It is time to reveal the answer to the Halloween "What Is It" question.....
We had one winner!
But they didn't tell who they are! So I cannot give them their kitty cat prize!
Whomever voted for "Machine for listening to ghosts and spirits speak to the living in real time" guessed correctly!
More specifically this device is called "Franks Box". Other names for it include "Ghost Speaker", "Ghost Receiver" and "Ghost Box".
Here is a picture of it without the blacked-out sections.....
Frank's Box consists of a random voltage generator, which is used to tune an AM receiver module rapidly. The audio from the tuner (raw audio) is amplified and fed to an echo chamber, where theoretically the spirits manipulate it to form their voices.
I found a couple of youtube clips that demonstrate the device in use. I cannot watch the videos (I'm on dial-up) but I think the second clip is from the show "Paranormal State" and I remember seeing it on television about a year ago.
Since the Frank's Boxes are usually built from scrap, (I think there is one or two companies which will build them on special order) they often do not look alike, but the principle of how they work is always the same. There has been some discussion to mass produce them in the future for use in paranormal investigations.
The following clip is 3-4 minutes in length....
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwH0j0Cwd-s[/youtube]
The following clip is about 17 minutes in length....
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-wQZ7FU2Vc[/youtube]
Since only one person identified the device correctly, I will be giving out toy black cats to the rest of you!
Thanks to everyone for playing, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!