Paranormal Investigations: Avoiding contaminated evidence while using digital voice recorders

Anyone involved in paranormal research knows theOn some occasions the paranormal investigator may
importance of collecting audio evidence of electronicchoose to leave the digital voice recorder alone in a
voice phenomena (EVP) free of contamination. room and allow it to simply run without EVP questions
Contamination is defined as any sound or noise whichbeing asked.  This is a common technique which
is man-made which provides a false positive or couldagain requires some careful planning.  When leaving a
be improperly deemed paranormal when in fact it isdigital voice recorder in a room as a "stand alone"
not.recorder, consider closing any doors to the area and
In the paranormal field, there are a variety ofseal it off with a piece of colored tape.  By doing so, it
instruments used which if not used carefully couldindicates the area is sealed off and no one should
result in contaminated evidence.  In this article, we willenter the room if possible.  Even walking close to the
examine the digital voice recorder and offer some tipsdoor can create footsteps which can be picked up by
on how to avoid contaminated evidence while usingthe recorder so again, caution should be taken even
this instrument.getting close to the room.  If you have to enter the
Digital voice recorders are one of the most commonlyroom, implement the use of verbal "tagging" to identify
used tools by the paranormal investigator but usingthat you're entering the room.  When placing the
them requires extreme care to avoid false positives. recorder in the room, look for any other sources of
First and foremost, when conducting EVP sessions it isnoise such as fans, air conditioners, or anything that
always important to identify the who, what, when, andhas timer which make turn something on in the room
where of the session.  Paranormal investigatorswhile the recorder is in use. 
should always verbally "tag" this information. This canConsider limiting the number of paranormal
be accomplished by simply stating this information intoinvestigators in the area or building being investigated
the voice recorder.  An example might be, "EVPwhich can significant reduce the possibility of
session, Jones residence, the date, John, Mike, andcontaminated evidence.  Fewer people mean less
David, in the living room." Also any man-made noiselikelihood of capturing false footprints and other
such as coughing, yawning, of footsteps should beman-made noise.  If other investigators must be in the
verbally "tagged".  Simply say, "Traffic noise in thebuilding, try to put as much space between them and
background" or "That's John coughing."  Making thesethose conducting the EVP recording session.
statements for the recorder will help tremendouslyAnd finally, no article on eliminating contamination of
when reviewing the recordings for EVP evidence. evidence would be complete without mentioning
While using the digital voice recorder the paranormalwhispering.  Paranormal investigators should never
investigator should consider implementing the use of anwhisper.  Whispering is probably more to blame for
external microphone which helps to avoid picking upfalse evidence more than any other noise out there
sound emitted from the recorder itself.  It also helps toand must be eliminated.  Always speak in a clear,
avoid picking up any "jostling" sound picked up by theconversational tone so that it will not be confused for
recorder while the recorder is being handled in thea false anomaly.
record mode.  Digital voice recorders should also beAs you can see by taking some simple steps you can
set down on a table or other object during thegreatly reduce or hopefully eliminate contaminating
recording of EVPs to further help eliminate "jostling"your evidence.  By doing so it will provide EVP
sounds.  And finally, try to avoid walking whilesession which is easier to review and possibly give
conducting EVP sessions to avoid picking up the soundgreater credibility to your EVPs.
of footprints while walking.