Catch A Ghost On Tape

In honor of Halloween, we are taking a quick look into the paranormal world, and the recording and analysis of Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP). With all the little ghosts and goblins about you may want to have a little seance or just listen to the beyond.

EVP Recording

You don't need to be a ghost hunter to try recording an EVP, although being open, polite, and respectful are believed to be factored in success. Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Equipment. You need an audio recorder, a headset for when you analyze your recordings, and a touch of patience that couldn't hurt.
• Start somewhere quiet. You don't need to be in a "haunted" location to make your recording, and while some believe background/white noise may encourage paranormal voices when you are just getting started the more traditional quiet location will make analysis easier.
• Recording. Take note of the noises around you as you record so you can rule them out when you analyze the audio later. Also, be sure that you do not have voice-activated recording turned on.
• Ask Questions. One of the most common techniques is to introduce yourself and then ask a series of questions as if you expect a response, with pauses between questions for replies.
• On to the Analysis. When you are done recording it's time to listen for EVP messages.

EVP File Classification

There are three classifications of EVP recordings based on their clarity, and the type of recoding you have will also affect the amount of editing you will need to do. The Classes are:

Class A:  A voice that can be understood without needing headphones and there is general agreement on the content.

Class B:  A voice that requires headphones to hear and not everyone can agree on its content.

Class C:  A voice that requires much filtering and even by wearing headphones nobody can agree on its content.

Analyzing EVP Recordings

The first step is to listen to the original recording from start to finish, making note of when you hear something. Before you start isolating and editing, be sure to save a copy of the original file so you can always go back, or allow people to compare the files.

Chances are you will need to do some audio editing—enter WavePad—to better hear the EVPs on your recording. If you are planning to share your findings remember that the more editing you do the more possible criticism you can get from skeptics. First, you will want to trim the audio file to the sections you took note of. Then common editing done includes amplifying those hard-to-hear sections, possibly removing background noise, and slowing down the EVP since they are often spoken very quickly.

Of course, this is a very cursory look at Electronic Voice Phenomenon, but if you are intrigued by the topic here is a brief list you can explore to learn more and find additional advice on recording and analyzing EVPs from some ghost hunting pros:

• A Brief History of EVPs
• EVP Basics
• Electronic Voice Phenomena Recording Advice
• Tips On Recording EVPs
• How To Increase EVP Captures
• Video Tutorial: Analyzing your EVP with WavePad

Or, if EVPs don’t fascinate you, you can always capture your little gremlins in their costumes on film instead. We have software to help you memorialize the holiday that way too.

WavePad FFT Spectrum Audio Analysis Software

WavePad sound editor is more than just an easy audio editing program. Once you scratch the surface there are powerful audio engineering tools available for the more advanced user. These tools include the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and the Time-Based Fast Fourier Transform (TFFT) which are both very useful tools to perform sound analysis on the spectral content of the audio. These audio spectrum analyzer tools have applications in a number of areas, including linguistics, mathematics, and sound engineering including reducing noise and vibration testing and analysis.

Audio FFT Graph

The FFT analyzer graph is designed to illustrate characteristics of audio at only one point in time. It takes a small sample of audio and plots the sound frequency in Hz against the audio intensity in decibels. If the audio is in stereo two lines will be plotted on the graph, otherwise, just one plot will be displayed.

Audio TFFT Graph

The TFFT graph maps the audio intensity of the frequency spectrum across time for the duration of the audio clip, representing the intensity through color. On this graph the x-axis is time and the y-axis is the frequency with the decibel intensity being mapped to the color intensity scale, with black representing -128 dB and white representing 0 dB.

Both the discrete and temporal fast Fourier transform frequency analysis graphs can be created/opened from the Tools tab and both graphs will update in real-time as you move to different positions in the audio file, or even as you play the audio so you can better see what is happening in the audio. So, download WavePad audio analyzer software to take a closer look at audio and learn how to analyze voice patterns and more.