Paranormal Terms
A
Altered State - is any state of consciousness that differs from the normal states of being awake or asleep.
Apparition - A fully manifested ghostly figure reported to be complete in form, sometimes to the point where it is virtually indistinguishable from a living person. They are the most rare types of ghost to capture on film.
Astral - Derived from the Latin term for 'star', it has come to mean the fabric of time and space, a realm of existence beyond physical experience.
Astral Plane - A spiritual dimension or parallel universe comprised of spiritual energy.
Astral Body - is the energy that separates itself from the human form but still maintains the personality and feelings of the individual. Sometimes others will see them during their out of the body experience (OBE).
Atmospheric Apparition - is a visual imprint of the person that has died left on the atmosphere that continues to re-play.
Aura - is an energy field that surrounds all living things.
Automatic Writing - Alleged form of spirit communications in which a ghost or spirit takes control of the writer’s hand and writes out a message.
B
Bi-location - is the phenomena where someone can be in two places at the same time.
C
Cemetery lights - are bright balls of glowing lights that have been witnessed in cemeteries floating or sometimes flashing over the graves.
Cerebral Anoxia - Lack of oxygen to the brain, often causing sensory distortions and hallucinations. Sometimes used to explain features of the near-death experience.
Clairaudient - is when someone has the psychic ability to hear the voices of ghosts/spirits or other sounds that are inaudible to the human ear.
Clairoleofactor - To have an extraordinary sense of smell, as if you could smell flowers before they bloom or smell trouble before it occurs or death before it happens.
Clairvoyance - This is a French term that means ‘clear seeing’. It usually refers to the receiving of information from objects or events at the present time without using the normal senses or logical inference. Literally the term refers to visual information.
Cold Spot - is where the temperature drops several degrees in a suspected haunted area. It is believed that when a spirit is near it will absorb the heat and leave a cold spot. The temperature can also rise in heat by several degrees indicating a possible spirit presence.
Collective Apparition - is when more than one person sees a ghost or spirit at the same time.
Collective Unconscious - is a theory by C.G. Jung that represents the collective memory of all humanity’s past and is held inside the unconscious mind.
Crisis Apparition - is when someone sees a loved one appear to them for a brief moment just before or just after they die.
Cryptomnesia - Knowledge (acquired in normal ways) that may be revealed without the person remembering its source. Such memories may falsely appear to be paranormal revelations. Sometimes cryptomnesia is used as an explanation for apparently paranormal experiences such as xenoglossy or past-life memories.D
Death Bed Visions -A dying person has an awareness of the presence of dead relatives or friends, these visitors are said to come and assist the dying with the transition from life to death.
Discarnate - Spirits that exist without a physical body.
Disembodied Voice - A voice heard that comes from no physical body. Also know as an EVP.
Divining Rod - A forked rod or sometimes a pair of L-shaped rods used in dowsing.
Doppelganger - A spirit of a living person outside of the physical body.
Dowsing - Also known as radiosthesia. The art of using a forked stick, rods or a pendulum to focus in on locating anthing from lost personal items, water, geophysical surveys, missing persons and ghosts.
E
Ecto Mist - is a reference used to describe a misty white cloud that shows up in a photo and can not be explained. It is believed to be the energy of a departed spirit. The mist is not seen during the time the picture is taken. These mists can vary in color from gray, black, red and green.
EMF (Electromagnetic Field) Meter - is a device that can pick up the current of the electric and magnetic energy which radiates from radio and light waves to gamma and cosmic rays. It is believed that when spirits manifest, they create and electromagnetic field.
Entity - is a term that refers to an intelligential energy who can communicate and make physical contact to the very sensitive.
ESP - Extrasensory Perception is a condition where one has the ability to gather information beyond the five human senses.
EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) is a simple method in which you can pick up a spirit’s voice by using a regular cassette tape recorder or any other recording device such as the digital recorder. These spirit voices can also be captured on camcorders as well.
Extra dimensional - Originating outside our normal space-time reality.
Extrasensory Perception - Paranormal acquisition of information. Includes clairvoyance, telepathy and precognition.
F
Family Apparition - is a ghost that haunts one particular family. When the ghost appears it is an omen that someone in the family is going to die.
Fortean Phenomena - Strange phenomena, especially those which challenge conventional scientific knowledge. Named after the American researcher and writer Charles Fort. Fortean phenomena include those generally considered paranormal, but also bizarre non-paranormal events such as monsters and prodigies, extraordinary coincidences, and unusual rains.G
Geophysics - A branch of earth science dealing with the physical processes and phenomena occurring especially in the earth and in its vicinity.
Ghosts - are the souls of people that have died but have not gone on into the light to complete their journey to the spirit world. They have remained on the Earth's plane and that's why they can be sensed more easily than spirits. These ghosts can been seen in different forms of energy and apparitions. This energy can come from deceased human spirits and animal spirits.
Globule - A tiny sphere of electromagnetic energy. Spirits often appear on film as globules. Also known as orbs. These are not always perfect circles.
Gray Lady is a description of the ghost of a woman who has been killed by her lover or committed suicide over her lover. She haunts the place as she waits for her lover to return.
H
Hypnagogic Imagery - Imagery occurring in the hypnagogic state occurring while dropping off to sleep.
Hypnopompic Imagery - Imagery occurring in the hypnopompic state occurring while waking up.L
Ley Lines - Lines as a way Alignments of ancient sites, these are considered to be earth's natural energy lines and also that spirit may use these of traveling quickly from one place to another. It has also been suggested that where two Ley Lines cross there is a possible chance of a portal opening to other dimensions.
Luminous Phenomena - The experience of strange lights or glows, often around objectsN
NDE (Near-Death Experience) - is when a person dies for a short period of time before being revived and they remember being separated from their body. During this separation they have experiences and visions of the spirit world and what happens after death. Some survivors change their entire outlook about life and make major changes in their belief system.
O
OBE (Out of body experience) - or astral projection. This is the sensation or experience many people have of actually leaving their body for a period of time, this is where the spirit or soul leaves the body. This can also be described as ‘traveling clairvoyance’.
Orbs - are globe-shaped lights of energy caught on film usually during a haunting or other paranormal experience. Orbs are believed to represent the spirit of an individual that has died. They are made up of the life force that powered their body in life. They may vary in size, color, and density.P
Paranormal - is any experience that happens beyond the range of scientific explanation or normal human capabilities. These experiences may include hauntings, telekinesis, telepathy, clairvoyance, or any other rarity that cannot be justified by the five senses.
Parapsychology - from the Latin word ‘Para’ which literally means beyond psychology. It is generally defined as the scientific study of paranormal phenomena. The study of psychic or psi phenomena. These can be described as an exchange of information between living things (mostly people), or between living things and the surrounding environment. They can also be described as the possible influences of living things on the environment, which occur without the use of what we usually call normal senses, and don't seem to be explicable by the known physical laws of nature.
Poltergeist - is a noisy and sometimes active spirit. The name "Poltergeist" has Greek roots meaning: poltern - make a noise + geist - spirits "Noisy Spirit". This type of ghostly activity include scratching, banging, objects disappearing and then reappearing, levitating, and in some cases fire. Another cause for objects moving and doors opening can be related to psycho kinesis. This is due to the ability that the brain has to move object without the person realizing this trait. This has also been referred to as RSPK, or recurrent spontaneous psycho kinesis.
Psycho Kinesis (PK) - is the ability to move objects with the power coming from the mind.
Psychic Imprint - An energy field which assumes the appearance of a person. This usually occurs because of the residue or severe emotional energy, which is imprinted into the environment because of a tragic event.
R
Radiesthesia - Theories based on the assumption that living organisms emit some kind of radiation or emanation that is capable of being detected using instruments or by dowsing.
Radionics - Use of certain instruments to detect radiations or emitions from a living organism, such as dowsing.
Raudive Voices - Intelligible voices recorded on magnetic tape under conditions of silence or white noise which are heard only when the tape is played. A phenomenon discovered by Konstantin Raudive.
Reciprocal Apparition - is an experience where both the individual and ghost see and react to each other.S
Sensitive - refers to a person who can feel the presence of paranormal energy without the use of their five senses.
Sixth Sense - to have the power of perception in addition to the five senses. It is also a popular term for ESP.
Sleep Paralysis - An often frightening state of seeming to being awake but unable to move.
Smudging - a form of cleansing or clearing a spirit from an area by using incense to purify the area.
Spirit - A spirit is a surviving personality who has passed through the door of death in a normal way. It is fully able of continuing
a full existence in the next dimension. A spirit can come and go at his/her own will.
Spiritualism - is a belief structure that spirits and ghosts can communicate with the living.
Supernatural - is when an unexplained occurrence takes place out of the realm of the known forces of nature. The experience usually involves spirits.
T
Telekinesis - is where a person can move an object through the power of thought without physical means to move the object.
Telepathy - is a method of communication from mind to mind. Dr. Rhine of Duke University proved that the mind could communicate with other minds and successfully transmit information.
Teleportation - happens when an object can be transported from one location to another by disappearing and then reappearing in a different place. They can even go through solid objects.
Temporal Lobe Activity - Electrical activity in the temporal lobes of the brain. Often associated with strange sensations, time distortions and hallucinations. Sometimes used as an explanation for seemingly paranormal experiences such as apparitions and alien abduction experiences.
Time Slips - occur when the past and present collide at a location.
Transpersonal Psychology - The study of experiences, beliefs and practices that suggest that the sense of self can extend beyond our personal or individual reality. The subject matter of transpersonal psychology overlaps to some extent with parapsychology, but the two disciplines tend to have different approaches and emphases. Parapsychology is primarily concerned to investigate evidence for and against the reality of paranormal phenomena. Transpersonal psychology, on the other hand, is more interested in investigating the transpersonal significance of such phenomena the ways in which they may give people a sense of connectedness with a larger, more universal or spiritual reality.V
Vortex - is a small tornado-shape image that shows up on pictures when there is a spirit present. You can see the orbs rotating inside the shaft. Sometimes the vortex is so dense that it will cast a shadow. It is believed that the vortex is a means of travel for the spirits in the orb form.