By Ron Ruiz
“Action – Reaction – Cause and Effect. These are the primal forces that drive the universe and everyone in it”
Hopefully by now you are coming to understand the story of Spiricom from its inception up to the Press Conference in Washington D.C. on April 6, 1982. While there had been some rocky moments along the way and a general acceptance that Spiricom would not work as described without a qualified operator, still… the legacy of Spiricom was becoming rather benign.
That is; until drama unfolded 5 years later with allegations of fraud and deception perpetrated upon the public by George W. Meek and William O’Neil. Say What?
Spiricom or Spiricon by Dr. Terrance Peterson was the title of an article appearing in the January 1987 issue of FATE Magazine; a monthly periodical covering the paranormal since 1948.
Dr. Terrance Peterson of Nowata Okalahoma, a Methodist Minister had heard the Spiricom tapes when they were first released. While being intrigued by what he heard there was something about the sound that didn’t seem quite right. Dr. Peterson’s interest in the paranormal and Electronic Voice Phenomena caused him to move on to other things until 1986 when he revisited the Spiricom story.
Before we get into the weeds, here is the article as it appeared in the January 1987 edition of FATE Magazine.
To download a searchable PDF of this article, Click Here.
If you feel the article is compelling yet longing for more information, you are not alone. After I read the article, I wished I could listen to the recordings he spoke about. The sections in The Ghost of 29 Megacycles can be fairly easy to look up but what about the recordings? Want to hear the previously unreleased recordings? You will….but first I have to tell you some of the back story.
June 1986 was indeed a very busy month for Dr. Terrance Peterson. Not only had he finished Reading John Fuller’s book: 29 Megacycles, he recalled the sound of an electrolarynx and how similar Dr. Mueller’s voice sounded on the Spiricom tape. By the end of June, Dr. Peterson had “laid the groundwork to tear their reasoning to shreds”
Here are some of the letters Dr. Peterson sent to fellow researcher Harry Sherman. You can see how the Terrance Peterson’s article begins to take shape:
Dr. Terrance Peterson was not a medical doctor. He wanted to know if the sound of Dr. Mueller could be reproduced with an electrolarynx and then analyzed in a manner similar to the testing George Meek had done with the Spiricom recording. As Dr. Peterson stated in the article: “I called an old friend, David Rivers. Dr. Rivers is a speech and language scientist, inventor and professor at Baylor University in Waco, Tex. I was sure he would be able to help me”. As the following letter shows, Dr. Rivers was eager to help.
Terrance Peterson didn’t have to wait long for Dr. Rivers to get back to him. Only 2 weeks later, this arrived in the mail:
Ready to hear the recordings? I was hoping you were. 🙂
If Terrance Peterson wasn’t already thrilled he finally had the ammo needed to make his case, he must have been walking on cloud 9 when he found Dr. Rivers had included an audio report, complete with examples and analysis. Here is Dr. Rivers’ audio report. Its technical in nature so if you want to wait to hear the second audio recording, that’s fine with me.
More determined than ever, Dr. Terrance Peterson reviewed his theory, making notes along the way. By August 1, 1986, Terrance could see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel:
It was only a few days later that Terrance Peterson completed his article and submitted it to FATE Magazine for consideration. Along with his 1785 word article originally titled Spiricom or Spirifraud, Dr. Peterson included the following tape he collated to include his theory and excerpts from Dr. Rivers’ audio report. It puts the article into perspective and is worth giving a listening to.
FATE Magazine was happy to publish Terrance Peterson’s article and placed it into its rotation. During the interim, Dr. Peterson & FATE kept in touch:
Some would not use the word “fun” to describe the impending article. In fact; even before the article hit the streets, the word was out about the Peterson exposé and its controversial content. Dr. Peterson kept Harry Sherman in the loop the whole time. As a result, Mr. Sherman expressed opinions to many of the ITC Researchers he knew. Here’s Sara Estep’s candid opinion and recollection of her experience with the Spiricom device:
Speaking of the author Scott Rogo, here’s a little tidbit of info:
The January 1987 issue of Fate Magazine hit the newsstands and mailboxes in early December 1986. It didn’t take long for George Meek to respond:
Even our good friend Walter Uphoff dissented with a 5 page defense of George Meek and Spiricom. I won’t put up the whole thing, but here’s the 1st page:
Feeling his oats, Terrance Peterson sent a copy of his tape to John Fuller, author of 29 Megacycles. Mr. Fuller sent it to George Meek, who sent it back to Dr. Peterson:
If you thought this would be the end of the story, you would be wrong. There is one last patch of brier patch we have to traverse. Its hard to say what the motivations were….but somehow George Meek heard a rumor floating around that Harry Sherman and Terrance Peterson were going to collaborate on a book about Spiricom. Since George Meek and Harry Sherman had been friends for over a decade, George couldn’t believe it:
I bet George Meek was relieved to get this reply back from his old friend:
Feeling a bit conciliatory, George Meek Replied to Harry Sherman, conceding one small point:
Action – Reaction – Cause and Effect
Thanks,
Ron Ruiz