Definitions

Angel: An Angel is a spiritual or celestial being sent to earth to relay a message to a person, serve as a protector or help them in their transition into the afterlife.

Anomaly: An irregular image that appears on photos or video taken by film, or digital media.

Alien: A being or creature not of this Earth, e.g. from outer space.

Apport: The sudden appearance of an object or objects during a haunting that seems to come from nowhere.

Apparition: A ghostly figure or form which suddenly and unexpectedly appears.

Agnostic: Somebody denying God's existence is provable: somebody who believes that it is impossible to know whether or not God exists.

Asport: The disappearance of an object or objects during a haunting that reappear again at a later time.

Astral travel/projection: This is the process of a human spirit traveling outside the human body. Also called Out Of Body Experience, OBE or OOBE.

Atheist: Someone who disbelieves and/or denies the existence of God(s)/deities.

Aura: An energy which surrounds all living things which is invisible to most people. This energy is said to be made up of many colors. These different colors have different meanings and can show the state of a person’s health, personality or abilities such as healing.

Automatic writing is the process or production of writing material that does not come from the conscious thoughts of the writer. Practitioners say that the writer's hand forms the message, with the person being unaware of what will be written. In some cases, it is done by people in a trance state. In others, the writer is aware (not in a trance) of their surroundings but not of the actions of their writing hand.

Banishing: Formal, ceremonial, procedure affected 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.

Being: The state or quality of having existence, a living entity.

Bogeyman: A grim spectral figure who delights in menacing mortals with rather gruesome pranks and abductions. Although the lore of this character has degenerated into a familiar device used to threaten rambunctious children, the 'Bogey' was formerly soundly dreaded in Celtic regions, and was said to prowl the stretches of fields, marshes, and moors, looking for hikers and travelers who had strayed from their paths.

Channeling: The process a medium undertakes to receive information from spirits.

Clairaudience: Means clear hearing - a psychic ability which enables someone to hear voices or noises unheard by other people.

Clairgustance: Means clear tasting - a psychic ability which enables someone experience a sense of taste associated with a spirit.

Clairsentience: Means clear feeling - a psychic ability which enables someone to feel the emotional energy of a spirit or living being.

Clairvoyance: Means clear seeing - a psychic ability to see a objects, people or events not perceived by the 5 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 - A rare type of sighting in which more than one person sees the same apparition or phenomena

Contagion: The act of being followed by a paranormal entity, such as an earthbound spirit from a haunted location.

Crop circles: Mysterious circles and/or geometrical patterns that appear on the earth’s terrain, and are usually associated with UFO activity.

Crypto-zoology: The branch of paranormal research which deals with the exploration of legendary creatures such as Bigfoot, lake and sea monsters, etc.

Dee, Doctor John: (b. 1527, d. 1608) Alchemist, astrologer, seer and advisor to Queen Elizabeth I of England who, along with his somewhat unscrupulous associate Edward Kelly, supposedly devised a method of deciphering an angelic language, known as the "Enochian Calls."

Déjà vu - An impression or dull familiarity of having seen or experienced something before.

Dematerialize: To suddenly disappear, e.g. an object or spirit.

Demon: An evil spirit or being which is said to have not ever lived on earth in human form. In Roman Catholic belief, a demon is a fallen Angel that rebelled against God along with Satan, refusing to be humble before, and serve, God. Their primary sin is pride. A demon is an immortal supernatural entity that hates human beings with a complete and merciless passion. Their only goal for humans is to deceive and corrupt them into turning away from good so that a person dies in a bad state and becomes their eternal slave and victim.

Demonologist: A person who studies and actively opposes demons and their activity.

Demonology: The study of demons.

Direct Voice Phenomenon (DVP) – An auditory “spirit” voice that is spoken directly to the sitters at a séance.

Disembodied voice: A voice heard or recorded that does not have a known source .

Doppelganger: German for "Double-goer." A person's duplicate or identical counterpart, seen as a result of bi-locational or astral travel. This phenomenon has been overshadowed by the more modern (and viable) concept of cloning, with its speculative ramifications.

Earthbound: A term referring to a ghost or spirit that was unable to cross over to the other side at the time of death and is therefore stuck on earth

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. In photographs, this phenomenon seems to resemble soaked muslin fabric. Whether or not it has ever been genuine, curiously, virtually no ectoplasm has been reported in the past fifty years.

Elemental: In magical tradition and ceremony, spirits which govern the four corners of the earth and are associated with, or reside within, the four basic elements. They are called Sylphs (the east, air), Salamanders (the south, fire), Undines (the west, water), and Gnomes (the north, earth).

EMF: Electro Magnetic Field. The fields of energy surrounding current carrying devices, appliances and even humans.

EMF Meter/Detector: An instrument used to measure electromagnetic fields/frequencies.

Empath: An individual who is particularly sensitive to the psychic emanations of his or her surroundings, even to a degree of telepathically receiving and experiencing the emotions of others in their proximity.

EMR: Electro Magnetic Resonance. An electromagnetic imprint left on the environment. Similar to residual haunting.

Entity: Commonly referred to as ghost, spirit or (an apparently malicious or resentful nature) demon.

ESP (Extra sensory perception): Communication or perception by means other than the physical senses.

Electronic voice phenomena (EVP): Disembodied voices or sounds recorded on audio equipment that were not heard or present at the time of recording.

Ethereal: Heavenly or spiritual, not of this world.

Etheric body: The spiritual duplicate of one’s physical body.

Exorcism: The banishment of an entity or entities i.e. spirits, ghosts and demons that is thought to possess or haunt a location or human being or animal. The ritual, which can be religious in nature, is conducted by an exorcist who will call upon a Higher Power to cast away any evil forces that may reside there. The Jewish and Catholic Christian faiths each have a formal 'Rite of Exorcism' to be conducted by the respective Rabbi or Priest.

Extra-terrestrials: Life forms originating on planets other than our own.

Fox Sisters: Three women from New York who played an important role in the creation of Spiritualism, the religious movement. The three sisters were Kate Fox (1837–1892), Leah Fox (1814–1890) and Margaret Fox (also called Maggie) (1833–1893).

Ghost: The image of a person witnessed after his/her death, reflecting the appearance of the living, physical body yet less substantial. These forms often seem to exist in a dream like state of semi-awareness, at times though not always cognizant of their human observers.

Golden-rod: A rare anomaly seen in videotape recorded at the site of a suspected haunting, appearing as bright, white or yellowish lines rapidly moving across a room.

Hallucination: The perception of sights and sounds that are not actually present

Haunting: Paranormal phenomena that frequently occurs in an area, building or object over a long period of time.

Hex: A magical working, or "spell," cast to influence a person's will or fate, most often referring to a curse rather than a blessing or healing.

Holzer, Hans: An American pioneering paranormal researcher and author. He wrote well over 100 books on supernatural and occult subjects for the popular market as well as several plays, musicals, films, and documentaries, and hosted a television show, "Ghost Hunter". Holzer's most famous investigation was into the so-called The Amityville Horror case.

Hot spot: An area or place where frequent paranormal activity occurs, such as the appearance of UFOs or ghosts.

Hypnosis: A state of profound mental focus, actually self-induced although an external agent - a "hypnotist" – often acts as the catalyst, or director, for the subject entering this state.

Illusion: A delusional perception between what is perceived and what is reality.

Incubus: A demon (taking male form) who seeks sexual intercourse with a woman.

Infestation: Repeated and persistent paranormal phenomena, generally centered around a particular location or person(s).

Influence: An invisible entity of undetermined nature, affecting the inhabitants of a dwelling. This may initially manifest as an inexplicable feeling of uneasiness, then be followed by more definite signs which reveal a haunting.

Intelligent (Haunt): A spirit or entity who has knowledge of its surroundings. This type of haunt is aware of the environment and those in it, it also has the ability to interact with the living and communicate with the living as well. They are sometimes known as clever or mischievous spirits having the ability to move objects and control environmental things as to cause notice of their existence.

Intuition: Non-paranormal knowledge that is gained through a perceptive insight.

Karma: The effect of a person's actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person's existence, regarded as determining their destiny.

Kinetic Energy: Physical manipulation of objects & movement (such as moving objects etc.) by an "unseen force".

Levitation: To lift or raise a physical object in apparent defiance of gravity.

Ley lines: Ley lines are thought to be invisible lines of the earth’s energy which "align" sacred sites such as churches and burial grounds. The area on which a ley line crosses is said to be a powerful point and is said to cause paranormal activity, psychic phenomena and UFO sightings.

Lore: Collective beliefs and legendry relating to a subject.

Lucifer: In Christian theology identified as the Devil; Lucifer is also known as Satan.

Magnetometer (EMF, gaussmeter): An instrument for measuring the magnitude and direction of a magnetic field typically used by paranormal researchers to detect a ghost’s magnetic energy.

Materialization: The process of a spirit or ghost becoming visible to the human eye in some form.

Matrixing: The natural tendency for the human mind to interpret sensory input, what is perceived visually, audibly or tactile, as something familiar or more easily understood and accepted.

Meditation: The process of relaxing, emptying your mind of all thought or reaching a different state of consciousness. Meditation can aid in spiritual development and/or inner peace. There are many types of meditation.

Medium: An individual held to be a channel of communication between the earthly world and the world of spirits

Metaphysics: The study of phenomena not accounted for by known physical laws.

Mist : A Photographed anomaly that appears as a blanket of light. There is no substantial proof that these are related to paranormal phenomenon

Old Hag Syndrome – A nocturnal phenomena that involves a feeling of immobilization, suffocation, odd smells and feelings and is sometimes accompanied my immense fear

Orb: a. A sphere of energy which is thought by some to be created by spirits. b. Another theory is that orbs are phenomenon created by natural & man made electrical energy and are not related to spirits of the dead. Most orbs tend to be picked up on film or digital media however they in some instances also seen by the human eye. Since there are many reasonable circumstances (dust, snow, rain, insects, reflection, lens flare, etc.) orbs still remain a highly controversial subject.

Ouija board: The name "Ouija" is made up of the words OUI which is "Yes" in French, and JA which is "Yes" in German. A divining implement consisting of a small, round or more often rectangular platform with letters, numbers and various symbols printed upon it, and a "planchette" which, when the fingers of two participants are lightly placed along its edges, is intended to glide across the smooth surface of the inscribed platform and indicate messages. Conceived of as a parlor game in the wake of popular spiritualism, this is potentially a very dangerous tool for inviting in unpredictable, invasive forces.

Out of Body (OBE): Relating to or involving a feeling of separation from one’s body and of being able to view oneself and others from an external perspective

Paranormal: Events that are beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation.

Parapsychology: A discipline that seeks to investigate the existence and causes of psychic abilities and life after death using the scientific method.

Pareidolia: Seeing defined objects in non defined subjects. Also known as simulacra.

Pentacle/Pentagram: The traditional five-pointed star design, with its interior pentagon delineated, generally representing both spirituality and protection when point "up"; when inverted, it is said to signify diabolism.

Phantom: a: something (as a specter) apparent to sense but with no substantial existence; b : something elusive or visionary; c : an object of continual dread or abhorrence : 2 : something existing in appearance only

Poltergeist: A German word that literally translates as "noisy and troublesome ghost". A mischievous and bothersome spirit. This is an extremely rare occurrence wherein random objects are moved and sounds produced by an unseen force, the sole purpose of which seems to be to draw attention to itself. The phenomenon always involves a specific individual, frequently a child or adolescent.

Possession: Invasion of the human mind by a spiritual or demonic entity, where the invading agent for a span of time, influences or entirely subverts the personality of the human host. It is in these instances that the boundaries of psychology, religion and spiritualism are rendered less distinct.

Precognition: Knowledge of an event before it happens.

Premonition: A forewarning of a future event.

Presence: The feeling that an unseen person, spirit or being is nearby.

Psychic: A person who has the ability to see, hear and feel by use of senses other than the natural senses.

Psychometry: The ability to sense information in an object, or in the surrounding environment

Radio Voice Phenomenon (RVP): Receiving the voice of a deceased human being through a regular radio.

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: The belief that a person's soul will, following bodily death, inhabit a new body in a long cycle of rebirths, purportedly for the soul's evolution through gaining experience.

Residual (Haunting): Psychic imprint of a scene which is repeatedly played out, where the witness of such phenomenon essentially is peering into the past. The ghostly participants of these time-displacements often seem unaware of their living observers.

Satan: Hebraic term for "Adversary," the "Tester" in the Biblical Book of Job, the most familiar name of the Devil, the "Fallen Angel" and the "Evil One."

Séance: A group effort to contact the spirit world. In standardized format, the lighting of the chamber in which the séance is conducted is subdued, and the participants sit around the table, either holding hands or with hands palm down, flat against the table's surface and with fingertips touching those of the adjacent partners. A candle generally is set on the center of the table. The appointed director or "medium" addresses the spirit(s) with whom contact is sought, and then it's "We await a sign..." CAPT Note: We do not endorse the use of séances.

Sensitive: A person who has psychic abilities.

Shadow people: Spirits or ghosts which are usually black in appearance and have no discernible features.

Sixth sense: A power of perception independent of the five senses (touch, smell, sight, feeling, taste).

Skeptic: A person who is yet undecided as to what is true. One who looks for rational explanations as to why something occurs.

Sleep paralysis: A condition in which a person seems to be awake/conscious but is unable to move.

Specter: An unusual appearing ghostly figure or image.

Spirit: The soul, essence or energy of a living or deceased person, animal or being.

Simulacra: A Latin word originally meaning a material object representing something such as an idol representing a deity or a painted still life of a bowl of fruit. By the 1800’s it developed a sense of a mere image an empty form devoid of spirit and descended to a specious or fallow representation. In other words, something that looks like something else done deliberately.

Soul: The spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe

Spirit guide: A spiritual being who is assigned to a particular person to assist them in their spiritual or life journey. It is said that each person can have more than one spirit guide. These guides can be highly evolved spirits of people who have lived before.

Spirit photography: The art or process of taking photos using traditional film, or digital media to capture images of spirits.

Succubus: A demon (taking a female form) who seeks sexual intercourse with a human man.

Supernatural: Beyond or exceeding the laws of nature.

Telepathy: Communication of a person’s mind with another by means other than the normal senses.

Teleportation: Movement of people or objects from one place to another by supernatural means.

UFO: A UFO is a unidentified object or objects seen in the sky above Earth. UFOs are usually thought to be transportation devices used by aliens to travel throughout space (and/or time). UFOs have been reported in many different shapes and forms and have been seen for centuries.

Ufology: The study of UFOs.

Voodoo: African magic traditions with a veneer of imposed Catholicism from the new world, taking root in the Caribbean, particularly the dark populous of Haiti.

Vortex: An anomaly that appears as a funnel or rope-like image in photographs. These images are sometimes thought to represent ghosts, collections of orbs or gateways which travel to a wormhole in time-space. There has been no substantial scientific evidence to support any of these theories.

Warren, Ed And Lorraine: Paranormal investigators, demonologists and authors associated with prominent cases of hauntings. The Warrens founded the New England Society for Psychic Research in 1952 and later opened the Occult Museum. The Warrens were among the very first investigators in the controversial Amityville haunting. The Warrens were responsible for training several current paranormal investigating demonologists including Dave Considine, Lou Gentile, and their nephew John Zaffis.

Wraith: The exact likeness of a living person seen usually just before death as an apparition.