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PARANORMAL TERMINOLOGY
A
Anomaly:
An occurrence or condition removed from ordinarily understood
experience.
Apparition:
A supernatural manifestation of the soul of a
deceased human or animal. Better known as a ghost.
Astral
Projection:
Often known as "out of body experience". It is
believed to result when the astral body, or spirit, separates
from the physical body.
Aura:
An emanation of energy which surrounds all living
things. Many with psychic abilities are able to see and
interpret this energy. Can be viewed through the use of Kirlian
photography.
Automatic Writing:
Phenomena in which people write without conscious
thought. Many feel that it is spirits writing through the body
of a living person. Parapsychologists feel that the phenomena is
due to automatism..
Autoscopy:
The viewing of one's physical body while
experiencing astral projection.
B
Banishing:
Formal,
ceremonial, procedure effected to cast an invisible presence or
influence out from an area. This term can refer either to a
spiritual cleansing, or the closing of a magical rite, when the
invoked powers are dismissed.
Bilocation:
Appearing to be in two locations at one time.
Often associated with astral projection.
Black
Magic:
Magic used for evil often with the intent of
injuring or killing someone. It may also be done for the
personal gain of the practitioner.
C
Channeling: In this modern day method of spirit
communication, a spirit will pass information directly to a
medium or channeler who will then relay the information on to
the listener(s).
Clairaudience:
Receiving paranormal messages through sound /
voices.
Clairvoyant:
Having the supposed power to see objects or
events that cannot be perceived by the senses.
Cleansing (Psychic):
A less ritualized form of exorcism, where-in a
dwelling or site is purified and malevolent influences are
banished through prayers, spoken as the petitioner moves through
the area.
Collective Apparition:
The witnessing of an apparition by two or more persons.
Crisis
Apparition:
The appearance of an apparition within moments of
a crisis such as death, sudden illness or accident.
Cryokinesis:
Control over ice and sub zero temperatures.
Curse:
A calling on a god or spirit to visit trouble or
evil upon a person.
D
Déjà vu: An impression or dull familiarity of having
seen or experienced something before.
Dematerialization:
The disappearance or fading of a physical object.
Demonic
Spirit:
An entity or spirit spawning from the devil that
is or was of this earth. They have the capability of human
possession, and the strength greater than any flesh and blood
creature. Usually demonic spirits are distinguished by their
dark, or black masses of psychic energy.
Discarnate:
Having no physical form or body.
E
Ectoplasm:
A
filmy, quasi-solid substance which supposedly issues from the
bodies of mediums (from the mouth, nostrils, eyes, ears, navel
or nipples) during trance states
Electromagnetic Field Meter (EMF Detector):
This tool detects the changes in the
Electromagnetic Field. This field is around everything, from
TV’s to power boxes. The normal reading for paranormal activity
is between 2.0 and 8.0. Above this is usually man-made in
origin.
Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP):
Sounds or voices recorded on magnetic tape which
are only heard upon playback. Discovered by Konstantin Raudive.
Usually recorded in a range from 0 – 300 Hz (Human speech is
generally within 500-2000 Hz, and has never been recorded below
300 Hz).
E.S.P:
Communication or perception by means other than the physical
senses.
Exorcism:
Ceremonial expulsion of invading spiritual/demonic entities from
a person or dwelling, present in virtually every worldly
culture. The Jewish and Catholic Christian faiths each have a
formal 'Rite of Exorcism' to be conducted by the respective
Rabbi or Priest.
F
G
Ghost: A generic term referring to a form of apparition
or supernatural entity which is typically the visual appearance
of a deceased human's spirit soul.
Ghost
Hunter:
A person who uses standards set by researchers to
search for haunted areas, in probable locations such as
cemeteries, abandoned buildings, old churches, battle fields,
old schools, etc.
Guardian Angels:
These are Angels who are assigned to protect all
living creatures. Each person is said to have their own Guardian
Angel.
H
Haunting:
The
manifestation of a ghostly presence, or presences, attached to a
specific locale. Hauntings can be categorized into four
(usually) distinct types, these being
Intelligent (responsive), Poltergeist
(likely initiated by pent-up stress on a subconscious level),
Residual (replay) and Demonic (non-human
origin).
Holy
Water:
Water that has been blessed by a member of the
clergy. Holy water is said to have the ability negate negative
forces.
I
Intelligent Haunting:
When spirits seem to live in a specific area, and
act with free will, as well as show intelligence (i.e., not
residual). Spirits don't necessarily haunt the place they die
at, but could haunt the most comfortable place for them to stay
(i.e., their old home). We are not quit sure why these spirits
are earthbound, yet.
Intuition: Non-paranormal knowledge that is gained
through a perceptive insight.
J
K
Karma:
The doctrine of fate as the inflexible result of cause and
effect; the theory of inevitable consequence. “what goes around
comes around”
Kinetic
Energy:
When spirits use their energy to move objects,
throw things, etc.
Kirlian
Photography:
The photographing of the human aura. Two Russian
scientists, Semyon and Valentina Kirlian founded this process.
L
Levitation:
The rising of an object or person by no visible
means.
Lucid
dreams:
The ability to control what happens in your
dreams.
M
Malevolent:
A malevolent spirit is one that wishes to hurt
man.
Manifestation:
The appearance or taking form of an entity. Can
also mean the outbreak of activity.
Materialization:
A ghost appearing visually, suddenly or gradually, sometimes
indistinct, sometimes seemingly quite solid.
Matrixing:
The
natural tendency for the human mind to interpret sensory input,
what is perceived visually, audibly or tactiley, as something
familiar or more easily understood and accepted, in effect
mentally "filling in the blanks."
Medium:
A psychic through whom spirits can communicate.
There are two types of mediums: light and deep trance.
Metaphysics:
Derived from the Latin word meta which means
beyond. Literally means that which is beyond the laws of
physics.
Mist: A Photographed anomaly that appears as a blanket
of light. There is no substantial proof that these are related
to paranormal phenomenon.
N
Necronomicon:
The book of the dead.
O
Occult:
The body of knowledge that is hidden or secret in
the areas of the paranormal, preternatural or supernatural.
Old Hag
Syndrome: A nocturnal phenomena that involves a feeling of
immobilization, suffocation, odd smells and feelings and is
sometimes accompanied my immense fear (See Sleep Paralysis).
Orbs:
This is the most common type of spirit energy to be captured on
film. These will appear as solid or transparent "balls". They
appear in many shapes and some colors, with white being the most
common.
Out Of
Body Experience:
State in which the spirit of a person travels to the astral
plane. It is said that people can in some instances travel to
other locations on the physical plane. Also known as OBE, astral
projection or remote viewing.
P
Paranormal:
Beyond the normal of human or scientific explanation.
Paranormal Investigation: The act of going to a supposedly haunted location, gathering
data such as photos, audio recordings, video, electromagnetic
field monitoring, etc., and summarizing your data in reports
(which does not exclude psychic impressions, but are subjective
data until proven otherwise). A true investigator can't draw
conclusions from one investigation, it may take several
investigations to decide on a site's activity.
Paranormal Researcher: Someone who uses their own theories/ideas to test new research
methods, protocols, and equipment. A true researcher is not
biased to an old idea, but works to disprove or prove further
the old idea, to expand the knowledge of the community.
Typically, a researcher does not work to prove a paranormal
occurrence as genuine, but to disprove the occurrence
legitimately. Only when all possible false-positive contaminants
have been ruled out can something be defined as a true anomaly.
Parapsychology:
Derived from the Latin word para, which means beyond,
parapsychology literally means beyond psychology. It is
generally defined as the scientific study of paranormal
phenomena.
Phantom: An apparition or specter. Existing only as an
energy form.
Poltergeist: "Noisy Ghost". Manifests as noises, moving objects, fires,
marks on body, general disorder. Often purported to be
associated with the release of kinetic or psychokinetic energy
of pubescent adolescents.
Possession:
An altered state of consciousness in which the conscious
personality of the individual is replaced with that of an other
personality thought of as a possessing entity.
Precognition:
The
psychic perception of future events or conditions.
Premonition:
Feeling or warning about a future event. This may be a vague
feeling or it can be quite specific.
Psi: A
letter in the Greek alphabet that denotes psychic phenomena.
Psychic:
A person with the ability to see, hear and feel by use of senses
other than the natural senses.
Psychokinesis: mind over matter. The ability to move physical objects
utilizing only mental power.
Q
R
Radio
Voice Phenomenon (RVP): Receiving the voice of a deceased human
being through a regular radio.
Rapping:
This can vary from a light knocking sound to a heavy pounding.
It usually emanates from the walls, but sounds as if it is
coming from everywhere. Spirits sometimes communicate through
rapping.
Raps:
Unexplained knocking sounds associated with poltergeist
activity.
Reciprocal Apparition: An extremely rare type of spirit
phenomenon in which both the agent and percipient are able to
see and respond to each other.
Reincarnation:
A rebirth of a soul into a new body.
Remote
Viewing: Used by some psychics, this is a procedure in which
the percipient or psychic attempts to become physically aware of
the experience of an agent who is at a distant, unknown location
through ESP.
Residual Haunting: Not technically referred to as a haunting, but more of an
energy imprint. When a spirit is seen doing the same thing at
specific intervals constantly. Perhaps the spirit is trapped
repeating a specific moment in life, or perhaps it is just a
flash from the past during a traumatic moment in someone's life.
Ritual:
A prescribed form or method for the performance of a religious,
solemn ceremony. Rituals can be used for good or bad.
S
Skeptic: One who instinctively doubts, questions, or disagrees with
assertions or generally accepted conclusions. In parapsychology,
one who insists on ruling out all possible natural causes for a
phenomenon.
Spirit: The principle force within a living being. The soul. Also, a
supernatural entity.
Spring-Heeled Jack:
A creature/man who terrorized people in London in the 1930’s. He
could jump 30 feet in the air, wore a black cloak, had pointy
ears and a pointy nose, red glowing eyes, and could spit a blue
flame out of his mouth.
Stigmata:
Persons
have been observed periodically bleeding from points on their
bodies corresponding to the wounds of the Crucifixion. Although
the physiological mechanisms which produce this effect are not
understood, it is apparently and externalization of religious
fervor. Stigmata has been thought to be an indication of
sanctity.
T
Telekinesis:
The movement of objects by scientifically inexplicable means.
Telepathy:
Communication of one's mind with another by means other than the
normal senses.
U
V
Voodoo:
African religion which believes in seven gods and uses spells
and conjuring for personal gain or to hurt others.
Vortex:
An anomaly which sometimes shows up in still
photographs taken at the site of a suspected haunting, appearing
as a translucent white, tube or funnel shaped mass. Some
researchers believe this may be a porthole to the spirit realm.
W
White
Magic:
Magic or incantation practiced for good purposes or as a counter
to evil.
White
Noise: A hiss-like sound, formed by combining all audible
frequencies. Often used as a background to EVP recordings.
Wraith:
An apparition of a living person that appears as a portent just
before that person's death.
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