Have you seen the movie White Noise? This popular film stars Michael Keaton as an architect who suddenly loses his wife. Grief-stricken, he's contacted by someone who claims to be receiving messages from his wife through the anomaly known as Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). Gradually he becomes obsessed with trying to contact his wife himself using EVP. While some of the movie's more sinister moments are pure made-for-Hollywood hype, EVP is very real and one of the methods anyone can use to contact the spirit world.

There are many ways to communicate with the dead—you can go to a professional medium, develop your own psychic communication skills, use a Ouija board (a less recommended option, as many believe this can attract unwelcome entities), or experiment with EVP. One of the unique things about EVP is that if you are using a recording device, you end up with an actual recording of a voice from beyond. So instead of a purely subjective experience, such as going into a meditative trance, you can play it back for other people. Or replay it by yourself, closely listening for things you didn't hear the first time. With EVP, you are able to capture a true "spirit recording" of a voice from beyond.

If you'd like to experiment with EVP, the best place to start is the book Speak with the Dead. Author and paranormal buff Konstantinos spent years researching and experimenting with EVP, so one of the bonuses is that you can learn from his mistakes!

Don't be discouraged by thinking that it costs a lot of money. While it is true that if you had unlimited resources you could assemble an impressive array of high-tech gadgets, you can start with items you already own, such as a radio, VCR, computer, or telephone.

Another advantage of EVP is that you don't risk being deceived by an unethical person who only claims to be a medium. You will be capturing proof of the afterlife for yourself (and even by yourself, if you prefer). The directions for using each technique in Speak with the Dead are easy to follow and don't require any kind of technical expertise. If you can turn on a radio, you can try EVP!

Whether you want to make contact with a deceased loved one, as in the film White Noise, or you're just curious to hear about what it's like on the other side, EVP is a fascinating method of afterlife communication that anyone can use.

Today's technological diversity gives us more options than ever for communicating with the dead, but if that's not your style, a more traditional approach is explained in detail in How to Communicate with Spirits by Elizabeth Owens.

Reverend Owens is a medium and an ordained Spiritualist minister, and she lives in the Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp in Cassadaga, Florida. Talk about life with the spirits! Spiritualism is a religion founded in the mid-1800s that focuses on communication with the spirit world. Many of Reverend Owens' friends are mediums, and their thoughts and stories are sprinkled throughout this delightful book. She also frankly discusses what the Bible does and doesn't say about spirit communication, and believes that using these methods does not conflict with any religion or belief system but is truly open to us all.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a medium, you'll definitely want to check out this book. Sometimes it seems like Elizabeth is sitting right at your kitchen table, recounting story after story about ghosts, spirit guides and the great beyond. She believes that everyone has the ability to communicate with the spirit realm. Some people are more naturally gifted than others, she says, but with patience and practice, anyone can develop their own innate sixth sense.

Reverend Owens walks you through the experience, giving helpful hints and tips along the way to help you determine what you're seeing and hearing. You could be communicating with a friendly spirit or with one of your personal guides. According to her, we are all born with one personal guide, and others come to us throughout the course of our life to help guide us through life's ups and downs, forming a band of personal guides with different specialties.

These guides were once regular people and choose to serve as guides to the living. They are healers, teachers, philosophers, protectors, master teachers, and more. Reverend Owens can see these guides, and even draw spirit portraits. Discover the story of her own master teacher guide on page 69. With dozens of true stories of spirit contact from a variety of Spiritualist mediums, How to Communicate with Spirits is a fun and interesting read as well as a practical handbook.

If you love a good ghost story, why not give real-life spirit communication a try? Both of these books discuss the proper process for making contact, and give you a clear picture of what to expect and what to do to properly prepare yourself for the experience. With expert guidance, there's nothing to fear—and an entire unseen world to be explored.