For the past six weeks, I’ve been experimenting with the Zoom H4n Pro Recorder on the Interactive Ghost Hunting Experience with my ghost hunting guests. 

At first listen, to myself and to my guests, this recorder is nothing short of an amazing experience. I’ve even heard some listeners saying that we, as humans, should have this capability of hearing. I provide a set of over the ear headphones to use along with this recorder so there is truly only one listener at a time.

The purpose of this purchase to the Stories in the Cemetery toolkit was to capture true EVPs in a more delicate and accurate fashion. And since I’ve begun these experiments, I’ve had three instances that were unexplainable only to the tune of a true disembodied voice. 

The Pitfalls

The Recorded Files are Massive

The experiments started with a  full recording of the two and a half hour adventure that I host nightly. This was a mistake. The files for these recordings are massive and take a while to not only load the device, but also to upload to this website for my guests to listen to later. 

I also want to be able to study these recordings and a two and a half hour recording would put a delay on my response time to get my guests their data report from their investigation with me. So, I decided to only use the Zoom H4n Pro with one location for a period of 8-10 minutes at a time. Not only will this allow me to listen to the entire recording, but it added a nice feature to the ghost hunting adventure, rather than a full time job for the guest. 

Accessories

This next recognition isn’t necessarily a pitfall as it was a learning curve. But one that we would’ve liked to have known ahead of time. We’ve realized that a small breeze can ruin a full recording. The Interactive Ghost Hunting Experience takes place outdoors. So a windscreen, called a “dead kitten” was needed to save the recordings. I chose a rather large windscreen to make sure it was lined with a hard foam on top of the faux fur on the outside. 

A small nuisance, but our paranormal toolkit is pretty packed, so trying to find an arrangement to fit this large windscreen in the bag took a little bit of tetris-work, but we use it to store our two SBox spirit boxes in considering we keep the Zoom recorder in it’s hardened case for protection while moving about the city. 

Battery Usage

Another pitfall of this device is in its battery usage. It requires two AA batteries. For Stories in the Cemetery this was not an issue since all devices in our toolkit get rechargeable batteries changed on a daily basis, so adding enough batteries to our charging station wasn’t an issue. Note that Stories in the Cemetery has double the amount of batteries required for each device so we have those that are in the devices being used and the same amount being charged for the next investigation. I can see how using AA batteries would be an issue for the occasional ghost hunter, or even the musician for whom this device was designed.

The Celebrations

I’ll reiterate that the first experience with this device was amazing. The clarity, The noises we don’t we don’t always pay attention to or count as background, The sound of a car motor as it speeds past you, church bells as the clapper hits the inside of the common sound of Charleston. It’s all immersive. And you’ll have no idea how immersive it is until you experience it for yourself.

As I attempted to tell the story of a Murder Mystery, (a new tale for our route), a solid “help help” was heard in the background of my voice. The streets of Charleston were completely empty.

A second celebratory find was whispering as my team and I were walking to our next location. The listener commented on the whispering after they occurred but failed to tell me about them in real time. So these whispers were caught in real time and in the review of the recording without knowledge of them.

And third, as I told the history of Henry Timrod and his death by tuberculosis and coughing up blood on his final page written (what a way to go for a writer, by the way), there were “coughs” heard from the Zoom H4n Pro recording both in real time and during the review. 

I need your help

My inspiration for this post is to reach out to other paranormal investigators who have used this recorder successfully. I’m listing the settings I have of my recorder for comparison to yours. 

Leave a comment below of your settings of a successful EVP session with your recorder so that I may continue to learn about this recorder and capture more successful EVPs with my guests. You can also email me at storiesinthecemetery@gmail.com . Just put “ZOOM” as your subject line. 

We need to learn from each other, so I hope to hear from you all!

And for those that have not used this recorder, be sure to look me up next time you’re in Charleston, SC. We do some crazy stuff on these experiences and our reviews speak volumes to the experience. 

The Settings for our Zoom H4n Pro Recorder are as follows:

• Lo cut
  • Mic = Off
  • Input = Off
• Comp/Limiter
  • Mic = comp2
  • Input = comp2
• Monitor = off
• one/two link = off
• Level Auto = off
• Mono mix = off
• MS Matrix = off (since the one/two link is off)
• Phantom = off
• Plug-in = off

Recording Settings

• Rec Format =MP3 320
• Auto Record
  • Off
  • Start Level = -24dB
  • Stop Level = -24dB
  • Auto Stop = off
• Pre Rec = off

This is Episode 47 of the Stories in the Cemetery podcast on Spotify.