
Pere LaChaise Cemetary, Paris, France
#1
Posted 20 February 2007 - 07:08 AM
Ron Kolek, our Ghost Village Radio star, suggested that I go leave a cassette recorder running in the cemetary to see what I can catch.
Here are the challenges:
- Noisy roads on the other side of the walls, even in the quieter parts of the cemetary
- Birds chirping (we didn't have any winter this year and the birds are already working full steam)
- Passers'by and gardening vehicles
If I sit quietly next to the recorder, I can at least note all the most obvious external noises that come up.
What if I make up a list of questions, and ask them while the tape is running?
I'm not rich, so I can't afford expensive sound equipment, but are there cheap tricks for keeping the cassette sound as clean as possible?
Would anyone want to help me 'clean up' the tape afterwards (remove the noises made by cars and living people)? I don't have more than a Pentium 1 computer at home, and no internet connection (I cruise the internet only at work, where it's free).
Thanks for any input,
Carlotta
#2
Posted 21 February 2007 - 12:45 PM
#3
Posted 22 February 2007 - 07:47 AM
Thank you for the great information. I only have a little boom box with a recorder capability, which I didn't want to drag to the cemetary. I'm going to price recorders. Everything is more expensive in France, though, so I may go to the tape recorder to save money.
Despite the fact that digital recorders offer an easy solution for downloading content, how can one be sure that digital recordings are 'clean'? Couldn't previous recordings corrupt new ones? Or would I just use a new memory chip each time? Fresh audio cassettes are cheaper to buy than memory chips.
Should the microphone perhaps have a foam covering to keep out the air movement sounds (do I sound like a total green horn by asking this question)?
Carlotta
#4
Posted 23 February 2007 - 11:41 PM
I think I'll add my .02 worth here.My DVR is an olympus vn-240 no it doesn't have the usb link its no big thing.I bought a double male jack and connected one end to the earphone jack and the other end into the input jack on the computer.I also use Audacity sound program because I'm cheap and it's free,also it works good for me.Total cost vn-240 was $20.00 + Tax at Office Max ,and the double jack cord at Radio Shack was around $3.00 + tax so I got what I needed for under $25.00 bucks and a working sound program for free. Not bad at all ! I hope this help you Carlotta just remember ghost hunting doesn't have to hurt your wallet.
Powries
#5
Posted 02 May 2007 - 06:47 AM
While in the US I found a used Panasonic portable tape player with record capabilities. It must be 20 years old but still in good condition. I hope to get a chance to use it... if I can figure out a quiet location that has activity and is easy to get to without a car.
#6
Posted 11 January 2008 - 07:04 AM
Just an update. I noticed that lots of people have read this discussion, so there must be some interest out there in what's happening in that cemetary.
I haven't returned to the cemetary yet. Does anyone have suggestions about how to tape EVPs in the outdoors, or is it just impossible, given all of the noises that one can't control?
There are little masoleums in which I could sit and run the tape player, as long as I get the feeling that I'm not 'disturbing' anyone. Some of them have a distictly negative feeling that is so strong that I make a wide detour. There are people that sleep in them at night, and maybe even the daytime. Some homeless people keep their pets in them. You can find water dishes and pet beds sometimes.
Just walking through the cemetary can relax me, but also drain my energy. In trying to be 'open' to find a place to take EVPs, I also end up being open to the energy vampires too. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong?
Carlotta
#7
Posted 11 January 2008 - 08:50 AM
Does anyone have suggestions about how to tape EVPs in the outdoors, or is it just impossible, given all of the noises that one can't control?
I don't think it is impossible, it's just there can be many distractions. Most of my recordings are outdoors, and I pick up birds, road noise, bugs flying by...etc. Most of the UAP (shamelessly stolen from Ron) I have recorded I compare to all the other background noises I have heard throughout the recording to ensure it is an uncommon sound.
To me the most annoying, uncontrollable, problem with recording outdoors is wind. It tends to garble the recording and really takes over as the primary sound. I have remedied this by wrapping the microphone in a tube sock. It helps a bit, not completely though.
-Pfled
#8
Posted 11 January 2008 - 09:36 AM
#9
Posted 11 January 2008 - 10:12 AM
Wow, your friend must really know her rock and roll, who's Jim Morrison anyway?One of my friends told me this is where Jim Morrison is buried. Maybe you should do an EVP by his grave.

TLK
#10
Posted 11 January 2008 - 10:38 AM
#11
Posted 13 January 2008 - 11:36 AM
In the wake of the infamous Miami trails one may wonder if Mr Mojo Risin is really buried there in France, or if it was a plot to fake his death. Of course there are rumors of his grave site being haunted by the specter of a leather clad apparition as this picture hints.hi Lizard King...Jim Morrison is the hot looking guy in your avatar, right?...lol... Have there been any sightings of Jim?

TLK
Edited by Lizard King, 13 January 2008 - 11:38 AM.
#12
Posted 13 January 2008 - 01:47 PM
One of my friends told me this is where Jim Morrison is buried. Maybe you should do an EVP by his grave.
I don't think she's getting to do one by Jim Morrison's grave. There are so many people hanging around causing trouble that they have a permanent gendarme post right there by his grave. She'd probably be shooed off after a while... and, of course, the problem of people hanging around making noise ALL THE TIME.
I should look through my pictures of Pere LaChaise. There were a couple places that I felt like someone was in there and they might be somewhere that could get some activity. I never went over to the big mausoleums... I only had a morning and the place is HUGE... and I've never had a chance to go back when I've been in Paris since.
Pere LaChaise has to be THE most amazing cemetery I've ever been in. It's truly unique and it's beautiful... whether you're into the paranormal or art or parks or what.
Edited by Tantric Kitten, 13 January 2008 - 01:49 PM.
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