DVD Review: Dead Whisper

FOR THOSE WHO can't get enough of ghost hunting, skulking around in creepy haunted places and recording disembodied voices, this new two-disk DVD presentation won't disappoint. In fact, it features some interesting discoveries that could open new areas of ghost research and discussion.

This nicely done production from Ronald James Television (taped in high definition) accompanies members of Indiana Ghost Trackers and psychic Robbie Thomas on two interesting ghost hunts. First they venture into the abandoned and very spooky Manteno Asylum for the insane, where patients had sometimes been held against their will, mistreated and even tortured – a setting ripe for a haunting if ever there was one. Their second investigation is at Rico D's house, which in the 1930s was a hangout for such gangsters as Al Capone, and later a brothel and biker hangout. With possible murders taking place there, spirits could be lingering.

We've all seen the other ghost hunting shows, so we know what to expect from the actual hunts: investigators creeping quietly in dusty attics and musty basements, the photo flashes in the dark, the beeps of EMF meters and echoed questions in hopes of getting an EVP on tape.

The Indiana Ghost Trackers carry it all out with seriousness and professionalism. But the payoff with this production is in some of the evidence they gathered.

The proof of the ghost hunt is in the evidence, and here it comes in the form of feelings, psychic impressions, photos and EVP.

The most subjective evidence are the eerie feelings and glimpses of shadows (not caught on camera) that the researchers claim.

Psychic Robbie Thomas offers his psychic impressions of the haunted sites, some of which seem to be corroborated by the caretakers. The problem with such psychic readings on ghost hunts, quite often, is that they cannot be verified, or we do not know how much research the psychic has done in advance. In this case, however, there appears to be some hard evidence for the information Thomas was receiving psychically. More about that later.

The photos produce the usual – some "ecto" and some orbs. I'm not very keen on either as evidence of the paranormal. At one point, the filmmaker asks: If orbs are just dust, why don't they show up in the millions of family photographs taken every day? In fact, they do. I receive dozens of such photos every month from readers. Orbs are very common.

Having said that, however, there are some intriguing orbs caught on video; a little harder to explain.

As is usual on most ghost hunts these days, the best – or at least the most provocative – evidence comes in the form of electronic voice phenomena (EVP). On the hunts in Dead Whisper, there are a variety of them ranging in quality from very hard to hear to very clear. Some make comments while others are downright hostile and vulgar.

Then something astonishing is discovered. In reviewing the audiotapes and videotapes for EVP, the research team hears the EVP voices echoing what a living person says. At first, you might think, it is an echo, or perhaps magnetic bleedthrough on the tape. However, in these cases the EVP voice is heard to say something before the living person says it. In one instance, an entire phrase is caught very clearly in EVP, and then about an hour later a living person says the exact same phrase in nearly the exact same manner! (This was discovered after the fact, so the person was not imitating the EVP.)

In another instance, the EVP utters a word, then Robbie Thomas utters the same word as a received psychic impression. Dead whisper, indeed! Pretty impressive.

These phenomena could give us some new insight into the nature of the spirits, EVP and how they exist in the flow of time. For this reason, anyone fascinated by ghost phenomena and EVP will find this DVD of interest, and I can recommend it.

The bonus disk contains footage of another investigation, a gag reel, production stills and additional interviews with the investigators.