or walking around Clothes rubbing on clothes. Equipment knocking together. Footsteps and the Shoes scuffing the floor or carpet. All of these noises and more can be picked up by a quality microphone and made to seem like something more than they are. The better the microphone...the more sounds of this nature it will pick up. Is only one person allowed to ask questions and talk? Some people attempt to tape EVP's over the duration of their investigation. Sometimes one, two, or three conversations will be going on at once...and all of it is being recorded. These conversations fade from foreground to background over the lengh of the tape, and it is very easy to misinterpret a word here or there as being something other than natural. Are you filtering and altering your recordings? Often paranormal investigators will run their audio through digital filters on their computer to "clean" the sound, and make the EVP's "easier to understand." The more you alter the sound, spin it around, move levels up and down, the change the sound...the better your chance of believing a natural sound is an EVP due to the effects of pareidolia. In other words, if you have to run a sound through 5-8 filters and digital changes just to make it understandable...then what have you really got?. You have to ask yourself a very simple question. Are you looking for communications from the dead or are you allowing your investigation and analysis methods to increase your chances of falsely identifying sounds with natural causes as something more than what they are? Ultimately, the best EVP's are found on audio tapes recorded under the strictest of investigation standards and controls. The best EVP's would be ones that have not undergone manipulation of the sound quality, the direction of play-back, or the speed of the recording. And EVP's should be presented without telling the listener exactly what words he/she should be listening for, in order to eliminate the power of suggestion and to diminish somewhat the phenomenon of pareidolia. Having completed an analysis of the audio tapes we recorded at the Strawberry Hill Museum, we can now say that none of these recordings provide conclusive evidence of paranormal activity during our first 4-hour investigation. While our the sounds captured in the Dormitory Hallway were interesting, and remain unexplained...they do not constitute conclusive evidence. -Mark Stinson

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