Ghost Stories & Paranormal Encounters

Have you read the previous parts of this story? Growing up Haunted in Sydney Part 1

In the late 70′s no-one even knew what an EVP was. While I have since studied and read up on the paranormal in an attempt to understand what my family and I went through growing up – we did once manage to unintentionally capture a rather impressive EVP.

Only My Mum and I were in the house – my new step-dad was away working. My mum who had been an extremely qualified ex trauma nurse and matron had done the ‘done thing’ in the 50′s and given up work when she married, as was the done thing in those days. Now in the liberated 70′s she was throwing herself back into study as a psychologist (maybe the ghost had driven us crazy and we needed one in the family?) and she had to practice a speech she had to give to her lecturers. Mum found the best way was to tape the speech and play it back and listen to it.

Mum went to the shop and bought a brand new tape especially for the task – and before I got home from High School started practicing by reading the text she had prepared. She only managed to tape her speech once … and the first playback had her spell bound.

I can remember coming home from High School in my late teens and my mum being rather agitated and asking me to listen to her tape… I really didn’t want to as I had other things to do, but she was insistent. Given her study topic she was careful not to say anything about WHY she wanted me to listen to the tape, so as not to put any suggestions into my head. Dutifully, I listened to my mum drone on about Freud’s theory and her comparisons to Jung when I realized it was a bit difficult to make out what she was saying in places on the tape because of the radio in the back ground seemed to drone out some of what she was saying. I made a comment about the radio being too loud in the background. “The radio wasn’t on,” mum said simply. “Oh I meant the TV,” I corrected. “Nope – no TV either – the house was silent when I taped this.” “Then who’s talking in the background?” I demanded. “What do you think they’re saying?” she asked. Obviously she had listened to this tape a dozen times before I got home but now it was my turn.

Taking my concentration off what my mum was saying on the tape and concentrating on the “radio” voice in the background blew my mind. There were dozens of voices and they all seemed to be talking over one another. But in places one voice dominated or drew apart and one thing was certain – they were generally saying, “help me.” They were the creepiest voices I have ever heard in my life to this day and I wouldn’t care to hear them again.& Some were low and guttural – others high and squeaky and everything in between. I remember one which said “help” in an average tone and “me” in a drawn out and much higher tone which gave the impression it was pleading!

We didn’t even know what an EVP was when this happened! “What are we some half way house for ghosts?” I joked, “it sounds like there’s a whole bunch of them there – you had to have heard something!” I insisted. But Mum was adamant the house had been totally silent while she had practiced her speech and the radio and TV were off. Spooked she tossed the tape in the ‘junk drawer’ in the kitchen and slammed it shut, with no-one game to ever play it again and it eventually disappeared during one of mum’s spring clean ups.

Written by Jennifer Mills-Young, Copyright 2009

More about EVPs Electronic Voice Phenomenon and even tips on how to record your own.

Have you read the previous parts of this story? Growing up Haunted in Sydney Part 1 ~~ Growing up Haunted in Sydney Part 9