r/Ghosts

I was staying with my grandma. That night, she told me that my “grandma” (I sometimes called her that) died. I was heartbroken. I cried and cried. We slept in the same bed that night, and I couldn’t go to bed. My grandma was asleep though. I laid there on my side, just thinking. Then I felt a presence. It felt as if someone was hugging me, rubbing my back as if to comfort me. (It wasn’t my grandma, I was facing towards her, so I would’ve known if it was her) I heard whispers like “I’m here.” and “You’re okay.” I was a little freaked out, so I turned and looked, but there was no one there. I didn’t feel or hear anything after that. I had another incident similar to this a few weeks afterwards, doing the same thing, except this time it was like 5:00 PM.

When I watched the paranormal doc Hellier, I was really intrigued by the "Estes method" experiments they conducted with something called a "spirit box". In case you are new to this approach, the Estes method is an EVP-based technique that relies on a radio receiver that randomly sweeps through radio frequencies, i.e., the spirit box. The method works like this: a blindfolded, sensory-isolated “receiver” listens to a spirit box while a second participant (the “investigator”) asks questions aloud to the room. Although the receiver cannot hear the investigator's prompts, they provide an incidental response by calling out whatever words or sounds they hear coming through the spirit box in real time.

The problem for me is that spirit boxes are expensive and, at least where I'm from, hard to come by. So I built a web app to experience it myself. The webapp acts as the receiver: it picks up real radio audio sourced from WebSDR.org (an incredible resource that lets you tune in using actual radio equipment from a web browser) and uses a speech-to-text algorithm to output a text response based on what it "hears." You (the investigator) can listen to the radio audio alongside it (note that this is a violation of the original Estes method protocol, if you want to stick to the rules you'll have to mute the audio). I also invite people to use it with friends, one person as blindfolded receiver wearing headphones while the other transmits questions as investigator.

I am also working on an alternative mode called "experimental"; that uses an experimental approach I developed to match the radio audio I collected to the actual text of the question.

Would love to hear what comes through for you: https://spiritbox.tx-os.com

NOTE: the web app is using "on demand-hosting" so the first time you use it, the server needs time to wake-up. just keep transmitting questions until it starts working. you should receive the spirit box response no more than 5 seconds after asking a question when the server finished waking up.

Hi, I believe that my house is haunted. I have hallucinations, but only in this house.

I hear voices calling my name, it's not often. I believe this is the reason that electrical machines in the house keep breaking.

Two people have died in this house. Both were family I have never met. They both died in the same year of 1998.