Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC)

Written by George Stadalski on ‎Friday, ‎November ‎23, ‎2012

Instrumental Transcommunication, or ITC, is the practice of using devices, usually electronic, to converse with entities that we believe to be the spirits of people that have passed away.  The most common type of ITC in practice is known as Electronic Voice Phenomenon, or EVP as it is more commonly referred to.  It is the name put to the activity of capturing the voice of a non-corporeal entity on a recording device.  The concept has been around since the invention of the technologies that allowed the transmission of a person’s voice over radio waves and the recording of sound.  It has been a major focus of paranormal investigators since the ‘50s and Hollywood even made a movie about it (“White Noise”, 2005).  Other methods of ITC include, Direct Radio Voices (DRV), Electro-Magnetic Field (EMF) Detector sessions and Flashlight sessions.

I have read that Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo Marconi are all rumored to have worked with methods to communicate with spirits and record disembodied voices.  As I began to research this matter, I realized that I had never read this myself.  I have only heard other people say that this was true, so in the interest of being thorough, I had to see it for myself.   In the course of my research I learned more about these men than I knew and was able to separate some of the myth from the reality.

“If our personality survives then it is strictly logical or scientific to assume that it retains memory, intellect and other facilities and knowledge we acquire on Earth. Therefore, if we can evolve an instrument so delicate as to be affected by our personality as it survived in the next life, such an instrument, when made available, should record something”. – Thomas Alva Edison

I began my research with Thomas Alva Edison.  I am not going to waste your time with a history of Edison’s career and the accomplishments that he is credited with.  He is an American icon and we all know of his legacy.  If you would like to know more about him feel free to check out the sources listed at the end of this article.

I had looked at many of his biographies that are available online, and not a one mentioned experimentation in communication with the deceased.  I decided to go to the very source and see if I could find copies of his actual writings online.  I found that Rutgers University has a project called The Thomas Edison Papers.  It is an extensive collection of Edison’s notes, drawings and correspondence.  It is available for viewing in book form, as microfilm and a portion of his work has been digitalized and is available online.   I searched the site for a few different topics and found a set of Edison’s notes from 1917 that mentioned the topic of communication with the dead; this is the tag for that folder.

“Edison General File Series -- 1917: (E-17-77) Religion and Spiritualism - This folder contains correspondence and other documents regarding Edison's opinions and widely publicized statements about immortality, theology, superstition, and related subjects. Also included are unsolicited letters, essays, and other writings on topics such as prophecies, the Bible, communications with the dead, mystical explanations of electricity, and the war in Europe. Most of the items for 1917 are marked for no answer. None of the letters bear any notations by Edison.”

Since the notes have only been digitized up to 1898, I was unable to actually read the entries mentioned in the description.  So, I have new item on my to-do list and that is to someday visit Rutgers in New Jersey to view these documents.  In lieu of a visit, I contacted the folks at The Thomas Edison Papers, and Rachel Weissenburger from The Thomas Edison Papers quotes Edison saying, “…that consciousness existed in fundamental units that combined to make up each human being and that these existed prior to and after death.”  Evidence of this belief is found as far back as the 1890s.  During the 1920s Edison indicated in a number of interviews that he was developing a contrivance to assist entities in their attempt to manifest.  A number of these interviews are reproduced in a book published in 1948 called “The Diary and Sundry Observations of Thomas Alva Edison”, edited by Dagobert D. Runes.

So what I found out is that Thomas Edison did in fact have an interest in developing ITC technology and believed that technology was the key to communication with those that have passed from this mortal realm.  What I did not find was any information on how he planned to accomplish this feat or if he ever did.

Since Thomas Edison won the popularity contest that existed between himself and Nikola Tesla, who by the accounts of many historians and engineers was the better inventor, there is very little official history to be found on him online.  Outside of a few encyclopedia entries and some very flattering fan sites, there are not many sources of information.  I know that Tesla’s notes are out there somewhere in collections, both public and private, but I have not found a way to access them.

“There is not more than one out of every ten persons who does not believe in telepathy and other psychic manifestations, spiritualism and communion with the dead, and who would refuse to listen to willing or unwilling deceivers.” - Nikola Tesla

The internet is full of stories of Tesla wanting to converse with spirits and the experiments that he staged to that end.  What I have not found is a mention of this in any encyclopedic entry or history book I have ever read.  The source that would end the discussion would be Tesla’s own notes where he discussed the theory and how he intended to translate the concept into practical application.

I read Nikola Tesla’s autobiography titled My Inventions.  In it Nikola states that “Ever since I was told by some of the greatest men of the time, leaders in science whose names are immortal, that I am possesst [sic] of an unusual mind, I bent all of my thinking faculties on the solution of the greatest problems regardless of sacrifice.  For many years I endeavored to solve the enigma of death, and watched eagerly for every kind of spiritual indication.  But only once in the course of my existence have I had an experience which momentarily impressed me as supernatural.” 

He then tells his story and then explains how it was his mind playing tricks on him while he was ill.  He concludes his story with this statement. “While I have failed to obtain any evidence in support of the contentions of psychologists and spiritualists, I have proved to my complete satisfaction the automatism of life, not only through continuous observations of individual actions, but even more conclusively through certain generalizations.”  The man, with all of his knowledge and abilities could not find any proof of life after death.

The final member of the Holy Trinity of ITC is Guglielmo Marconi.  While he was a scientific contemporary of Edison and Tesla, his focus was on wireless communication not energy distribution.  He is a Nobel Prize winning scientist and is credited for saving the lives of the people that got off the Titanic through his invention.  But I cannot find a single biography that tells of his being involved with ITC theories or practices.  While I think that his connection with the Italian Fascist Party might have marred the way history remembers him, his work with radios has forever changed the way we live and made it possible to live the wireless lifestyle that we all enjoy.

So for the third time, we reach a dead end with a story that is sounding like one of three options.  These stories are either an extreme misunderstanding of a man’s life work, wishful thinking on the part of paranormal investigators taking on a life of its own or a blatant fabrication to try to lend credibility to a hobby.

The timeline tracking the evolution of the practice of Instrumental Transcommunication is an interesting look into the work that has gone before and, I think, an important part of every paranormal investigators personal education.

The 1920s - Thomas Alva Edison, American inventor and entrepreneur, with the help of his assistant, Dr. Miller Hutchinson, is reported to have worked on building a machine designed to achieve communication “with the dead”.  His assistant is quoted as saying that, “Edison and I are convinced that in the fields of psychic research will yet be discovered facts that will prove of greater significance to the thinking of the human race than all the inventions we have ever made in the field of electricity.”

1925 - “Voices from Beyond by Telephone” is published by Oscar d’Argonell.  In his book d’Argonell tells of conversations that he had with friends that he had made in the spirit world, describing how these calls to the spirit world were made.

1936 - Atila von Szalay used phonograph cutting equipment to record EVPs.

1949 - Marcello Bacci used an old vacuum tube radio to record EVPs.  His work was seen as being so successful that people would visit Bacci at his residence to have him connect them with their loved ones who had passed.  He reported that there were a group of spirits that believe it is their duty to maintain contact with people still living.  

The 1950s – Most people are unaware that the Vatican has been involved in EVP research from the earliest days of the field of study.  Father Ernetti and Father Gemelli discovered disembodied voices on recordings that they had made of monks performing Gregorian chants.  They were hesitant to approach Pope Pius XII with their recordings for fear that an investigation of this phenomenon could be considered a sin.  Pope Paul VI became acquainted with Friedrich Juergenson, who we will talk about next, during the production of a documentary about his papacy. 

1959 - Friedrich Juergenson, a Swedish film producer, was recording bird-songs for use in a project when he recorded what he believed were voices on audio-tape.  While he was listening closely to the voices after the initial discovery, he heard what he believed was his mother's voice speaking in German; “Friedrich, you are being watched.  Friedel, my little Friedel, can you hear me?”  This was the starting point of many different recordings that are amongst the clearest ever recorded.  Friedrich Juergenson published two books based on his work titled, “Voices from the Universe” and “Contact with the Dead”.

1967 - Franz Seldel created a device he called the “psychophone” that he intended to use for the recording of voices from the “Astral world”.

1971 - Konstantin Raudive performed a series of experiments with the chief sound engineers of Pye Records Limited.  They invited Raudive to their sound laboratory, which had been fitted with special equipment to eliminate stray radio waves and electrical impulses.  While most people would name Friedrich Juergenson as the father of modern EVP work, it was Raudive that brought it into the public consciousness.  His success prompted many people to begin experimenting with ITC with commercial recording devices in their homes.

Raudive, expounding on the work of Friedrich Juergenson, had evolved six different methods of recording these voices.  They were methods that used a microphone, radio frequencies, a frequency transmitter, a diode, a goniometer and the device, created by Franz Seldel, known as the “psychophone”.

Peter Bander, who worked extensively with Raudive, postulated that a personal approach to voice recordings is more effective than a clinical method.   They had determined that the three possible sources of the voices were “electronic impulses sent out by our subconscious mind and registered as human speech on the tape”, “voices transmitted by an unknown method from perhaps another planet or an intelligent source somewhere in the universe” or “people who have died on this earth and try to retain communication with those who are still here: in fact that the voices originate from where they say they do”

The late 1970s - George and Jeanette Meek funded the work of psychic William O’ Neil working with a device known as the Spiricom.  This device could supposedly convert “spirit voices” into easy to hear words and sentences.  The Spiricom was able to generate 13 tones that included all of the sounds created by the average male voice.

By the end of 1980 the Spiricom device had been improved upon and was receiving messages that were clearly designated as the voice of O’Neil’s friend, former NASA scientist, Dr. George Jeffries Mueller who had passed in 1967.  The body of work that was undertaken under the Spiricom name has been dissected by many investigators and skeptics.  There has been much evidence provided of the entire enterprise being a fraud.  I mention this simply to incite you to research it on your own.

Between 1982 and 1988 - Hans Otto Koenig developed a device that used extremely low frequency oscillators and quartz-crystals irradiated with ultraviolet light which he called HRS (Hyper-Raum-System or Hyperspace System).  In 1983 he appeared on Radio Luxembourg with his equipment where it was held to the close scrutiny of the engineers at the radio station.  

Between 1984 to 1985 - Ken Webster used his computer to receive in the area of 250 messages from a spirit that was supposedly named Thomas Harden.  The spirit, who had passed on in the 16th century, made claims he had owned Ken Webster’s property four hundred years earlier.  The messages contained historically factual information delivered in an accurate old English dialect.

1985 - Klaus Shreiber claimed to receive images of spirits on his television that included various deceased family members, Austrian actress Romy Schneider and Albert.

1985 - Mark Macy, of the World ITC organization, started to work with an international team of scientists and researchers.  Of his work, Mark Macy said:

“Sixteen of us met in England to discuss this modern day miracle, its tremendous possibilities for our world, and the obstacles that stood in the way. We formed new friendships, and by the end of a long weekend we also formed INIT; The International Network for Instrumental Transcommunication. In the coming months Ethereal beings told us that they were observing our efforts closely and would provide guidance and support. We began to observe unprecedented miracles in our research. Many of us received phone calls, from Spirit friend Konstantin Raudive, and the Harch-Fischbachs; note: radio based ITC equipment of Maggy Harsch-Fischbach and her husband Jules Harsch of Luxembourg; received astounding pictures and messages through their computer, all as a result of resonance among INIT members. It was clear that a new phase of ITC research on Earth had begun. Our Ethereal friends told us that the greatest strides would be made by individuals from different countries who committed to work together in harmony with pure intentions”.

In the past few decades we have been inundated with the entertainment’s world deluge of unscientific examples of Instrumental Transcommunication.  With the influx of devices that are out there these days that are supposedly able to allow spirits to communicate with investigators and concepts like using a flashlight or a KII EMF detector to communicate, I believe that the entire field of study has gotten severely off-track.

Sources

The Thomas Edison Papers, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ:  http://edison.rutgers.edu/index.htm

The Diary and Sundry Observations of Thomas Alva Edison, edited by Dagobert D. Runes. Philosophical Library, New York, 1948) [A reprint of the article is available at http://ufoexperiences.blogspot.com/2007/04/survival-of-spirit-peripheral.html]

"Thomas Edison, Paranormalist" by Martin Gardner, Skeptical Inquirer, July-August 1996, pages 9, 11-12

Tesla, Nikola.  My Inventions.  Filiquarian, 2006.

Raudive, Konstantin. Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead. Taplinger Publishing Company, New York. 1971

Bander, Peter. Voices from the Tapes: Recordings from the Other World. Drake Publishers, New York. 1973.

Welch, William. Talks with the Dead. Pinnacle Books, New York. 1975.

Rogo, D. Scott. In Search of the Unknown. Taplinger Publishing Company, New York. 1976

Sherman, Harold. The Dead are Alive: They Can and do Communicate with You. Fawcett, New York. 1993

MacRae, Alexander.  EVP and New Dimensions. Lightning Source Inc, La Vergne, TN . 2004

Toms, Nathan. The Electronic Ghosts. Lightning Source Inc, La Vergne, TN. 2006

Markowicz, Mike. EVP: Electronic Voice Phenomenon: Massachusetts Ghostly Voices. Schiffer Pub Ltd, Atglen, PA. 2009

Cardoso, Anabela. Electronic Voices: Contact with Another Dimension?  O Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA. 2010