The Voices on the Tape
A man recording birdsong played back his tape and heard a voice that wasn't there when he recorded.
What was reported
In 1959, the Swedish painter and film-maker Friedrich Jürgenson was recording birdsong near his home when he heard, on playback, what sounded like a human voice, later followed by others he took to be the voices of the dead.
The Latvian writer Konstantīns Raudive went on to record tens of thousands of such voices and published a book in 1971. Recording voices in static, known as EVP, is now a hobby around the world.
Explanations offered
Most researchers put the voices down to pareidolia, the brain's habit of hearing words in random noise, along with stray radio broadcasts picked up by the equipment. Listeners often disagree about what a recording says, which fits this.
- When
- 1959 onwards
- Where
- Mölnbo, Sweden
- Witnesses
- Friedrich Jürgenson, Konstantīns Raudive and many listeners
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.