EVP: Electronic Voice Phenomenon: Massachusetts Ghostly Voices [Paperback]

Mike Markowicz (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing; Pap/Com edition (July 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764333593
• ISBN-13: 978-0764333590
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,040,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great..., December 8, 2010

By 

Ryan David Pardey (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: EVP: Electronic Voice Phenomenon: Massachusetts Ghostly Voices (Paperback)

If you're purchasing this book, chances are you're already familiar with EVPs and have probably seen all the usual "ghost shows" (Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, Paranormal State, Most Haunted etc). For those who came in late, Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) are electronically generated sounds or noises that resemble human speech. These are generally caught on tape (or digital recorders) and are not always heard at the time of recording, but are audible upon playback. There are many common sources of EVP including static, radio transmissions and unidentified background noise. Even though the term EVP serves to encompass only "voices", I personally consider unexplained "human sounds" (such as footsteps) as EVPs. You may be aware of the EVP Classification system which consists of classes A through E (sometimes F and G too) . This system attempts to classify EVPs according to their quality. I generally don't care for this system because, in my opinion, there are only 2 classes of EVPs:

CLASS 1 - EVPs where the "words" or "human sounds" (e.g., footsteps) are 'easily' understandable to the point where there is only ever going to be ONE interpretation (e.g., the voice is saying "Get Out" or there are definitely footsteps in the audio).

CLASS 2 - EVPs where the "words" or "human sounds" are 'moderately' understandable to the point where there may be several different interpretations of what is being heard (e.g., the voice is saying "Get Out" or "Here Now", or the sound is footsteps or someone dropping a coin).

In my opinion, anything else is garbage and should not in any case be considered evidence of paranormal activity. This book has a bit of both. I would say that about half of the EVPs on the CD that accompanies this book I would consider to be Class 2 as I defined above. There are a handful that I would consider to be Class 1 as I defined above. The rest are mostly inaudible and not what I would consider to be evidence of paranormal activity. Having said that, I give this book four stars because I think it has a genuine purpose even if it is not the intended purpose of the author. If you've never done any EVP work you can consider this book to be a crash course in "EVP Evidence Analysis". As a rule of thumb, I think all EVPs should be reviewed by a minimum of five people. If all five people agree that the voice is saying the SAME audible words OR that the EVP has a distinct human sound (such as footsteps), then I would consider the EVP to be a Class 1. But all five people must agree! If all five people can hear audible words/sounds, BUT there are several DIFFERENT interpretations of those words, I would consider the EVP to be a Class 2. Anything outside of that realm should be thrown out. This book will allow you to analyze EVP evidence and draw your own conclusions. In my opinion, over half of the EVPs on the CD that comes with this book could only be considered EVPs as a result of Apophenia (finding significance in insignificant phenomena) and/or Auditory Pareidolia (the interpretation of random sounds as voices). If you've done plenty of your own EVP work and analyzed hours of EVP evidence, this book would be a waste of your money. If you're new to the paranormal world and are interested in EVP and/or paranormal investigation, this book is worth checking out. Just be certain to listen with hard ears and be harsh with your judgment.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book!, April 6, 2010

By 

C. Hill - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: EVP: Electronic Voice Phenomenon: Massachusetts Ghostly Voices (Paperback)

I loved this book. After reading it and listening to the clips on the cd, I feel that Mike leads the field in evp research. Mike redefines the afterlife. This is the book to own if you are serious about researching evps. A must read!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars CD is not as good as I expected., January 25, 2011

By 

Lisa Hanson - See all my reviews

This review is from: EVP: Electronic Voice Phenomenon: Massachusetts Ghostly Voices (Paperback)

Though I enjoyed reading the book, I feel the CD fell short of well done. I say this only because a successful evp recording should include several seconds before and after the actual evp is heard so that your ear has time to adjust to hearing it clearly and concentrating on exactly what it says, or sounds like. Most recordings on this CD are just cut too short. This cd has many, many recordings and I had planned on using it as a training guide for new investigators on our paranormal team, but I will have to look elsewhere for better evp recordings. Final thought: Kudo's to the team for a good attempt, but honestly it fell short.