Once you’ve recorded and identified what you believe is an E.V.P, you have to decide whether or not it’s worth anything to the field, or yourself. There is a classification system for E.V.P.’s that is accepted by most investigators. Frankly, I don’t think it’s strict enough, so what I’ve done here is write up the system that I personally follow. Keep in mind, that this is my own, and it is not accepted by the paranormal community. The traditional system allows for more ‘questionable’ recordings to be considered evidence of something. I’m a hell of a lot more strict about what I call evidence. A lot of recordings that some call ‘evidence’, I would call a waste of hard drive s pace, and time. The system below reflects that stance on things.

The bottom line that I want you all to know is that what I say isn’t gospel, or anything. This system is my own, use it if you wish, and I DO hope it can help somehow. It helps me filter out a lot of crap that many investigators wish to put forth as evidence. I truly believe if more of us were more strict about this, there’d be a lot less fuel for the cynics.

Class A

These are the best that any investigator can do. These are E.V.P.’s that are loud, clear, and understandable to pretty much everyone that listens to them. You don’t even need headphones to understand these, and what is being said is as clear as your own voice.

Class B

This is a troublesome class, and it’s DEFINITELY the most mistaken.

These are a bit harder to understand. When you listen to them, they’re loud, and there’s no doubt that you’ve captured something interesting. Unfortunately it’s hard to positively identify exactly WHAT you’ve captured.

This is where BIG problems begin for MOST investigators and ghost hunters. The problem comes in the form of ‘pareidolia’.

From Wikipedia, Pareidolia is “a psychological phenomenon involving a stimulus (an image or a sound) wherein the mind perceives a familiar pattern of something where none actually exists.”

It’s like looking up at a cloud and seeing a turtle. You KNOW there’s no turtle up there, but your mind sees it anyway. The problem in the paranormal field is that it seems that MOST ghost hunters and paranormal investigators don’t realize that their mind is making shit up. They actually believe there’s a frickin’ turtle up there, and that’s the big problem.

When analyzing their jumbled E.V.P., somebody thinks that they may have heard a voice that says, ‘help me’. They tell somebody about what they think that they heard, and that person says, ‘yeah you’re right, it says help me!’ That person tells someone, and so on. Eventually, it gets to the point where the truth has been distorted so much by imagination that what’s really there becomes impossible to discern.

Once told that it says ‘help me’ it’s impossible for our mind to NOT hear ‘help me.’ It’s like a spoiler for a movie. Once you’re spoiled, you cant go back.

For example, quick DON’T think of zebras!

I bet I know what you’re thinking about right now.

To those who capture Class B E.V.P.’s, I offer this advice.

STOP THAT!

The turtle isn’t real! Accept them for what they are, and don’t use your imagination to figure them out. Be happy that you got something, and TRY AGAIN at the same location, and using the same technique. Maybe you can get a Class A next time.

Class C

Class ‘C’, for crap. I don’t mince words. These are crap, audio dookie if you will. These recordings are quiet and nobody can understand them with any degree of certainty. Naturally, you’ll always have the pareidolia factor where people will claim to know what the recording is saying. Pay no attention. They don’t have a clue. Mind what you have learned. Save you it can!

NOTE: Under the traditional E.V.P. classification system that MOST investigators, and hunters follow, this is actually considered acceptable evidence. I do not agree. I also think it’s completely stupid. Yeah… stupid.

Next, learn about transferring your file onto your computer!