Spirit Box Sessions: Ghost Box Words and Responses

A spirit box, also called a ghost box, is a device that rapidly scans radio frequencies so investigators can listen for words that seem to answer their questions. It is one of the most popular tools in modern ghost hunting, and one of the most debated. Below, we explain what a spirit box is, how it works, how to use one, what skeptics say, and the spirit box sessions from LiveSciFi investigations, so you can hear the responses and judge them yourself.

What Is a Spirit Box?

A spirit box is usually a modified radio that sweeps through AM or FM stations every fraction of a second, producing a stream of static and broken audio. The theory is that spirits can use that noise, or the fragments of broadcast speech in it, to form words. Investigators ask questions out loud and listen for replies.

The first well-known device was "Frank's Box," built by Frank Sumption in the early 2000s. Today's popular models, such as the P-SB7 and P-SB11, are handheld radios with an adjustable sweep rate.

How Does a Spirit Box Work?

A normal radio stays on one station. A spirit box keeps jumping. At a fast sweep rate, each station plays for a split second, which is too short to hear a whole word from any one broadcast. Supporters argue that a full, relevant word across several stations is therefore hard to explain as chance. Skeptics reply that a split second is enough for a syllable, and the brain joins syllables into words.

How to Use a Spirit Box

1. Choose a sweep rate, typically 100 to 250 milliseconds, and stick with it for the session.
2. Record the whole session on a separate recorder so you can review it later.
3. Ask short, specific questions, such as a name, a number or a yes-or-no question.
4. Write down what you hear before anyone else says what they heard, then compare.
5. Try a "blind" listener wearing noise-cancelling headphones, so they can't hear the questions.

Do Spirit Boxes Really Work?

There's no scientific proof that spirit boxes contact the dead. Critics point out that:

• Radio scans contain real speech, music and DJ chatter, so words will appear by chance.
• The brain is very good at hearing words in noise, and better still when it knows the question (auditory pareidolia).
• Once one person says what they heard, others tend to hear the same thing.

Supporters point to replies that are on topic, use names nobody mentioned, or answer several questions in a row. We show sessions unedited and note when a word could have come from a broadcast, so viewers hear what we heard.

Spirit Box Sessions from LiveSciFi Investigations

• A phrase at the Sallie House (Episode 11, 37:46): a spirit box phrase, and how viewers heard it differently. Watch the moment
• A threatening phrase at Sedamsville Rectory (43:12): from The Demon Files, followed by questions on the staircase. Watch the moment
• "Feel this" at the Sallie House, Kansas (15:57): a ghost box response just before the team asks for contact. Watch the moment
• "Come" at Fort Churchill, Nevada (19:58): heard after questions about the land. Watch the moment
• Haunted Hill House spirit box session (1:45): the session that opens our stairway-shadow episode. Watch the moment
• A sensory-deprivation listening test (45:30): a blindfolded listener with headphones calls out words so the questions can't influence what they hear. Watch the moment

Play any of these moments in the player above, or browse every spirit box moment in the archive below.

Spirit Box FAQ

What is the difference between a spirit box and a ghost box?

Nothing. "Spirit box" and "ghost box" are two names for the same kind of radio-sweeping device. Some people use "ghost box" for any device or app that produces words, including the Ovilus.

Are spirit box apps real?

Most spirit box apps don't scan live radio. They play back a built-in bank of sounds or words, so the "responses" come from the app itself. We cover this in our article on ghost hunting apps and whether they work.

Is a spirit box dangerous?

The device itself is just a radio. Some investigators believe any spirit communication can invite negative activity and close each session with a goodbye, the same way they would close a Ouija board.

Related reading: Paranormal Evidence Archive · EVP recordings · Ovilus word devices · Sallie House Dark Secret Exposed