Spirit Box Experiments

Spirit boxes/ghost boxes are essentially broken radios. They sweep through radio stations forward or backwards at a set rate. Through the white noise, you hear snippets of radio stations, however the theory is that if you hear a loud full word or sentence, it could be a spirit communicating with you. Keeping in mind that audio pareidolia plays a big part here, I have heard some very interesting things come through a spirit box BUT if I am being completely honest with you, I am not the biggest spirit box advocate. Why? Again audio pareidolia. I use spirit boxes on public investigations because people who watch paranormal content want to see it in action. I personally usually rely on other methods if I am doing my own thing, but I do try it out now and again. Instead of standing in a room holding the spirit box shouting over the top of the white noise, over the years I thought ‘there has to be another way’. So I started researching. There are some really cool experiments that people out there have come up with for the spirit box. If you believe in the box or not it doesn’t really matter as these experiments cater to both a believer and a sceptic. If it works, it is some pretty interesting evidence. If it doesn’t work, it can prove your point if you think they are rubbish. Either way, I think they are definitely worth a try and I am always willing to try new things, so here are some different spirit box experiments you can try!

Run 2 boxes side by side

This is a pretty standard one. Have your two spirit boxes next to one another and see if you can get a response to come through both spirit boxes. I have tried this and it has never worked for me but I must say I would be pretty impressed if the voice came through both boxes at the same time. It would be difficult to have them sweeping in perfect unison so it even possible? I don’t know – that is why it is an experiment

Have 2 people wearing headphones writing down their responses

Have one spirit box and 2 people sitting at a table. Use a headphone splitter so that each person is wearing headphones and can hear the same spirit box feed. Ideally, the headphones should be noise-cancellation ones so that outside noise does not contaminate the experiment. Have the people write down the responses they are receiving as they hear it. Are the recognizing the same words? This is where audible pareidolia will come into it as well. One person may recognise a word as tree while the other hears mummy. It sounds silly, but it can happen. Like with anything, unless they are clearly hearing the same thing, you would have to throw it out. Then it would be establishing if the word they have heard is interference or perhaps something else. In this case, you want them to be clearly writing down the same responses as one person is not influenced in any way by the other.

Play pass the parcel with the spirit box

One of the theories behind the spirit box is that you need to be physically holding it with your hand so that it can act as a conduit. Some people believe that maybe a spirit only wants to talk to a certain person. One of things I like to do during our public investigations is play ‘pass the spirit box‘. Everyone in the room is standing in a circle and they basically hold the spirit box, ask a question, wait about a minute for a response and then if they don’t receive anything pass it on. It is changing up the energy in the room, the spirit box is being held so it is ticking that box and hey it is getting everyone involved. Is this increasing your chances of getting a response? Is there one person in the room they want to speak to? Experiment and see. Other people also like to walk around the room holding the box. “Tell me which room to go into or where should I stop?” This is another popular method I have seen used quite a lot.

Try to eliminate interference

Interference is a big problem with the spirit boxes and is commonly mistaken for being a spirit voice. Some investigators use what is called a Faraday pouch, which is designed to eliminate the interference. You can buy them or make your own but what is important to understand with this one, is that it is impossible to build the perfect Faraday cage/pouch that will completely eliminate all radio interference. Some people also remove the antenna or purchase it ‘detuned’ but interference can still potentially come through. The only way to not pick up interference would be not to sweep through the stations. Can we leave the static white noise playing and get a response? In theory, why does it need to be sweeping across radio stations? Why can they not come through the white noise? Surely it would be easier because you aren’t having to try and come over several frequencies? Something worth trying.

Have an interviewer and interpreter (commonly now referred to as the Estes Experiment)

This is a popular technique right now which is commonly referred to as the Estes experiment. This was created by Karl Pfeiffer, Connor Randall, and Michelle Tate and featured on their YouTube series Spirits of the Stanley.  This is of course the infamous Stanley Hotel based in Estes Park Colorado so you can see where they came up with the name.  It soon went viral and started popping up all in popular paranormal television at the time and has since exploded across content creators all replicating this method.

You have one person who acts as the interpreter or ‘medium’. They wear noise-cancellation headphones and a blindfold.  This is so they cannot hear any questions being asked and also cannot read the lips of the person asking questions.  It also enters them into a sensory-deprived state.  They basically shout out any responses they are hearing on the spirit box. Then you have the interviewer. This is someone asking the questions. The person who is shouting out the responses can’t hear the questions, so if they shout out something that is relevant to the question asked, is there some merit to it? In trying this experiment, I get caught up in the moment (which I tend to do) and it can be a bit daunting due to the sensory deprivation element, especially if you are sensitive to white noise. Mentally, the person who is shouting out the words could anticipate the questions you will ask based on the answers you give. One way to avoid this would be for the interviewer to stick to a set of predetermined questions so that the interpreter could in no way ‘predict’ what you are going to ask. This is an incredibly popular method at the moment due to videos online and one of the most requested vigils guests ask for when they come for a public investigation.  They want to try it themselves.  People have adapted this in their own ways over the years and there is often debate over what sweep rate you should use, what kind of noise through to using headphone splitters and having several ‘interpreters’.

Remember, everything is experimental so nothing is silly. It goes back to my whole dont knock it till you try it thing. Before writing it off completely, come up with different ways you can do things. Maybe you can adapt a new experiment of your own. Instead of sitting in a room surrounding a spirit box sitting on a table, let’s think of some new ways we can do this. Log your results. Is it increasing our chances of a response? Are there certain things you are doing that give more responses? Are people interpreting the answers the same or differently? We all know how a spirit box works, so let’s start looking at why. Why are these things happening and why are they coming through? Is it really just interference, or is it something more? Why does white noise work? If it does in fact work, what other things can we try and do with white noise to get more responses? Whether you love or hate ITC and the spirit boxes, it is something worth experimenting with just to see what it is all about. You can either prove it works or prove it doesn’t. The reality is that it is not going anywhere, so why don’t we try new ways to use it?  

Tell me your ideas or experiments with the spirit box below! Did you get results? What things do you want to try and why do you think it works/doesn’t work?