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| page revised 2008 |
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Some
paranormal terminology...
This is a very brief lisitng of paranormal terms/definitions: Agent – a person whom poltergeist activity is focused on or emanating from Apparition - a spirit-like image of a person that materializes without a physical body present Aura
– an emanation of light (seen or unseen) that surrounds a person or
object, often
thought to be a reflection of a person’s personality
Banshee – a wailing spirit that may appear to be in
multiple places
at the same time
Case Study – an in-depth investigation of a location or situation Clairvoyance – having the ability to see (in the form of mental imagery and intuition) events or entities that cannot be perceived by the senses (See also ESP) Collective Apparition - a type of paranormal sighting
where multiple
individuals see the same apparition or phenomena
Demon - a being or entity often spoken of in religious text as pure evil Doppelganger – an exact spirit double of a person,
considered to be a
negative entity
Earthbound –refers to a spirit that is unable to cross over to the other side at the time of death and remains on earth Ectoplasm – a substance associated with spirit manifestations Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) – voices and/or sounds that are captured on some form of electronic recording device Elementals – entities or spirits sometimes also called “Earth Spirits” (i.e., elves, fairies and trolls) EMF Detector (magnetometer, gauss meter) - instrument used to measure the strength and direction of an electronic and/or magnetic field (also called a magnetometer or gauss meter) Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) - perception and communication without use of the physical senses Exorcism – removal or banishment of an entity(ies)
thought to possess
or haunt a location or human
Gauss meter (EMF, magnetometer) - instrument used to
measure the
strength and direction of an electronic and/or magnetic field (also
called an
EMF or magnetometer) Ghost –an apparition or entity that is thought to be a deceased human's spirit/soul Ghost Hunting – a strategic investigation at a location that may or may not have paranormal activity, no verifiable witness to activity prior to the investigation (goal is to find paranormal activity) Ghost Investigation – a strategic investigation at a location that has verifiable witnesses to/reports of paranormal activity (goal is to try and verify claims of paranormal activity) Ghoul – dark, demonic or parasitic entities
Hallucination – the perception of sights and sounds that do not actually exist Haunting – reoccurring unexplained paranormal phenomena
– may include
spirits, shadows, moving objects, unexplained sounds
Intelligent haunting -
haunting in which the paranormal activity/entity/energy interacts and
may respond to individuals involved
Magnetometer (EMF, gauss meter) - instrument used to measure the strength and direction of an electronic and/or magnetic field (also called an EMF or gauss meter) Materialization or manifesting – act of forming something solid from the air, when a part or the entire ghost/spirit becomes visible Medium - an individual who professes to be able
communicate with
spirits or can act as an intermediary between the world of the living
and the
dead
Orb – a photographed ball of light that may represent an entity or a bundle of energy, orbs may appear as balls of light on video or film though often they are not seen at the time Ouija Board – a printed board with letters, numerals,
and words used
to receive spirit communications by use of a movable marker or
planchette
Paranormal – refers to something that is beyond scientific explanation and it out of the normal scope of human experiences Parapsychology - the study of evidence relating to psychological phenomena Percipient - person who sees (i.e., perceives) an apparition. Phantom - entity that is seen/heard/felt/sensed but has no physical reality (i.e., ghost) Poltergeist - a non-human entity literally meaning "noisy ghost,” usually more destructive than human ghosts (more recent theory suggests that poltergeist activity, at least in some instances, may be subconscious energy manifestations (PK) emanated by an adolescent agent) Provoke (provoking) - to try and draw out or encourage an entity to communicate or materialize by means of making it angry Psychic - person who can detect psychic forces, having above average ESP abilities. Psychokinesis
(PK) - power of the mind to affect matter without physical contact
Residual - type a haunting in which the paranormal
activity/entity/energy replays over and over like a movie, this type of
activity does not interact with individuals (also known as an
anniversary ghost/haunting)
Séance - gathering of individuals, generally lead by a medium, to communication with non-living entities Specter – a ghostly apparition; a phantom (see also ghost, phantom and ghoul) Spiritualism - belief system that the dead are able to communicate with the living through the help of a medium Supernatural - of or relating to existence outside the
natural world,
unlike paranormal, the term "supernatural" often refers to divine or
demonic involvement
Telekinesis
- movement of objects by scientifically unexplainable means
Vortex
– unexplainable funnel or rope-like image in photographs
For more complete listings of paranormal terminology click on the following links: http://www.mdani.demon.co.uk/para/paraglos.htm http://www.the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com/articles/general/glossary.html |
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