Debunking the Skeptic: Refuting the Arguments in Opposition of Electronic Voice Phenomena

Argument #2: Evps are the result of nothing more than the power of suggestion.

Rebuttal: Again, in some cases this might be true. However, our team has captured evps that we have shared with clients during disclosure without suggesting to them what it is we have heard. The client then positively identifies what we have heard. Thus, the argument for priming is weakened. What's more, such an argument suggests that people do not have the ability to think for themselves or make deductions about what it is they perceive. What makes this argument completely fall apart is the fact that the researcher who analyzes evps does not always have someone present to suggest what it is they are hearing. How can one individual analyzing audio tape be primed to hear something when there is no one else available to provide suggestions? Such a question leads to the next argument.

Argument #3: Evps are the product of expectations: they are what people either believe should be heard at the time or they are what the individual wants to hear.

Rebuttal: Again, upon a cursory review of some evps this argument is plausible. Yet, if we consider it at a deeper level, the argument's strength wanes. It is true that if an individual poses a question like, "Is anybody here?" They may expect to hear a "yes" or "no" response. This is logical if questioning in a "yes" or "no" format. What is difficult to explain away are the interactive, intelligent answers you receive when you ask questions or even when you don't ask anything at all. For example, our team often tapes the initial interview with clients and often times we will get intelligent responses from voices other than the clients. In fact, on one particular investigation, the clients asked us if we would like to be invited to their former home to investigate any activity that might be present and immediately after the client provided the invitation a class A evp appeared saying: "We're in it." This was certainly an unexpected response as we were all pleased to find the response on tape.

Argument #4: The use of white noise causes a researcher to pick up stray sound waves or cross modulation from other electronic sources and nothing more.

Rebuttal: Some white noise source may indeed capture stray sound waves. A radio station tuned between stations, a television set between stations, or scanners can pick up sound

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