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Agent - A living person at the site of a haunting. Some human agents act only as witnesses to
paranormal events while others are believed to be the method by which the hauntings occur,
such as with Poltergeist-like hauntings.
American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena - Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to
collect objective evidence of survival after death. Research is primarily centered in Raudive
voices which are voices that spontaneously appear on audio recordings or the audio track of
video recordings which are purported to be communications from the dead.
Animism - The belief that personalized supernatural beings (or souls) inhabit all objects and
govern their existence.
Apparition - A spectral image, or supernatural manifestation, that is better known as a ghost.
Thought to be the soul of a deceased human, or animal, it is an imprint with distinct features.
They are usually connected to residual hauntings rather than spirit related ones.
Astral Body - An exact replica of the physical body but composed of psychic matter. The astral
body is the representation of the subject in out of body experiences reported in psychic research.
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.
Astral World - The level of existence that immediately follows physical death.
Aura - A field of radiant light, or energy, believed to surround living creatures.
Autography - The phenomenon of direct writing by a spirit.
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.
Avatar - In English, the word has come to mean "an embodiment, a bodily manifestation of the
Divine". However, the Sanskrit word means "the descent of God" or simply "incarnation".
Banishment - A type of ritual spell, or form of magic that gets rid of negative spirits, emotions
and outcomes.
Banshee - An Irish or Scottish attendant death fairy associate with certain Irish and Scottish
clans. Banshees appear as women, young and old, ugly or beautiful, but most reports have
them with blood red eyes, caused by their weeping for the dead of one of the members of their
clans. Sometimes the Banshee rides a pale horse followed by a hearse. At other times, they
stand vigil at waterways, wailing and crying for their dead.
Bilocation - Appearing to be in two locations at one time. Often associated with astral projection.
Channeling - A modern term for medium-ship whereby spirit entities convey philosophical
advice, spiritual advice, or healing through mediums.
Clairaudience - Receiving paranormal messages through sound/voices or information that
comes to the mind as thoughts; the gif t of hearing.
Clairessence - Having the supposed ability to smell that which is not present. (see below)
Clairgusance - People with this gift can smell things that are not physically present; the gift of
smell. (see above)
Clairsentience - It is like a radar that is on all the time. People with this gift can psychically feel
the environment as they go through their daily lives; the gift of sensing.
Clairvoyance - Having the supposed power to see objects or events that cannot be perceived by
the senses; the gift of seeing.
Cold Spot - An energy area associated with a temperature change.
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.
Crossroads - A place of spiritual danger, where devils, witches, vampires and ghouls lurk
Deja Entendu - A French term meaning "already heard" is used by psychical researchers to
characterize the feeling that a distinct sound in the present is an echo of the past.
Deja Vu - A French term meaning "already seen" is used by psychical researchers to
characterize the feeling that some scene or experience in the present is an echo of the past.
Dematerialization - The sudden disappearance or fading of a person, object, or spirit in full view
of witnesses.
Demon - A hostile and resentful entity, allegedly of non-human origin, and which some believe to
be a fallen angel.
Demonology - The study of demons or evil spirits sometimes coupled with a branch of magic
that deals with such beings.
Direct Voice - A spirit voice, audible within the normal range of the human ear, without a visible
source of agency.
Discarnate - Having no physical form or body
Dowsing - The oldest form of divination known to man, possibly thousands of years old.
Dowsing is the action or a person - a dowser - who uses a rod or stick called a dowsing rod to
locate such things as underground water, buried metal, oil, or even locating ghosts. Dowsing is
not based upon scientific or empirical laws or forces of nature, and even experienced dowsers
will admit that the reasons the procedure works are unknown.
Ectoplasm - A semi-fluid organic material which is a product of psychic energy which usually
forms as a fog like mist, solid white mass, or vortices.
Electric Phenomena - Phenomena with properties resembling electricity.
Electromagnetic Field - The electrical force that surrounds or permeates life. Many believe
areas that are haunted will show high electromagnetic readings. Scientists dispute this, saying
most areas and all living things radiate electromagnetic fields.
Electromagnetic Field Meter (EMF Detector) - A device that detects the changes in the
Electromagnetic Field. This field is around everything, from TV's to power boxes. It is thought
that ghosts and other paranormal phenomena will disrupt the EM Field when present. The
normal reading for paranormal activity is between 2.0 and 8.0 mg. Above this is usually
man-made in origin.
Electronic Video Phenomena - Term describing the appearance of paranormal images on
television sets (typically when the television is turned off).
Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) - Sounds or voices recorded on magnetic tape which is
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.)
Elemental - A term used by Spiritualists to describe angry or malicious spirits. Others refer to
them as "earth spirits".
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. Obviously, psychic empathy can be regarded as a mixed blessing, and
the empath must learn to gain a measure of control over this ability.
Exorcism - Stated by Edward Smedley in Occult Sciences (1855), exorcism is "to bind upon
oath, to charge upon oath, and thus, by the use of certain words, and performance of certain
ceremonies, to subject the devil and other evil spirits to command and exact obedience."
Extrasensory Perception (ESP) - A term denoting awareness apparently received through
channels other than the usual senses. Phenomena related to ESP include clairvoyance,
telepathy, and precognition.
Fetch - According to Irish and British belief, the spirit double or apparition of a living person, also
known as a wraith. It exactly resembles the individual whose death it is supposed to foretell, but
is generally a shadowy or ghostly appearance.
Folie a Deux - Literal translation "a madness shared by two"; A rare psychiatric syndrome in
which a symptom of psychosis (particularly a paranoid or delusional belief) is transmitted from
one individual to another. There have been occasional claims of shared visual hallucinations
that are near, to exact, duplicates. Recent psychiatric classifications refer to the syndrome as
induced delusional disorder or shared psychotic disorder.
Folklore - Historical events passed by word of mouth that have become so skewed that they've
lost their honest meaning and have become fairy tales, legends, beliefs and superstitions
paranormal events while others are believed to be the method by which the hauntings occur,
such as with Poltergeist-like hauntings.
American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena - Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to
collect objective evidence of survival after death. Research is primarily centered in Raudive
voices which are voices that spontaneously appear on audio recordings or the audio track of
video recordings which are purported to be communications from the dead.
Animism - The belief that personalized supernatural beings (or souls) inhabit all objects and
govern their existence.
Apparition - A spectral image, or supernatural manifestation, that is better known as a ghost.
Thought to be the soul of a deceased human, or animal, it is an imprint with distinct features.
They are usually connected to residual hauntings rather than spirit related ones.
Astral Body - An exact replica of the physical body but composed of psychic matter. The astral
body is the representation of the subject in out of body experiences reported in psychic research.
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.
Astral World - The level of existence that immediately follows physical death.
Aura - A field of radiant light, or energy, believed to surround living creatures.
Autography - The phenomenon of direct writing by a spirit.
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.
Avatar - In English, the word has come to mean "an embodiment, a bodily manifestation of the
Divine". However, the Sanskrit word means "the descent of God" or simply "incarnation".
Banishment - A type of ritual spell, or form of magic that gets rid of negative spirits, emotions
and outcomes.
Banshee - An Irish or Scottish attendant death fairy associate with certain Irish and Scottish
clans. Banshees appear as women, young and old, ugly or beautiful, but most reports have
them with blood red eyes, caused by their weeping for the dead of one of the members of their
clans. Sometimes the Banshee rides a pale horse followed by a hearse. At other times, they
stand vigil at waterways, wailing and crying for their dead.
Bilocation - Appearing to be in two locations at one time. Often associated with astral projection.
Channeling - A modern term for medium-ship whereby spirit entities convey philosophical
advice, spiritual advice, or healing through mediums.
Clairaudience - Receiving paranormal messages through sound/voices or information that
comes to the mind as thoughts; the gif t of hearing.
Clairessence - Having the supposed ability to smell that which is not present. (see below)
Clairgusance - People with this gift can smell things that are not physically present; the gift of
smell. (see above)
Clairsentience - It is like a radar that is on all the time. People with this gift can psychically feel
the environment as they go through their daily lives; the gift of sensing.
Clairvoyance - Having the supposed power to see objects or events that cannot be perceived by
the senses; the gift of seeing.
Cold Spot - An energy area associated with a temperature change.
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.
Crossroads - A place of spiritual danger, where devils, witches, vampires and ghouls lurk
Deja Entendu - A French term meaning "already heard" is used by psychical researchers to
characterize the feeling that a distinct sound in the present is an echo of the past.
Deja Vu - A French term meaning "already seen" is used by psychical researchers to
characterize the feeling that some scene or experience in the present is an echo of the past.
Dematerialization - The sudden disappearance or fading of a person, object, or spirit in full view
of witnesses.
Demon - A hostile and resentful entity, allegedly of non-human origin, and which some believe to
be a fallen angel.
Demonology - The study of demons or evil spirits sometimes coupled with a branch of magic
that deals with such beings.
Direct Voice - A spirit voice, audible within the normal range of the human ear, without a visible
source of agency.
Discarnate - Having no physical form or body
Dowsing - The oldest form of divination known to man, possibly thousands of years old.
Dowsing is the action or a person - a dowser - who uses a rod or stick called a dowsing rod to
locate such things as underground water, buried metal, oil, or even locating ghosts. Dowsing is
not based upon scientific or empirical laws or forces of nature, and even experienced dowsers
will admit that the reasons the procedure works are unknown.
Ectoplasm - A semi-fluid organic material which is a product of psychic energy which usually
forms as a fog like mist, solid white mass, or vortices.
Electric Phenomena - Phenomena with properties resembling electricity.
Electromagnetic Field - The electrical force that surrounds or permeates life. Many believe
areas that are haunted will show high electromagnetic readings. Scientists dispute this, saying
most areas and all living things radiate electromagnetic fields.
Electromagnetic Field Meter (EMF Detector) - A device that detects the changes in the
Electromagnetic Field. This field is around everything, from TV's to power boxes. It is thought
that ghosts and other paranormal phenomena will disrupt the EM Field when present. The
normal reading for paranormal activity is between 2.0 and 8.0 mg. Above this is usually
man-made in origin.
Electronic Video Phenomena - Term describing the appearance of paranormal images on
television sets (typically when the television is turned off).
Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) - Sounds or voices recorded on magnetic tape which is
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.)
Elemental - A term used by Spiritualists to describe angry or malicious spirits. Others refer to
them as "earth spirits".
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. Obviously, psychic empathy can be regarded as a mixed blessing, and
the empath must learn to gain a measure of control over this ability.
Exorcism - Stated by Edward Smedley in Occult Sciences (1855), exorcism is "to bind upon
oath, to charge upon oath, and thus, by the use of certain words, and performance of certain
ceremonies, to subject the devil and other evil spirits to command and exact obedience."
Extrasensory Perception (ESP) - A term denoting awareness apparently received through
channels other than the usual senses. Phenomena related to ESP include clairvoyance,
telepathy, and precognition.
Fetch - According to Irish and British belief, the spirit double or apparition of a living person, also
known as a wraith. It exactly resembles the individual whose death it is supposed to foretell, but
is generally a shadowy or ghostly appearance.
Folie a Deux - Literal translation "a madness shared by two"; A rare psychiatric syndrome in
which a symptom of psychosis (particularly a paranoid or delusional belief) is transmitted from
one individual to another. There have been occasional claims of shared visual hallucinations
that are near, to exact, duplicates. Recent psychiatric classifications refer to the syndrome as
induced delusional disorder or shared psychotic disorder.
Folklore - Historical events passed by word of mouth that have become so skewed that they've
lost their honest meaning and have become fairy tales, legends, beliefs and superstitions