Move Your Voice
By Dude McLean
photos by Alan Halcon
You'll seem like a phantom moving through the woods. You'll be over here, up there, down that way. You'll be two or three different people. However, it is just you and you won't even move.
You'll fake out friends when camping, or as you perfect this skill, it may come in handy for other scenarios.
This unique and unusual skill works even better if there are two or more listeners. They will feed off of each other adding to the confusion of “where is/are he/they”
Get Out of Sight
Find yourself a hide (great cover). If you can see them and they can't see you it's perfect, but not really required.
Cup both hands up to your mouth and talk loudly, directly towards your listeners, don't yell. Wait a minute, don't move, then talk again in a normal tone without using your hands. You will sound like you have moved back and away.
There's Three of Them
Turn your head hard to the right, hold your left hand with your forefinger touching your nose, the palm of your hand should be turned in a bit. Bring your right hand up, palm in, so that it is touching your left hand, pinky to pinky. Cup this hand to conform with the left. At this point you can change your voice, add an accent, or keep your normal voice. Shout “hey! I'm here,” or something that fits the situation. It will now sound like you have moved way over there, or it will sound like there are two of you.
Raise your Voice
Tilt your head way back, look straight up, cup your hands like a funnel and call out again. This method filters your voice and the sound will bounce from above seemingly coming from over there… no there! Then turn three quarters away and make a tube with both of your hands and talk your talk. Squat down cup your hand over your mouth and look right at the ground and talk. You can talk loud or low or whatever you choose.
Tip your Hat
The use of a hat will help deflect your voice as well. Talk into it and by the side of your mouth.
The rise and fall of your voice will add to the confusion as to where the voices are coming from. By changing your voice with inflections and accents you can make it sound like there are more than one of you. This is part of your advantage by fooling your listeners/victims.
You don't need to move, so you never give away your position by making noises with movement. If you can move just a few feet without being seen and with absolute stealth, just this change can really rattle the enemy.
Practice
This skill takes a bit of practice to develop and may not work so great the first few times you use it. The voices work best at twilight or after dark. Heavily wooded areas, ravines, hollows, arroyos, over water, tall brush are some of the best locations for the moving voices to work well. Experiment and see what works for you in your neck of the woods.
Once you have this skill down, you can spook friends and foe and strangers alike.
“hey!, here I am”, “not there, over here”. “no, over here”
--- the phantom strikes again