This issue of the AA-EVP NewsJournal marks the beginning of our fourth year as Directors of the AA-EVP and this is the twenty-second year of the Association itself. Of course, the Association has evolved over the years, but we think it is a good idea to survey how the field has evolved these twenty-two years.

Sarah Estep founded the AA-EVP at a time when the reel-to-reel tape recorder was the dominant recorder available to the average person. The personal computer was still rare, and was a relatively primitive device that the average person could use for little more than writing letters. There were no digital cameras and the VHS video cameras were huge, expensive and difficult to use.

The audio cassette recorder became the dominant EVP tool of choice during the eighties. They were less expensive and more portable than reel-to-reel recorders. Because of this, the cassette recorder essentially pushed the reel recorder off the market. The cassette recorder was certainly convenient, but it had one major drawback: it did not collect the quality and quantity of EVP that the reel recorders had in the past.

In the early eighties the only way to analyze EVP recordings was to use headphones and play back the recording on the tape recorder. Affordable sound editing equipment did not exist. The only way to share EVP samples with others was to copy the sound track, accumulating considerable more tape noise in the process. Nevertheless, very good EVP were collected during that time and these EVP samples were successfully shared with the public. Sarah Estep’s sample EVP recordings, which she sold on cassette tapes, would be a good example of this.

The first major breakthrough that helped EVP experimenters was the availability of powerful and easy to use personal computers. This was followed by the availability of programs, such as Cool Edit, that made it much easier for people to analyze and manage sound files. Photographic and video editing software have also advanced, making it possible to work with optical forms of Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC) in ways never dreamed of when the Association was first formed.

The next development that benefited EVP researchers was the Internet. The Internet gave researchers, from all over the world, the ability to communicate almost instantaneously. The written word was not the only thing that could be shared, as the Internet also allowed users to send sound and picture files. With the Internet, researchers were able to form a virtual community.

The increased availability of powerful and inexpensive video cameras and video recorders was the next good fortune for people interested in experimenting with Video ITC. It has become possible for a person to conduct very sophisticated experiments with Video ITC and to analyze the results with computers that were unthinkable twenty years ago, using software that once would have been the envy of forensic scientists.

When teamed with the modern personal computer, digital cameras have liberated experimenters from the cost of film. The use of film tended to stifle the ability of an experimenter to look for phenomenal images. Also, film was essentially incompatible with computers, and required a device or service that could digitize the film.

The latest, and perhaps most important breakthrough since the computer for EVP, has been the introduction of the IC recorder. When considered in relationship to the reel-to-reel and cassette recorders, the IC recorders will be considered by future history as a milestone that enabled far more people to experience EVP. History may also show that IC recorders have pointed toward important principles in technology that will help us better understand these phenomena.

It is easy for someone who is new to this field to assume that everyone has always been able to collect EVP of the quality they expect from their IC recorder, or that Video ITC has always been around. In fact, it has never been as easy to collect samples of these phenomena as it is today.

There is one other aspect of this evolution we should consider. The scientific community had taken a close look at these phenomena in the early days, but then they seemed to withdraw. However, there is some evidence of growing interest in these phenomena from today’s scientific community. Further, their interest is based on good science and the repeatability of our experiments due to the improved equipment. Is it possible that one day, EVP and ITC could be an area of research by mainstream science?

Progress in EVP and ITC has kept pace with progress in technology. This is to be expected because we depend on technology for our experiments. Will the next advancement in cellular telephones bring two-way EVP to everyone? Will the next version of Cool Edit enable us to recover an EVP that is hopelessly lost in the noise? How about video editing software that will extrapolate the face out of the noise so that it appears photo quality?

It is exciting to think about the possibilities that technological advances on earth could bring to our communications with the other side. There is reason to think that our friends on the other side are making advances, as well. What will the future bring?

        Tom and Lisa

Pascal Jouini and Video ITC

French researcher Pascal Jouini has been working with video ITC for fourteen years. He first started research in EVP. The results that he received succeeded in proving to his satisfaction that the phenomenon was real; however, he was never quite satisfied with his results and also felt that EVP was time consuming and drained his energy.

He began experimenting with Video ITC using the black and white Klaus Schreiber technique but did not receive anything of interest. After trying many different techniques he obtained good results using a color video feedback loop. Jouini uses two televisions, one computer, two cameras, one H18 camcorder and one VHS Vidicon. The Vidicon, is a video camera that use a vacuum tube as an image detector (rather than an integrated circuit). He also uses a vacuum tube type computer monitor.

Jouini explains his ITC technique on his web site at http://perso.club-internet.fr/pjouini/menugb.htm. [Editors note: minor clarifications have been made to Jouini’s text.] Jouini writes, “I use the feedback method, a simple technique. Just place a camcorder (or a video camera thru a VCR) facing a TV set. The video camera must be connected to the TV set thru the video entry (never use the antenna entry). This technique bypasses the tuner and avoids interference from TV transmitters. Set the TV to Video In (the video entry). Turn the lens of the video camera in front of the screen,  hich is making a loop between the video camera and the TV set. At this time, you must observe a sort of moving cloud. If this is not the case, try to change the distance between the video camera and the TV set and tune the focus and the sharpness of the video camera. For fine tuning, use the brightness and contrast of the TV set. Warning: Always keep the color, which permits you to decode images. Color makes faces and persons stand out from the background of the video frame. Next, rotate the camera ninety degrees, this provides more interference in the feedback loop. Rotating the camera ninety degrees will cause an “X” to form on the screen, dividing the screen into four areas. [The television screen will be rotated ninety degrees in your viewfinder.] The ITC images will appear in these four areas.” Jouini feels that the X pattern caused by rotating his camera ninety degrees gives him additional contrast and results in his receiving more paranormal images.

Jouini explained that, “The moving clouds are transformed into a more or less speedy flash. With a little training you can see by the texture of the image, the best settings and perceive the image formation. After you have made a recording, you need to replay the videotape frame by frame.  This requires a lot of patience and perseverance.”

Jouini has been successful in conducting Video ITC experiments using a computer monitor instead of a television set. He experimented with, and received, images through the monitor to prove that the ITC features were not being created from stray television signals.

    One of the most innovative items on his web site is the ability of visitors to view a live Video ITC experiment. For those of you who are interested, and who may not know what a Video ITC experiment looks like, this is a perfect way to not only watch but to get involved. Between 1 to 2 pm EST or 10 to 11 am PST on Sundays, you are likely to find a live Video ITC experiment underway. Jouini has explained that he is not able to do this every Sunday so you may need to check over several weeks. He has stated the time that the experiment takes place may also vary a little.

For the live video ITC experiment Jouini uses his usual television – camcorder loop to generate the optical noise in which the phenomenal images form. He then focuses a web cam on the television screen and uploads “snapshots” of the screen every five seconds to his web page. You are able to “grab” the individual frames by right clicking on the web cam picture and “Save Picture As” to a folder in your computer. If you find features in the video ITC frames that you have grabbed, you can send them to Jouini for possible inclusion on his web site.

Pascal Jouini’s web site provides detailed descriptions and diagrams of his equipment configurations so that others may duplicate his experiments. Many excellent ITC images are displayed and he has other pages devoted to the images received by other researchers working with video ITC.

The Amazing Results of Marcello Bacci

Excerpts from “A Paricular Experiment at the Psychophonic Centre in Grosseto” By Professor Mario Salvatore Festa. Translated from Italian by Paolo Presi

The name of Marcello Bacci is well known in Italy. He has been working with ITC for over thirty five years and has become famous for his results. Many mothers who have lost children come to Bacci’s Friday night sessions. When Bacci signals that the session is to begin, the door is shut, lights turned down and the tape recorder is left on hold, waiting for the contact to be made with those on the other side.

Bacci moves the tuning knob of his old tube radio between 7 and 9 MHz in an area of white noise. Soon he announces that he “hears them.” After this the radio noise is gone and another noise is heard. It has been described as sounding like wind. Bacci then talks to the radio and calls for his friends on the other side to make themselves heard. What happens next is always astonishing. The voices come in loud and clear. Most of the voices can be heard directly coming from the radio. They answer questions and give messages filled with esoteric content. Many children are able to communicate with their parents in direct two-way communication.

If the above were not remarkable enough, Bacci is also well known for another thing that the voices do. They sing, and the sound is very beautiful. The sessions often end with this singing. Many describe it as that of the sound of angels or of some heavenly choir.

Mario Salvatore Festa is a Nuclear Physicist who has witnessed Bacci’s experiments for over six years. Festa writes, “The phenomenon of the voices of Bacci is authentic, there is no trick of any sort!”

In April of 2001, Festa took part in a meeting at Bacci’s lab in Grosseto. He brought professional tools to measure electromagnetic fields during an experiment. He writes, “We began what was to be a surprising and shocking experiment to the astonishment of the people present, especially the mothers … Electro-technician Mr. Franco Santi … with my agreement, took out two valves [tubes] from the radio while the experiment was taking place. Firstly, he took out the valve that controls the frequency modulation …. This did not have any impact on the working of the radio, as the receiver was tuned on short waves.

“Then, as the people present continued to look and comment with disbelief, he took out the second valve, a local medium frequency oscillation converter. This silenced the short waves completely.

“It was then … that I could move the tuning knob up and down the frequencies to find ‘the absence of a signal’ while the connection with the voice from the other dimensions continued unchanged.… What was happening? The rule of standard physics had been turned upside down, the ‘entities’ continued talking as if nothing had happened.

“A quick look at the instruments registered the following facts: Electric Field: 0.54 V/m, Magnetic Field: 0 T

“At this point, I felt lost. I was searching for a physical explanation, but could not find any. On one hand, I was ‘disappointed’ because the instruments had been unable to register the ‘birth’ of the voice phenomenon; on the other hand, they were also giving me other indications.

“Approximately forty minutes later, when the voice phenomenon had ceased, I started to move the knob along the frequencies, but there was no signal at all. This is when Mr. Santi put back one of the two valves, and the radio started to work normally again ….

“How can we interpret what happened? Was the experiment successful or not? What have we discovered that was new? It depends from which angle one wants to look at the phenomenon. First of all the fact that when the carrier was created the instruments did not record any change in the electric and magnetic fields, officially validates the authenticity of the voice phenomenon, because if it was a ‘trick’ (there was a transmitter nearby) the instruments would have picked up an increase in the electric and magnetic field.

“However, this also means that, and here many questions arise, that the creation of a carrier by the entities and the resulting voice phenomenon, in spite of looking like a transmission system based on electromagnetic waves, is a phenomenon completely unknown. Maybe we could explain it with quantum mechanics, generating the appropriate hypothesis around the ENERGY of the SPIRIT and MEDIUM intermediary between the two dimensions.

“One thing is certain: the voice phenomenon happens only in the presence of Bacci. Then what is the role of the Medium?

“The energy (the thought) of the Spirit, appropriately modulated (they talk of vibrations!) is transferred to the medium, who then transforms it with his brain into electromagnetic waves creating the radio transmission. All this can be explained with traditional physics. Of course it cannot be! One has to formulate the appropriate hypothesis that goes beyond our knowledge of the paranormal phenomena, extraordinary and rich knowledge is acquired via the messages received. Man survives death and his energy (the Spirit) does not dissolve, but comes back in the form of waves, its original home in the large cosmic depository and keeping all its knowing abilities, etc., surviving the death of the physical body. Continuing in our quest for the truth, we will use our modest knowledge of physics and, with the help of sophisticated instruments, we will try to shed some light on the extraordinary phenomenon of the voices. In a departure from other researchers, we don’t hide. On the contrary, because we ‘believe’ through our experiences and experiments, we try to explain, to understand how to find a solution to the problem. It is all too simple to choose to negate what is happening. Fortunately we, differently from others, have the GIFT (apologies for our lack of modesty) of FAITH and, as the Great INITIATE once said, it enables you to climb any mountain, no matter how difficult it is.”

Sonia Rinaldi - Video ITC

It has been over two years since Sonia Rinaldi has worked with receiving images from those in other dimensions. In May, she once again began Video ITC experiments. She wrote, “It is very curious that recently, I asked if there were many extraterrestrials in the Station [Sonia’s contact on the other side] and a voice replied, “Too many.” I returned to the images because Spirits requested we create the Videophone, that is, they want to speak on the phone and appear simultaneously.” Articles on Sonia’s amazing phone contacts have appeared in previous AA-EVP NewsJournals.

Possible Extraterrestrial	May be a Dog	Man with Glasses

Sonia goes on to say that, “These first experiences seem like tests. I suppose (I hope) that in the near future they will be sending pictures of the deceased instead of animals and extraterrestrials. I think that they have to test and practice somehow.”

We noticed that all of the images had left-right symmetry and asked Sonia about her method. She answered that she uses a function on her camera called, “Mirror.” She wrote, “What seems interesting is that, to send a complete face, they must send half of a face, because of the ‘Mirror’ effect.” Sonia is using a Panasonic PV DV 400 video camera. She focuses on the snowy screen of a black and white Television set.

Sonia wrote, “See the curious glasses of the Figure, ‘Man with Glasses’? I have the impression that the Senders are just testing their capacity of thinking the images. My interpretation is that those images are thoughts modulating the television pixels and that, in the near future, they will ‘think’ of the images of the deceased ones and dispatch them to Earth. They have sent some dozen others with the appearance of measurements, as dividing the faces geometrically as if they are ‘studying’ terrestrial faces (as per what I know, these Senders are Extraterrestrials). That is quite possible because they are showing the incredible capacity of dispatching in sequences of about five clear pictures per second. Could a Human mind think so quickly? Surely not. We will just have to see, over time, what else takes place.”

The ZPE/ITC Connection?

It's all in the frequencies!

By Everett R. Walter, Ph.D.

Zero Point Energy (ZPE) has been identified as a quantum flux (electromagnetic) that occurs in hyperspace (4D) and can be cohered to manifest as an orthogonal (right angle) tensor to 3D space, subject to activation utilizing different frequencies. These specialty frequencies are yet to be found and their most effective, usable waveforms determined. Much experimentation will be necessary to achieve success.

The orthogonal tensor implies a higher spatial dimension where the consciousness of a human, as well as plants and animals, could pass-on to during Near Death Experiences (NDE), or death itself. Certain critical frequencies at different energy levels could result in different levels of existence above the first (ZPE) orthogonal dimension.

ITC (Instrumental TransCommunication) has been established as voice and/or video communication between space-time dimensions. Equipment used for this type of communication includes audio tape recorders, video cassette recorders, radios, facsimile machines, telephones, televisions and computers.

Since quantum mechanics has verified that energy and matter are identical entities, the difference being the frequency of vibration at observation, it seems that there should exit some “common” frequencies where ZPE effects and ITC effects could and would interact. The coherence of the ZPE performed by the “other side” engineers and scientists, in order to cancel out the off-station static and background noise (random, noncohered ZPE) for transcommunication utilizing a two-radio technique (two different short wave frequencies), could be the result of special equipment that has been developed to aid in cohering ZPE from the “other side” by its operators.

It could be that the ZPE is in fact the “ether” that was predicted early in the last century, but was failed to be measured by the experimental equipment of the day. Remember that “ether” was described as an elastic, incomprehensible fluid that filled all space! I'm sure this ZPE/ITC Connection I’m proposing, has its roots within the theory of Quantum Mechanics (I am not a Quantum Physicist—I am an Electrical Engineer) and eventually will be analyzed and explained with great detail.

As Swejen Salter, Director and Project Leader of ITC Station “Timestream” once implied to us on this side: “Learn all you can about Quantum Mechanics in order to understand what is going on within the ITC phenomenon.” ©2002Walter

[Editor: We brought you this article with the hope that others who read this NewsJournal will offer theories of their own explaining the underlying principles that make these phenomena possible. Please write or email us if you would like to add your thoughts to this article. By the way, “cohere” means to cause to form.]

California Ghost Hunters Conference

The first weekend in May, we did a presentation at the 2003 California Ghost Hunters Conference held at the haunted Queen Anne Hotel in San Francisco, CA. We want to thank Gloria Young for inviting us to speak. The conference was put on by Ghost Trackers in conjunction with GhostStudy.Info and Sacramento Paranormal Investigators with support and assistance from A.G.H.O.S.T. and the Bay Area Paranormal Investigators.

Janice Oberding, author of “Haunted Nevada,” and director of the Nevada Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society was another presenter. Janice is a historian and spoke on the importance of historical research when doing investigations. Laurie Jacobson, author of “Hollywood Haunted” was a guest speaker as well. She related many interesting stories gained from her book research on the paranormal happenings in Hollywood. On Saturday evening the group was taken on a trip to Alcatraz Island where we were given a private tour of the hospital area. Please see the following article for some interesting EVP that we obtained on Alcatraz.

The Voices at Alcatraz

By Lisa Butler

The trip to Alcatraz Island, the former home of Al Capone; “Machine Gun” Kelly; and Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz,” was short but provided lovely views of the San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge. Everyone was excited about the tour of Alcatraz prison; but I must admit that I had reservations. It was hard to imagine that we would record anything because of the chaos of the tourists. As it turned out, I should not have worried because there were many surprises in the EVP we recorded there.

At first, the group went on the usual Alcatraz tour. It was rather like a bizarre dream when we were in the cell block with the other tourists. The cell block is the audio tour segment, and there were literally hundreds of people following blue lines with headphones on, listening to a guided tour on tape. I leaned back against a wall off to the side and took my headphones off. The scene looked like something out of a science fiction movie with hundreds of robots shuffling along with headphones. I realized that even with all of these people in the cell block there was no talking. They were all listening. The only sound was that of hundreds of footsteps. Could this be good white noise? I quickly took the DR60 off “Hold” and hit the record button to ask, “What do you think of all these tourists?” A loud male voice responded by yelling, “Get out.” The voice made a point of stretching the sound of “ooooout.”

Both of our recorders were on as we entered a cell block off of the main corridor. We had removed our headphones and were simply exploring for a quiet places to record. On Tom’s recorder you can hear my voice saying, “You can speak on this device.” Two male voices immediately replied one after the other, “That’s right” and “We know.”

I gazed out a window in the dining hall. Thinking out loud, I remarked about how miserable it must have been to be in a prison with such beautiful views out every window. A male voice said, “Having memory” and then a very distinguished man with an English accent, speaking very slowly asserted, “Think positive, instantly away.” We were very surprised when we heard this EVP. This did not sound like a stuck entity. It seemed too profound.

Most of the EVP we recorded were typical of what we expected for the site. A private tour with the group to the hospital area brought us to what was once the operating room. I felt a downward pressure and wondered if it would once again signal a traumatic event. The recording produced one man that said, “A fellow was hit, dropped dead.” Then another voice, “He got tapped.”

The real surprise was still to come. When we got home and started listening back to the recordings from the hospital area, we were shocked to hear multiple woman’s voices singing, “Paolo Presi” in English and then saying, “Bongiorno” in Italian. In English Bongiorno would mean good morning or good day. Paolo Presi is the well-known and respected Italian ITC researcher.

We sent the EVP to Paolo and received his reply “… By hearing the isolated interval between 0.5 – 1.7 hms I heard “Paolo (or Palo) Pressi (with a double “s”)”. Normally the Italian utterance of “Presi” is made with a soft “s” like in the English word “misery” and the “e” is uttered like in the word “end” and “i” like in “ship.” From 2.4 to 3.3 hms I decode something like the Italian word “Bongiorno” (English: good morning, good day) with all three “o” uttered like in “dog” and “i” like in “ship.”

This occurrence was very interesting and answered some questions that we had. We had previously reasoned that EVP recorded in a purported haunted location did not necessarily have to come from the local ghost. Entities that record their voices in controlled experiments certainly have the ability to travel to wherever they wish. This confirmed that belief, as it seems extremely unlikely that an entity stuck at Alcatraz would impress the name of an Italian researcher on our audio tape. It is much more likely that our own Spirit Team had taken the trip with us and was sending a greeting to Presi.

It is also noteworthy that Presi’s name was spoken as we thought it was pronounced. We had never heard the Italian pronunciation. We would have missed it if the ladies recording the voice had spoken the name with the correct Italian pronunciation.

Easy Translation of Web Pages

There are many very good EVP and ITC experimenters and groups with excellent web sites that are not in English. We have found that we can usually input a web page address as a search target in google.com, and if it is not an English page, Google will offer a “Translate This Page” link that works very well. Tripod and Xoom web sites are exceptions because they do not allow translation.

From the AA-EVP Archive

Here is longtime researcher Bill Weisensale’s response to concerns expressed by Dr Karlis Osis, with the American Society for Psychical Research, about eliminating mundane causes for EVP. From Bill Weisensale’s article in the May 1981 Spirit Voices:

In early 1975 … the controversy was still raging as to whether EVP voices arrived via acoustical or electromagnetic means. (It is generally accepted now that neither is the case.) At the time this was most perplexing. It seemed reasonable to believe that if EVP arrived by electromagnetic signal, a radio receiver would be required in all cases, and yet some methods did not involve any form of radio receiver. Conversely, if they were of an acoustic nature, then all methods would, of necessity, require the use of a microphone, and yet there were some methods that do not involve a microphone.

I reasoned either the voices had to be both acoustic and electromagnetic, depending upon the method of recording, which seemed very unlikely, or they had to arrive by some other kind of energy, which was of neither electromagnetic nor acoustic in nature. (We have come to call this PK energy, for lack of a better explanation.) In order to find out which was the case, I used a (steel) 50 gallon drum with a removable lid …

I brought the drum into the house, laid it on its side on a wooden pallet, and blocked the sides to prevent it from rolling. Next, very small holes were drilled in the drum and lid. A piece of heavy wire, with a solder terminal, was then bolted to the drum and run out through a window where another solder terminal and bolt were used to attach the wire to a steel stake driven into the ground. A second wire and solder terminal was attached to the lid and soldered to the first wire. All connections, drum to wire, lid to wire, wire to wire, and stake to wire, were checked with an ohmmeter to ensure there was no resistance and everything was properly grounded. Before doing the experiments, water was poured around the steel stake to ensure proper grounding.

In the initial experiment, which was to check the efficiency of the shield, a battery powered radio receiver was tuned to a strong station, the volume set rather high, and placed inside he drum. A battery powered tape recorder was then connected via patch cord to the radio, also placed inside the drum and the lid bolted into place for several minutes.

Upon removing the recorder and reviewing the tape, it was found that the station was quite clear with the lid off, but when the lid was bolted into place, the station totally disappeared and its presence could no longer be discerned even with the closest listening. We then adjusted the radio to between station static, listening carefully to be sure there were no distant stations present, placed the radio in the drum with the recorder and made several recordings with the lid bolted in place each time.

We found the voices appeared inside of the shield just as they did with no shielding. Also, since the radio and recorder were connected via patch cord and there was therefore no microphone involved, this experiment eliminated (to at least my own satisfaction) both the acoustic and the electromagnetic hypotheses.

----------------------------

The May 1981 Spirit Voices and other newsletters are being added to the AA-EVP online document archive as time allows. We are currently up to Spring 1987 with the AA-EVP newsletters. Remember that access to the Archive is a benefit of membership. We highly recommend that you take advantage of this growing library of historical EVP and ITC documents.

The Ghostbuster

AA-EVP member, Michele Hardison, was featured in an article in the March/April 2003 issue of Best Friends magazine along with Jodi Chavez. Both work for the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, which publishes the widely circulated, Best Friends bi-monthly magazine.

The article, “The Ghostbuster,” is about Michele and Jodi’s use of cameras and audio equipment to track down ghosts during their after-work hours. Because the magazine is about animals, Michele shared some of the experiences that she has had with investigations and animals.

She related how a dog was taken from room to room during an investigation of the Goldfield Hotel in Nevada, which is the site of a murder. The dog was energetic and eager, until reaching the room in which the murder had occurred. Michele said, “The dog cowered and refused to move. Animals are often a lot more sensitive than people.”

Michele went on to say that, “The bond between person and pet is often so strong that the pet keeps manifesting for a period after its passing. Some people keep seeing them or you feel like they’ve just jumped on the bed. Just accept that this is what’s happening. It can be quite comforting.”

(Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is the nation’s largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals and has been a leader in the establishment of no-kill shelters in the United States. The Best Friends magazine is sent to those who support the sanctuary through donations. Their address is Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Kanab, Utah, 84714-5000. The web site is www.bestfriends.org .)

The Mary had a Little Lamb Challenge

Last year, Steven Beresford, PhD challenged the Egroup to a test. He wrote, “There is serious concern that we are dealing with artifacts [in EVP], and the only way to determine if we are communicating with sentient and intelligent beings is to ask for verifiable information. What I am asking each member of the Egroup to do is simply ask their spirit(s) to repeat word-for-word the phrase, ‘Mary had a little lamb.’ Explain that this is a test to differentiate between sentient life and artifacts, and don’t accept any excuses.”

A few members commented on how those on the other side were not very good at repeating things like this, but Steven persisted in challenging the group to find a spirit that would perform the test.

Several members took up the challenge and wave files containing the EVP, “Mary had a little lamb,” began showing up on the Egroup. It was the example recorded by Dave Sircom that Steven Beresford heard. He wrote, “Dave, thanks for taking up the challenge. Your results are impressive and add four new pieces of information [to what we know about EVP].

1. The EVP is from a sentient being

2. The sentient being can understand EXACTLY what you said in real time (not in a vague ‘intuitive’ sense as some people suggested)

3. The sentient being can respond EXACTLY (verbatim) as requested in real time (not in a vague ‘intuitive’ sense as some people suggested)

4. The sentient being was happy to cooperate and did not make excuses!”

Language Translation in EVP

It is a given in EVP that the messages are always in a language the experimenter will understand. There are exceptions to this rule, but they are rare.

A possible explanation for this, and one that is supported by what is known in other forms of spirit communication, is that the experimenter is acting as a translator during the formation of the messages. If mediumship is involved, as many researchers believe, then the phenomenal message is given to the experimenter via a mind-to-mind exchange. Then the entity “directs” the injection of the message into the recording media via the telekinetic ability of the experimenter. Of course, all of this is accomplished without the conscious participation of the experimenter.

It is believed that mind-to-mind communication is accomplished with imagery. If this is true, then the above hypothesis would be supported if the messages were always in the language of the experimenter. Experimenters accept the images and then translate them into the physical based on their language, vocabulary and worldview. Thus, it is reasonable that a tree or an animal, even an extraterrestrial, can speak our language and know our idioms.

News

·   Alexander MacRae’s article on the Alpha device should be coming out in the next SPR magazine. He has written another article on the experiments that took place at the Institute of Noetic Sciences titled, “A Means of Producing the Electronic Voice Phenomenon Based on Electro-Dermal Activity,” and has submitted it to the Paranormal Review.

·   Karen Mossey did an investigation with the Ghost Project group at the Windham Restaurant in Kingston, NH The NH news had a couple of reporters there and the story, “A Spirited Bunch” ran in the local newspaper. Karen is quoted several times in the article, and she even mentioned the AA-EVP. Thanks Karen!

·   Susan Bové did an investigation with her group at a new bed and reakfast in Ocean City, NJ. She sent out a press release and “Ghost hunters investigate ‘haunted’ Ocean City home” ran in two local newspapers. From those two articles the story was picked up by four major newspapers. Next, three major networks picked up the story and ABC and NBC paid a visit to Susan’s home. Susan said she was thrilled to get some good PR for the bed and breakfast and for their group, South Jersey Paranormal Research.

·   Jutta Liebman, of the German VTF, wrote to us about the upcoming VTF conference and George Wynne translated the schedule of events. The conference will be held from June 19 to 21 in Fulda, Germany. Many interesting speakers are scheduled as well as the British medium Tony Stockwell, who will do a trance session during the conference. AA-EVP member, George Wynne, plans to attend the conference.

·   Anabela Cardoso did a presentation at the biannual ParaDigma conference. The conference is put on by ParaNet Finland, the Finnish Network for Scientific Research on the Paranormal. Anabela’s lecture was well received and she wrote, “It was amazing to watch an audience follow dialogues in foreign languages with such great attention and interest.” Anabela met AA-EVP members, Martti Walden, Professor Matti Pitkanen and Georg Lindstrom all from Findland. Martti Walden helped organize the conference and wrote that Anabela’s lecture was excellent. He found her ITC demonstration convincing and hoped that it had motivated some of the participants to personally experiment on their own.

·   For those of you who have not looked at the World ITC web site at www.worlditc.org/ in a while, a visit would be a good idea. Most know of this as Mark Macy and Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt’s web site. ITC researcher, Ehrhardt, is the web master for the site and has done an incredible job of presenting a variety of good historical information. The site now has examples of moving ITC pictures and several historic audio clips.

Thoughts from Members

·   After the story came out about the children of Martha Copeland and Karen Mossey being together on the other side, several people expressed how the story had touched them. This came from Peggy Kane, “Martha … I so admire your courage in dealing with her (Cathy) being there and not here. The more we work with EVP, etc., the more we understand where we will be going, or at least there is definitely a place where we will be going. Even my little interaction with the angry guy has been valuable. A month ago, I would have probably freaked out and dropped the whole thing. But now, it's no big deal. I find him a sad and somewhat pathetic soul. There is no fear attached to ‘spirits’ now and I'm glad of that. I feel like I am getting very comfortable with ‘the other side’ and my passing won’t be a fearful, big deal for me. I still have a dread of losing someone that I love, but it is easing a little, as I know I can still have contact and what a valuable thing that is. I think you are a hero, Martha and so are Karen, Heidi and Bill!” All of the individuals that Peggy mentions have children now on the other side and all are communicating with them, mostly through EVP.

·   One member wrote to the Egroup asking about descriptions of what it’s like on the other side. Many members wrote back with suggestions on reading material. Loretta Woodward mentioned Witness from Beyond by AA-EVP member Ruth Mattson Taylor. Ruth by the way, has a second book out that gives even further descriptions of the other side, Evidence from Beyond.

Loretta mentioned other books that describe the other side; Our Unseen Guest by Darby and Joan, The Unobstructed Universe by Stewart Edward White and The Open Door by Theon Wright. George Wynne noted Life on the Other Side, by Dutton Publishers and also liked Michael Newton's material since it was obtained via hypnotic regression. Karen Mossey mentioned Sarah Estep’s book Voices of Eternity, as another good book to read to obtain descriptions of the other side.

·   Erland Babcock wrote, “Anyone that uses the tape recorder long enough will be able to communicate using their mind. You simply ask your questions and listen like you would listen to a Class C recording. Let your mind listen not your ears. Warning: It can also overcome you so that you are hearing it all the time. This is one of the reasons I had to stop. They would talk to me while I was driving, or if I was in my doctor’s office waiting, or any time I let my mind go blank. So be careful on that point. Mediums are people who have learned to use their mind for communication not so much with the ears. I have found it very easy to communicate since I have had my NDEs (I have had three). I also have had a number of visions as the result of mentally asking questions. For example I asked with whom I was communicating, and got a beautiful vision of a Monk complete in his brown robe with the rope around his waist and a gold halo.”

AA-EVP Book Update

The book, There is No Death, went to proofreaders at the beginning of June. Our dear proofreaders zipped through the book, making corrections and also giving us suggestions and ideas. We hope to have the book in print by October or November. We will update members in the October NewsJournal about our progress.

The book is designed to be a tool with which people can learn about the history of EVP and ITC, learn what is being done in the field today, read about examples of these phenomena and learn how to conduct experiments.

All proceeds from the book will go to the AA-EVP and we thank all of the researchers and experimenters who have shared their stories with Sarah Estep and ourselves, because it is you who have made the book possible.

Donations

We sincerely thank everyone who has sent in donations.  It is because of people like you that we can continue to keep the AA-EVP going. We have added features and benefits to the membership without increasing the cost. We have been able to do this because of your kindness and generosity. Thank you! We feel that it is important to get the information about EVP and ITC, and it’s message of survival, out to as many people as possible and with your help we can continue to do so.

Experimenters Report

·   Martha Copeland reported on her mother’s first EVP recording. Also present with Martha and her mother, were her father, a non-believer, and her sister Ginny who is also an AA-EVP member. They were using Martha’s computer to make the recording.

Martha said that her mother had asked her daughter, Cathy (now on the other side), if she was being a good girl. Her father was the first one to hear Martha’s uncle’s voice reply, “Your damn right!” Martha wrote, “I bet my uncle got a kick out of seeing the shocked expression on my father’s face. They were always, playing jokes on each other when he was alive. I think he is still doing so from the other side!”

·   Gary Nixon told members of the AA-EVP Egroup that, “I called ‘CQ Silent Key’ out loud into the air for weeks, hoping that someone might respond. I also framed this comment with what it was; a general call to any Ham on the other side who wished to establish contact. I also suggested (again, out loud) that CW (Morse code) was acceptable, and might even be easier to accomplish than a complex voice waveform. I got one very good reply; one that I thought said "KL7...," meaning an Alaskan station.

“I firmly believe that calling ‘CQ Silent Key’ (Ham radio lingo for someone who has transitioned) is a valid endeavor. Hams, on this side or the other, cannot resist the urge to make contacts.”

·   Tom Wingert wrote to say that he met with AA-EVP member Cindy Heinen and that the two talked and shared EVP examples. The two did a recording together and Tom said one EVP was funny. They asked if Jürgenson and Raudive could join in and talk to them. A male voice answered very clearly, “I hope so.”

·   Karen Mossey recorded, “Buy that movie.” She wrote, “I think I was thinking about the movie ‘Darkness Falls’ and whether or not I should buy it as it had just been released. I think this could be my son Rob telling me to buy it. He liked scary movies.”

·   Heidi and William Armbruster recorded “I love you Jenny.” This had a special meaning for them. Their son, Mike, had dated a girl named Jenny for about two years and then they broke up. They were getting back together and neither wanted to be the first to say, “I love you.” After Mike crossed to the other side, Jenny told Heidi that she did not know if Mike loved her. Heidi wrote, “You can’t imagine how happy this will make her!”

·   Sandy Colegrove’s husband, Freddie, is on the other side and she was very excited to record the message, “Freddie loves Sandy.”

·   Robert Hall was setting up for a Ghost Walk at Point Lookout Lighthouse. They were setting up lights to make the Lighthouse look spooky and were about to head up to the cupola but decided that it was dark and that they would wait to install the light in the cupola during daylight hours. Shortly after they walked away to do other things, a voice was recorded that said, “Abandon.”

·   On Feb. 7, Charli Claypool recorded a gentleman’s voice that politely asked for a glass of water. Charli got a tall glass of ice water and left it on the counter for him. She recorded several other Spirit people that wanted to know what they were supposed to do with a glass of water. Charli wrote, “Being on different planes I guess they didn’t hear him ask for it.

“On Feb. 10 the gentleman recorded his voice again, saying, “I left your glass on the counter, Charli.”

·   Mike Sullivan was about to stop recording and was about to thank his unseen friends for attempting to come through when he recorded a voice saying, “Please don’t go.” Mike said that he did not hear the recording until the next day and wrote, “I felt kind of bad, as if I’d let him down by leaving. Hopefully he understood that I had no way of knowing at the time.”