psychophony

English

Etymology

psycho- (“mind”) +‎ -phony (“voice”)

Noun

psychophony (uncountable)

1. (spiritualism) Vocal communication with the dead or with spirits.
   • 1922, Harper's Monthly Magazine, volume 145, page 679:

     Their motives are perhaps not entirely laudable and probably they are being fooled; but even if they are not getting authentic messages from the dead, yet some queer things have happened and are happening as a result of psychophony.

   • 1996, C. De Radwan, The Secret of Mind Power and How to Use It, →ISBN, page 48:

     In this way the ancient knowledge of Pythagoras is applied in the most modern form of psychophony, and in this way, for the first time in the existence of the present world, the special mind-power vibrations which you require are reproduced on the invisible ether, at your command, by the use of the psychophonic records.

   • 2011, Sandie Gustus, Less Incomplete: A Guide to Experiencing the Human Condition beyond the Physical Body:

     Not uncommonly, the vibrations produce a sensation of inflation common in psychophony (vocal channeling) with the apparent expansion and swelling of the hands, feet, lips, cheeks, chin and solar plexus area.

   • 2011, Group of Ethics Studies, The Ethics of Jesus Christ, →ISBN:

     The third is the message of one or more spirits, which in psychophony is identified only as a spiritual friend.

2. The appearance of voices or meaningful sounds in the white noise on electronic recordings; electronic voice phenomenon (EVP).
   • 2010, Anabela Cardoso, Electronic Voices: Contact with Another Dimension?, →ISBN, pages 45–46:

     They started their own research at the beginning of the seventies, after hearing of Jürgenson's voices, and since then they have indefatigably dedicated a lot of their time and energy to research, particularly in the field of psychophony, as the phenomenon is known in Spain.

   • 2014, Enrico Catalucci, The book of Hanni, →ISBN:

     Then there was the EVP (Psychophony), that, as I checked on the Internet, is still practised now.

   • 2015, Enrique Laso, Hell Calling II, →ISBN:

     The technician looked at the people in the living room, feeling unsure how to proceed. His shy nature made him feel uncomfortable in this situation, but he knew he had to share his intuition, however mad they'd be. "That psychophony we recorded from Laura's mother, I've been thinking about it a lot..."

   • 2015, F. Javier Panera Cuevas, Bu Bir Aşk Şarkısı Değil [This is Not A Love Song], →ISBN, page 145:

     Like a sort of ghostly psychophony, Dylan in Between collects the 'residual sound' some people claim to perceive in the short breaks separating the songs on a Bob Dylan vinyl record.

Derived terms

• psychophonic