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Paranormal A - Z
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 - A field of radiant light believed to surround living creatures.
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.
Bi location - Appearing to be in two locations at one time. Often associated with astral projection.
Clairaudience - Receiving paranormal messages through sound / voices.
Clairvoyant - Having the supposed power to see objects or events that cannot be perceived by the senses.
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.
De materialization - the disappearance or fading of a physical object.
Discarnate - Having no physical form or body.
Doppelgänger - A ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its fleshly counterpart.
Ectoplasm- A semi-fluid product of psychic energy which usually forms as a fog like mist, solid white mass, or vortexes.
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).
Ghost- The disembodied spirit or image of a dead person appearing to be alive. Ghosts are the most common of the paranormal phenomenon.
Ghoul
From the common name for a ghost in Arabic. Nowadays commonly used throughout the World to define a nasty or viscous looking ghost. The ghoul is believed to gain sustenance from eating the flesh of corpses - hence ghoul is often used to describe ghost that haunt graveyards.
Graveyard Ghosts
According to folklore, the first person to be buried in a churchyard was believed to return as a ghost to guard the site against the Devil. This ghost was supposed to have special abilities. Because the task was so great, a black dog or more rarely a cat was buried before any human so it would become the guardian of the dead. Ghouls are also associated with graveyard hauntings.
Gremlin
These have only appeared in recent times and the word is believed to have originated during WW2 when pilots often reported strange goblin like creatures in the aircraft with them. Gremlins were immortalized by Steven Speilberg in his highly entertaining film of the same name and today hardly a piece of machinery can go wrong without somebody blaming 'A gremlin in the works'.
Grey Ladies
Said to originate in Tudor times when the dissolution of the monasteries resulted in a great number of monks and nuns being made homeless. Nuns at that time were frequently habited in grey. Many other investigators subscribe to the theory that grey ladies are similar to white ladies, whilst others claim the colour is related to the surrounding substance, wood, plaster, stone which may contribute to the ghosts appearance.
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.
Haunting- Paranormal experiences occurring over a period of time in a specific location. May include apparitions, sounds, smells, moving / disappearing objects, etc.
Halloween
Originating long before the advent of Christianity, The Feast of the Dead is perhaps a better name for the night. It was a time of great celebration for our ancient ancestors who would light great bonfires to try and summon and placate the dead. The Christian churches tried to mask the true meaning of the celebration by declaring it to be 'All Hallows Eve' the night before All Saints day. Modern witches still celebrate the night of 31st October by the holding of feasts and performance of rituals.
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).
Kinetic Energy- When spirits use their energy to move objects, throw things, etc. This is very interesting phenomena, and personally, I have had rocks thrown at me by an unseen force, and have witnessed equipment actually being struck and broken by unseen forces.
Levitation- The paranormal elevating of a person or object in apparent defiance of gravity.
Malevolent - A malevolent spirit is one that wishes to hurt man.
Malicious - A spirit that is evil or spiteful. These spirits will destroy things of personal or financial value for the sake of
hurting others.
Manifestation - The appearance or taking form of an entity. Can also mean the outbreak of activity.
Materialization - The deliberate, usually temporary, visible and/or physical formation of a spirit.
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.
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 colours, with white being the most common.
Ouija board
Consisting normally of 38 figured cards arranged in a circle. The letters of the alphabet and the number zero are nine are represented together with two further cards with the words yes and no upon them. Derived from the French and German words for 'yes' thus the board is correctly called the 'YesYes' board. It is alleged to act as a mediator between the worlds of the living and the dead. In use a glass or pointer is used to indicate the letters and words being spelled out by the spirits. The board also carries with it a fearsome reputation for demonic possession to those using it although in more enlightened modern times it is now believed to be a form of dowsing.
Paranormal- Beyond the normal of human or scientific explanation.
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.
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.
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. Term coined by J.B. Rhine.
Phantom - An apparition or spectre. 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.
Psychokinesis - mind over matter. The ability to move physical objects utilizing only mental power.
Raps - Unexplained knocking sounds associated with poltergeist activity.
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.
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.
Salt
Believed from ancient times to be like iron as a universal panacea against evil spirits and all manner of witchcraft and the Devil. Salt is often used in rituals to subdue a ghost by being placed in all the corners of the haunted building.
White Noise- A hiss-like sound, formed by combining all audible frequencies. Often used as a background to EVP recordings.
Warlock
Used wrongly by many writers to describe a male witch. Many such witches would find such a term insulting as in times past the word also described a traitor.
White Ladies
White ladies are seen throughout the British Isles. Traditionally, they haunt castles, mansions and old halls. A large percentage also frequent water and are seen on bridges or near to open stretches of still or slow moving water.
Witch
A person, normally a woman who practises witchcraft. There are many forms of witches. Most worship nature and call upon gods of fertility to help them with their undertakings. Witches are normally forbidden to tell anyone what they are, or how they practise their art, believing silence is power and power brings knowledge. Modern witches would not use their powers to harm people, instead choosing to help and promote spiritual awareness and greater wisdom of life than what is obviously apparent.
Wizard
A person, usually male possessed with amazing abilities and well versed in the art of magic. Many male witches prefer this title to the perhaps more mundane Warlock.
Wraith
According to ancient tradition, a wraith is the ghost of a person on the verge of death and often appear as an exact likeness of their human counterpart. They are regarded as a death omen and should a person see a wraith of themselves then their days are surely numbered.
Zombie - The result of the reanimation of a corpse.
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