This is the Twentieth Year for the AA-EVP

From Our Viewpoint

Many of our members have talked and written to us about a noise that is often heard right before an EVP message.  It appears before some of our own EVPs.  It is a loud, or not so loud, click, pop, boom or crackling sound.  Some have described it as similar to the sound of someone keying a microphone.  One noted researcher likened the noise to a micro sonic boom.  When we are listening back to an EVP recording and hear this sound, we listen more intently to what comes next.  If you are one of the many people who have experienced this noise you know what I am talking about.

Not all EVP messages are preceded by this precursor, “popping” sound.  For us it is an occasional occurrence.  But when we hear it we are not unlike Pavlov’s dogs, ears perked up waiting for that reward.  The click, if there, means a reward of an EVP.  It, for us, usually signals a better than average EVP as far as loudness, quality and clarity is concerned.

Geoff Viney in his book Surviving Death, Evidence of the Afterlife discusses this mysterious sound in relation to other types of phenomena.

• In 1986 the downstairs rooms, in a farmhouse in England, were infiltrated with the voices of those who appeared to be former residents.  The voices were heard over several nights.  The voices began and ended with a distinct “click” as if a radio had been turned on and off.  Investigators looked for a receiver or a transmitter, but none was found.  Natural explanations for the phenomena were ruled out.
  

• In 1973 the owner of a converted lighthouse in Maryland repeatedly had his sleep interrupted by the racket of doors banging, furniture moving and footsteps.  A “clicking” sound preceded these manifestations.  Upon further investigation nothing in the area that the noises came from appeared out of place.  The building's owner decided to try and record what he was hearing and left a tape recorder running.  The tape contained voices and extraneous noises.  Some of these voices talked about the treatment of injuries.  A local librarian helped research the home and to everyone’s amazement found that the building was used as a field hospital during the Civil War.
  

• The anomalous events centering on a World War II Lincoln bomber at the RAF Cosford Aerospace Museum were researched in 1990 by the British investigator Peter Thorneycroft.  The strange sounds of scratches, squeaks, girl’s voices, bumps and human sighs had been reported in the vicinity of the bomber.  The staff had seen phantom air crews and dramatic drops in temperature were reported.  Other phenomena included the movement of switches and the rotation of the wheels of the aircraft.  Thorneycroft saw moving points of bright light and also heard and recorded many anomalous sounds within the aircraft.  These sounds, which were most often mechanical movement type noises, were analyzed and it was found that they always began with a discernable blip on the tape similar to that produced by a sudden burst of static.

The clicking noise associated with EVP messages has been the center of considerable conversation for quite sometime.  Perhaps this sound is caused by a dimensional breakthrough and is an artifact of spirit world energy entering the physical world.  The above stories might point to this type of answer.

Paolo Presi on page 3 of this newsletter reports on Carlo Trajna’s “Psychotemporal Model” in which “Psychic Time” flows differently from “Physical Time.”  Is this anomalous sound before EVP messages caused from a shift in time as the two aspects of reality link up?

Alexander MacRae used an oscilloscope in analyzing a well-known recording from the Palace Hotel.  When viewing this recording Alec noticed that the level of background noise (whistles, hums and buzzing which were side effects of the equipment) on the oscilloscope almost went to zero.  Three or four seconds after the background noise disappeared, a woman’s voice was heard to say “Now.”  Two seconds later, a male voice was recorded with a personal message for his sister who was in the audience.  Another few seconds passed and a female voice said, “Finish,” and then the background noise once again returned to normal on the oscilloscope.

Perhaps the precursor noise we hear on our recordings is similar to the word “Now” heard on Alexander’s recording.  It may simply be a signal or a cue for us to listen closely to what comes next.  Is this noise similar to our telephone ringing letting us know that someone is calling?

Alexander’s recording may point to another possible fact, and that is that the entities need and gather all available noise and energy to get their message through to us.

Do those on the other side have equipment that they use to try and contact us?  Are researchers, indeed, hearing the keying of something like a microphone?  And are those on the other side doing this?  Several researchers in the past and present say that they have been in contact with groups on the other side that state that they have developed apparatus for communication with researchers on this side and that this development continues.                                                     Lisa

ITC and EVP Experiments

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 regards to the ITC pictures are that there are EVPs 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.  We will put these on the aaevp.com web site so that you can see them in color.

Italian Research in ITC

“At the beginning of the 70s, the phenomenon (EVP) seemed to fit the so-called ‘radiophonic model.’  This model is based on the assumptions that something like broadcasting stations from the ‘other’ dimension existed and that they could be heard on specific radio frequencies.  Consequently, my first duty was to locate the frequency bands involved in the phenomenon.

“Firstly, the experiments showed that each operator received the ‘voices’ on a different frequency, normally found on its own, with positive results.

“Secondly, the type of device used was not determinant for the quality and quantity of the received ‘voices.’  In other words, to use sophisticated and technically advanced devices does not result in a superior sound quality of received ‘voices.’

“In addition, the phenomenon should occur either by recording the signals coming from a radio set as well as using a simple microphone connected to a tape recorder.  However, evidence suggests a different conclusion.  The two methods give different, in terms of quality, kinds of ‘voices.’  While the ‘voices’ received by the radio were mainly sound-voices quite slow, those received through a microphone were whispered and fast.

“In conclusion, the wide range of frequencies involved and the variety of methods used proved the ‘radiophonic model’ unreliable.  For this reason the research was turned to a different approach.  In particular, it was focused on the variables involved in the process of formation.

“Engineer Carlo Trajna's work on the ‘Stimulated Psychophony’ represented a turning point in 1977.  He argued that the ‘voices’ are formed because of the energy variation that occurs in pre-existent acoustic or electromagnetic events.  His experiments showed that, for microphonic recordings, the quantity and quality of the ‘voices’ depended on the acoustic conditions of the environment where the recording took place, or on the kind of sonority artificially generated (Stimulation).  (Editor: background sound)  This important discovery revealed how the radio itself could no longer be considered as a ‘receiver’ of the ‘voices,’ but that it was simply a sonority generator at acoustic or electromagnetic low frequency level that then was transformed into ‘voices’ through an unknown process.  This conclusion follows directly from the events observed and is consistent with the various frequency bands used by previous researchers.

“There have been many attempts to find a technical device able to improve the ‘production’ of ‘voices,’ but they were largely unsuccessful.  New devices were proved valid only for those who designed them or for those believing in them, but not for others.”

Presi pointed out that after a Professor Ferdinando Bersani disclaimed EVP as an ambiguity of the voices, “persevering research … resulted in two major achievements towards the objectivity of the messages.  It was demonstrated that the messages involve an explicit intention on the part of the sender to have them heard, and that the messages received are objective (not illusory).  This was proven on a scientific base.”

Presi said that Carlo Trajna's statistically compared EVP messages with text from advertisements and found that, “From this comparison it followed that paranormal messages involve a perceptible intention to communicate and do not present appreciable signs that indicate some kind of illusory distortion.  In other words, they proved to be real and objective, whatever their origin.”

Presi also referred to the work of Dr. Renato Orso from Turin , Italy who conducted voice spectrographic analysis of EVP and found that:

•   “Paranormal ‘voices’ have an acoustical structure similar to human voices.
  

•   “The temporal sequence of the vowels, their duration, the duration of the pauses and the accent on certain vowels of the ‘voices’ determine a speech rhythm similar to ours.
  

•   “The fact that the paranormal ‘voices’ are objective reality and not psychoacoustic illusions is evident.
  

•   “The transfer of information or ‘message’ is based exclusively on the sequence of the vowel formants and the integration, made by the listener, of the missing consonants or the pauses of the same length of the Italian stop consonants.
  

•   “The spectrograms reveal the almost total absence of the fundamental frequency that for human voices is determined by the vibration of the vocal cords” (Editor: In orther words, the entity has no voice box.)

From Presi, “For this reason, it is logical to assume that an entity, able to interact with our physical dimension, is involved in the process and that, by doing so, this entity is also able to overthrow known physical laws.”

In other statements, Paola said:

•   That Carlo Trajna developed, “The ‘Psychotemporal model’ (which) assumes that ‘Psychic Time’ flows differently from ‘Physical Time.’
  

•   “My experience shows that the best reception of voices is obtained by the operators that are strongly interested in the phenomenon especially in what concerns the life after life implications.  Attempts carried out by skeptical and very critical operators are usually unsuccessful.  To obtain good results, an open mind is the first requirement to the operator approaching the phenomenon.
  

•   “It is proven that a person that is grieving is able to reach a compromise with his own rationality when he accepts that a contact beyond life with the dear one is possible.”                                © Paolo Presi

French Sleep Experiments

Jacques Blanc-Garin of the French EVP/ITC group, Infinitude, provided us with a description of experiments to contact sleeping people via EVP.  See more about Infinitude at www.infinitude.asso.fr.

From 1994 to July 1995, Jacques conducted a series of experiments in which he tried to reach people while they were sleeping.  A friend of his, Robert Doré, had suggested that it might be possible for a person to communicate through Tci (French term for ITC) with a sleeping person.  (The following is a translation from French.)  Jacques wrote, “My idea with these experiences is that we would be able to help people who are considered insane.  It would be possible to contact them when they are sleeping and maybe record the entity who is disturbing them.  However, I have not tried this because it is not easy to bring such an idea to hospital personnel.”

The following experiments were conducted with a Marrantz CP430 equipped with a micro Monacor ECM 600 ST or a Philips 6350 recorder.  For ambient noises, Jacques used the sound of rubbing paper, German language conversation, and sometimes an air-band receiver.

Jacques writes that the results were conclusive almost every time.  He also pointed out that, as a matter of ethics, each experiment was prearranged with the person who would be addressed while they slept.

Following, are samples of what was received during some of these experiments.

>>  Excerpts from recording of Monique Simonet during sleep, April 7, 1995.

Jacques: “It is useless for me to explain to you how to make Tci.  I believe that you are more expert than me in this domain and you will know how to use all vibrations that I can send you.”

Answer: “I would like to make it on the Earth” (very audible whisper).

Jacques: “I hope that I do not disturb your sleep.”

Answer: “It was foreseen, I will remember” (whisper).

Jacques: “If you answer me, you are maybe in the environment where I record.  If that is it you can then tell me what I currently hold in my left hand?”

Answer: “It is a crystal” (whisper).

Jacques said that, “I indeed, had a crystal in my hand.  Monique saw me!”

>> Excert from recording of Monique Laage during sleep, Nov. 8 1994.

Jacques: “I call this double astral body that should be theoretically able to answer me.  Are you there, Monique if it pleases you?”

Answer: “I am in airs, Poupoune” (audible whisper).

(Editors: “Poupoune” is pet name given to Monique by her father.)

>> Excert November 10, 1995 recording Monique Laage.

Jacques: “When you go to the astral, do you meet other people?

Answer: “I see them all again, but I will come back, I like you, Monique who likes you” (uninterrupted, whisper).

>> Excert December 10, 1994 recording Monique Laage.

Jacques: “It is extraordinary that, in a little time, you are going to wake up and you are going to return to your body.”

Answer: “One is well, it is happiness here” (whisper).

(Editors note.  We are spirit living in a physical body.  It is logical that we should be able to leave messages via EVP just as those who do not have a physical body do.  This should also make us think a little more about our adventures while asleep.)

Wife Appears in Lucid Dream

Steven Beresford has been working in the field of lucid dreaming for more than 20 years.  Lucid Dreaming is a comparatively new filed of parapsychological exploration in the West.

Steven has made significant progress with lucid dreaming and recently had an outstanding semi-lucid dream with his late wife.  “It was very vivid and realistic; exactly the way we were when she was alive.  It was wonderful to see and hear her again.  I was conscious in the dream that she had returned to me from the dead.

 She wrote, “If you haven’t tried lucid dreaming, I recommend it.  For most people including myself, it’s not easy and can take a long time and a lot of effort, but the results can be very rewarding.”

VTF Holds Annual Conference

Jutta Liebmann sent us an English translation of the agenda for the annual VTF-Conference that was held in Fulda, Germany on May 30 through June 1.  The list of presenters was impressive with Jutta reporting on EVP/ITC contacts received by various people in many different countries.  Stefan Bion, the inventor of EVPmaker, did a live recording session in the conference hall with an evaluation of the voices. Jurgen Nennstiel spoke on “Taped voices, their validity and realization, proof and truth.”  Jurgen Nett did a presentation on various EVP recording methods.  There were other presentations including one on out of body experiences and another on near death experiences.

The AA-EVP was Founded in 1982

Sarah Estep founded the AA-EVP in May of 1982.  We assumed leadership in May of 2000.  Today, the Association is more International than ever and equally involved with EVP and ITC.  We are proud of the Association, but we are more proud of you, the members and the work you are doing.  With your continued support, we look forward to the next twenty years with great optimism.  Much has been accomplished, but it will be a mere shadow to what will be accomplished in the years to come.

                          Thank you!          Tom and Lisa

The EVP & Transcommunication Society

Judith Chisholm runs the EVP & Transcommunication Society of Great Britain and Ireland.  In her No. 20 October 2001 newsletter Judith commented on a couple of letters from her readers who had gotten EVP voices.

“First, I have to say I am very glad Anna persevered, and that she managed to record a discarnate voice so early on in her experimentation. …

“The problem is that people have preconceived ideas.  They, expect to hear a voice at the same level as, for instance, on the other end of a phone; full of tone and resonance, echo and depth.  When they don’t get what they expect instantly, they claim that nothing is there.  To establish that something is there would mean ditching a comfortable preconceived idea, dispensing with a likely bias to consider the whole thing impossible and preposterous anyhow, and—a whole lot of effort.

“Secondly, even when they do concede they hear a voice, which has come from nowhere, the content of what is being said is criticized as inconsequential or random.

“Yes, they can appear to be all of these things, but what matters is that a voice from nowhere is on the tape; that it is there.  It doesn’t matter what it says if one is looking for proof of life after death, or even proof of discarnate entities somewhere, anywhere. … The presence of recognizable audible human utterances from “nowhere” in a controlled situation, is what counts.

“As a matter of fact, Anna’s discarnate voice saying, ‘I’m cold,’ in the circumstance she describes, makes perfect sense.  The kitchen was cold.  Anna was thinking of putting on the heating, she said out loud ‘I’m listening.’  The listening spirit tuned in to Anna’s thought about putting on the heating, heard her say ‘I’m listening,’ transposed ‘I’m listening’ by saying ‘I’m cold,’ thus proving, with only two words, the presence of an intelligent, listening entity, with a sense of humor, responding to a thought.

“In actual fact, in my experience, the spirit voices are never arbitrary random or inconsequential.  They may utter few words, especially at first, but on reflection, those words are seen to be meaningful and enigmatic.

“My advice regarding the EVP is this.  Have, and maintain, an open mind.  Persevere.  We live in a miracle, a Universe which words cannot describe, which we have not even begun to understand.  All things are possible.”

Judith has written Voices From Paradise.  The book is available through Judith and also is available on Amazon.com.  She publishes a quarterly newsletter and has a CD of her EVP voice examples for sale.  You can write to Judith at 15 Gunton Road, Hackney, London, E5 9JT, England or via Email at (email address).  Her web site is www.psychicworld.net/EVP.htm.

Pet Psychic

Sonya Fitzpatrick has a series on the Animal Planet channel in the United States called “Pet Psychic.”  It is presently broadcast on Monday and Friday evenings.

Brazilians work with Video ITC

Phyllis Delduque and Paulo Cabral, are two Brazilian researchers who have been working with Instrumental TransCommunication since 1998.  They work with both voices and images.  The researchers say that ITC not only changes one’s ideas about the continuation of life but also transforms the consciousness of the individual.  Their 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 and Paulo feel that the majority of what they receive through ITC is related to spiritual mediumship with the other factors being the equipment that they use and their applied methodology.

You can go to their web site at http://paginas.terra.com.br/educacao/portaltci/  for more information on their discoveries.  You can also reach Paolo via Email at (email address) and and Phyllis at (email address)

EVP Proves the Afterlife

Victor Zammit, the author of A Lawyer Presents the Case for the Afterlife, was recently interviewed on the Jeff Rense radio show.  He said that there were twenty-four different types of evidence that prove the afterlife.  EVP was the first proof that Victor discussed on the program.  Victor called EVP objective evidence and said that it is taking place in many different countries and even in the Vatican.  According to Zammit, “EVP is something that can be objectively demonstrated.  It can be shown that it is scientific.”  Victor also discussed ITC and The Scole Experiments.  When asked what his top pick would be if he were to prove the afterlife to the highest court in Australia, he chose Electronic Voice Phenomena.

Beyond

James Van Praagh will be doing a daytime television talk show this fall in the United States.  It is called Beyond and is set to debut on September 16, 2002.  Van Praagh will tackle unsolved mysteries, going out into the field to connect with restless spirits and he will explain various types of phenomenon experienced by everyday people.  He will also conduct in-depth readings for celebrities and members of the studio audience.

The program is produced by Tribune Entertainment (www.aboutbeyond.com); however we do not know the channel on which it will appear in your area.

Cross Reference of EVP Messages
Sarah Estep

Over twenty years ago, I received dozens of taped messages telling me to get a mirror. These “commands” were on both sides of my tapes—forward and reverse.  So, more to quiet them (the entities) than anything else, after several months I went to the local ten cent store and bought a cheap mirror. I have usually tried to do what they request of me; provided it doesn't conflict with my own beliefs (they've really never asked me to do something like that). After all, if my buying a mirror would make them happy for some strange reason, it was the least I could do for them.

The first morning I used it (I had placed it on top of my reel to reel tape recorder), I received probably 7/8 messages on both sides of my tape, such as: "Sarah has a mirror!" "Do you see Sarah's mirror?" "We can talk into it!" So, they were happy, and so was I, and even today, I still have a mirror on top of my recorder.

Now, the thing that I feel is most important about all of this, is about 3/4 weeks after I started using a mirror, Dan McKee, probably the best taper in the U.S. (at the time), and a very close friend of mine (he's the one who told me 23/24 years ago, that there were voices on the reverse side of tapes, along with the forward side), called me from Illinois where he lived, and said, "Sarah, I've been getting a lot of messages telling me I should use a mirror." He didn't know I had also gotten dozens of messages like that. Of course, I then told him about my own messages and how I had gone out and bought a $1.98 mirror at the local store. My doing that had made the other side very happy.

A couple of weeks after that, Mercedes Shepanek, a very dear friend from Virginia who was a good taper, called as she often did, and told me she had received many messages about getting a mirror.  (She did not know Dan McKee at that time) and never had any contact with him.  I told her I also had many messages about mirrors, and so did Dan. I'd bought a mirror, and “they” were very happy about it. Mercedes went out and bought two mirrors, one for each side of her reel-to-reel recorder. As I had, she received a number of “happy” messages when she started using them, they also told her: “Two mirrors are enough!”

What do I think about this whole thing? Was this a coincidence? NO! I feel that it was a synchronistic event. Synchronicity (and coincidence) has been studied by many people.  Carl Jung, (the great German psychoanalyst) pioneered the study of synchronicity, and a number of others have done the same since then.  Most people think many coincidences happen to them frequently.  Yes, sure, at times, but much less than you may think.  Jung called synchronicity a, “Production of meaningful coincidences.”  So, think about that the next time you think you've experienced a coincidence. Synchronicity is “planned” put into “operation” by something in another dimension.

Now, why did three of us, unknown at the time receive mirror messages? I think someone/something in another dimension was showing us (the 3 of us)—at the same time—that they were aware of us, and wanted to let us know—by giving us almost identical messages—that what we got on tape was coming from an unseen dimension.

Are mirrors vital to communication? I don't think so. Most people who tape, and have good results do so without mirrors. It doesn't hurt to have one, but it's not vital. Each entity who communicates with us, has their own personality (as we do) and although we are similar in some ways, deep down we are each unique. It could be a mirror may help a few come through, but I still feel the main reason for the mirror messages that Dan, Mercedes (both have moved on to spirit) and I received, was to present us with a synchronistic experience.

ITC Images by Erland Babcock

Erland Babcock has provided us with an image that he had collected in his past work with ITC.  In his words, “On the attached figures, there is a figure of a head in the smallest circle (actually not quite circle in form). I am sure someone is going to say it is Newton's Rings.  Believe me it is not.  I am very careful about my photography. If I remember correctly these were taken with a Crown Graphic with a roll film adaptor that produced 2 ¼ x 3 ¼ negatives.  I process all my own black and white.  I have been doing this for a good number of years and have a professional darkroom.  (I also used to do commercial photography).  So no Newton's Rings or other artifacts.  What you see is what we got.  They are interesting but I have no explanation for them.  I have a number of strange photographs that have never been seen by the general public.”

Erland collected another image (shown at the left) of what looks like a little alien that appears to have a point on the head and ears that point away from the head to the side.  If you look closely at the feature in the middle of the rings, you can just make out what appears to be a similar creature sitting and holding its legs.

Apports Received at ISF Congress

We received a wonderful couple of surprises at the International Spiritualist Federation (ISF) congress we just attended.  The surprises were in the form of two apports.

Tom and I made a presentation on EVP/ITC Tuesday evening and had all of the rest of the time to simply enjoy and learn.  We attended two classes each day and also had the opportunity to listen to three to four speakers present on various topics each day.

We attended a Physical Mediumship and a Trance class.  We found them very enjoyable and educational, and were even able to see clear evidence of transfiguration taking place with various sitters on that first morning of the Physical Mediumship class.

On Monday afternoon Tom and I were sitting in our second Trance class.  We moved the chairs twice to allow more people to join the circle.  In doing so, we looked at the floor each time to make sure we had collected our water bottles.  After the instructor had led us through a deep meditation for trance, I reached under my chair for my trusted bottle of water.  There on the floor directly under my chair was a small white stick that said “MEDIUM” on it.  The stick is plastic and is the type placed in your steak in restaurants to tell you that it is done the way you requested.

Tom and I were stunned; in fact this is an understatement, as we have never received an apport directly like this.  In addition we even knew the group that used this type of apport as we had received them in mailings of the letter writing experiment conducted by the Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis (SORRAT).

As if this was not exciting enough, there was more to come.  On Monday we had attended our morning class and then returned to our room for a break before returning to the cafeteria for lunch.  I was wearing a pair of leather flats that are very light weight.

We made the walk back, went through the cafeteria line and ate our lunch.  Before leaving, I returned to the food line for another glass of tea.  As I walked, I felt an obstruction in my shoe that hurt.  I figured that my hose were twisted causing a lump or that something had gone wrong with the interior of my shoe.  I remember thinking that it would most assuredly give me a blister, so I sat down and slipped off my shoe to see what in the world was causing the pain.  There on the side of the shoe was a little white stick that read “MEDIUM.”

Our excitement turned to shock!

In the Spring 2001 AA-EVP newsletter, we reported on the SORRAT letter writing experiment that we have been participating in for many years.  John Thomas Richards Ph.D. facilitates the experiments.  The entities who perform the Independent Writing (messages are written without using any part of someone’s physical body) are called the Imperator Group.

In the letter writing experiment the entities often include small artifacts (apports) in the envelopes they send to the participants.  These are most often the small sticks that read “MEDIUM.”

It has been over two years since we had received a “medium stick” artifact from the Imperator Group through the mail.  In fact the last letter we received from the entities was unsolicited and read, “Friend Thomas, and others in AA/EVP- A caution to technophiles: Anyone concerned with the future of creative thought should be wary of the near-obsession with technology that is apparent.  While certain benefits to this emphasis on technology cannot be denied, there are serious challenges to creative thought, which is far less amenable to this type of communication, built on thoughtful, reasoned dialogue between our side and yours, and on the primacy of ideas.  We seek to cultivate engaged minds.  We are not Luddites, but slow, wise, gestating, reasoned thought cannot be cut down to a sound-bite.  Postmodernism is …” (here the letter ends.  It is apparent that there was a second page but we never received it).

After receiving this letter from the Imperator Group we felt that they did not find particular favor with our promotion of EVP/ITC.  To be honest at the time we were a little disappointed, as this is the platform that was handed to Tom and I and it has provided a way for us to promote understanding of personal survival.  The Imperator Group is interested in promoting survival and we felt that they would be pleased with anyone doing the same--in any manner.  Perhaps, we took the letter a little too personally.

It is clear that it is the Imperator Group that sent us these two wonderful proofs of survival.  In view of the letter, above, we feel that they did it on the days before our presentation as a form of encouragement.  The presentation went spectacularly well.

The apports were very shocking but so very exciting at the same time.  I hope that we hear more from the Imperator Group.  We will do our part by spending time in a development group as we continue our ITC experiments.

News About Members

•   Richard Hatem got a nice compliment from John Keel the author of The Mothman Prophecies in the April 2002 issue of Fate Magazine.  In his column, Beyond the Known, Keel wrote, “The question most often asked about my relationship with the movie is how did I sell the book to Hollywood.  Well, it took 30 years.  Many writers have attempted to translate The Mothman Prophecies into a film script, but it always came out too much like a 1933 horror film.  Finally, Richard Hatem, a young screenwriter, had a workable plan.  Before he got hold of it, there had been years of disappointment.”
  

•   Mark Macy (World ITC) and Rolf-D Ehrhardt (loTC) have merged their two web sites into a single web site (www.worlditc.org) and are starting a new association called World ITC.  The site now contains about three times the information as the previous sites.
  

•   Susan Bove’ is the co-chairperson for South Jersey Paranormal Research.  She conducts lectures and seminars on paranormal research and recently lectured on EVP at the Gettysburg Ghost Conference.  She demonstrated the software, Cool Edit Pro, at the conference and says, “Although I am no expert at using the software, I do use it quite a bit and have had some really good results with it.”  Susan said that she would be glad to help anyone using this software.  You can send an Email to her at (email address)
  

•   Michele Hardison did another investigation for the Travel Channel in the Lake Tahoe area in March.  She received several EVPs during the investigation.  As soon as we hear about when the show will air we will let you know.
  

•   Linda Sperti has been taking “Spirit Energy” pictures since 1992.  She wrote “I finally found a researcher to study my pictures.  He is a noted Biophysicist interested in the energies.  He says that he doesn’t believe in Spirits but is excited about my pictures.”
  

•   Keli Adams’ new book, “Friendly Shadows” should be on the book shelves this July.  The book is based on the true accounts of her childhood and her gifts as a spirit communicator.  Keli provides a candid and personal account of how her deceased mother continues to play a part in her life.

Thoughts from Members

•   Clara Laughlin heard whistling in her hall several years ago.  She picked up her camera and took a couple of pictures.  On development there was no ghost but there were three or four musical notes on the picture.
  

•   Linda Noel has been recording EVP since 1989.  Both she and her husband have received messages from their son, Danny, who made his transition at sixteen.  Now Linda’s husband of 38 years has also gone to the other side and Linda will try to contact him through EVP.
  

•   Linda Willaimson wrote that when doing EVP, “I get my own family members, alongside friends, not just for me but for other people also.  This gives me a great sense of contentment, knowing that my own people are close by and are there for me when I call on them.”
  

•   Erland Babcock, wrote that he had been told by those on the other side, “’We see the real you…in beautiful colors.’  Those on the other side see us on a screen and perhaps they read our aura.”
  

•   Gerda Slater has been recording since 1990.  She has gotten messages from her husband, also her parents in German.  She often gets loud Class A voices.

Tapers Report

•   Phyllis Jaquett tapes every night.  She places her microphone into a large tin, asks the spirits to talk to her, leaves the recorder running and goes to bed.  A year after her husband Ralph died she got a voice saying, “Hello Velva.”  She recognized the EVP as her husband’s very distinctive voice.  She wrote, “Friends and relatives all agree that the voice is Ralph’s.”
  

•  Dale Sizemore continues to get EVP messages on his answering machine.  One recent EVP message was that of a mature sounding female who said, “We walk alone, please pack.”  Dale wrote, “Perhaps this means that each person must be fully prepared in his or her journey through life.  Maybe it is a reference to the Spiritualist concept of personal responsibility.”
  

•  Martha Copeland sent us a wonderful confirmation of survival.  She wrote, “My daughter was killed in a fatal car accident on December 23, 2001.  We have been getting her voice on the computer.  We have heard her voice saying, "I'm still here."
  

•  Charli Claypool wrote that she has had, “Different (deceased) friends from the past go to great lengths to identify themselves.”  A recent EVP, “Hi honey it’s Dale,” was from her ex-husband who crossed over in 1989. She recently found two messages on her answering machine.  One was from a human the other had no physical voice but the recording also had an EVP saying, “This is Mickey, Lee.” Her husband’s son is named Lee and she is going to check to see if he knew a Mickey.
  

•  Susan Bove’ was doing an investigation with a friend in the dark. Her friend hit her leg on something and said, “ouch.” She wrote, “Because I can sometimes be sarcastic, I asked her how that felt.” Susan says that, after her friend’s brief response, a voice on their tape says, “How’d that feel, Bib.”  “It’s interesting that the name of the investigator that hit her leg is “Deb,” so the last word the spirit speaks could be a mock of her name.
  

•  Ann Longmore-Etheridge wrote that she had asked to hear from a friend named Francis.  “As soon as I had asked for him, a child’s voice replied, “Francis,” almost as if she was calling for him to come.  It was the loudest voice I have ever received.
  

•  Renata Barbarigo was near a pool filled with children giggling and talking in English.  She turned on her microcassette recorder.  On playback her name was spoken many times and many of the voices of the children were in Italian which is Renata’s native language.

Request for Articles

The next newsletter is in October.  Halloween is that wonderful time of year that celebrates the dead, so we would like to celebrate with some appropriate articles.  Send us your best EVP/ITC “haunting” story.  Keep them as short as possible as you know the newsletter is not big.  Please email or mail them to us by September 1.