"Paranormal and Supernatural Dictionary
~ A ~
After-Death Communication (ADC): Literally communication between a living person and a deceased person.
Apparition: From the Latin aperate, meaning 'to appear.' A ghost who takes on a temporary visual form.
Apport: From the French apporter, meaning 'to bring.' This is an object that appears during a Seance.
Asport: An object that disappears during a Seance.
Aura: Since all things vibrate on a subatomic level and release energy, it is what clairvoyants perceive as the radiation that comes off the body; different colors and shapes mean different things.
Automatic Writing: Also called direct writing, is the ability to receive ghostly or telepathic messages while writing.
Autoscopy: Viewing the awake body while astrally projecting.
~ B ~
Billet Reading: Billet from the French 'letter' is a form of psychometry by which a person holds a sealed envelope to their brow and somehow is able to predict the contents.
Bilocation: Appearing in a seemingly physical form while astrally projecting.
Bogart: An English term for a ghost.
Brutch: An area of psychic disturbance such as the Bermuda Triangle.
~ C ~
Channeling: The ability to embody the spirit of the dead so as to foster communication between the dead and"the living.
Clairaudience: From the French "clear hearing." One who can hear the conversations of the dead.
Clairhambience: From the French "clear tasting." When a ghost is present someone may taste something that the ghost had enjoyed eating often in life.
Clairkinesthesia: From the French "clear feeling." Actually feeling the hands of ghosts.
Clairolefactor: From the French "clear smelling," and also known as Clairgustance. One who smells something described as floral when ghosts are near.
Clairvoyance: From the French "clear seeing." Once used to describe those who could see the dead, though today it applies to one who has medial psychic abilities.
Cold Spot: An area of temperature drop in a localized location that seems to be the presence of a spirit.
Conjurer: Sometimes a reference to a fake medium.
~ D ~
Deja Vu: The feeling of experiencing the same events over again without being able to remember the original experience.
Dematerialization: The disappearance of an object.
Divination: Also known as fortune telling.
Divining Rod: Also called a Dowsing Rod, it is a forked branch that is believed to point to underground water.
~ E ~
Ectoplasm: From the Greek ektos plasma, meaning "exteriorized substance." The release of spiritual energy in the form of mist or semi-solid substance.
Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Detector: A devise used to find anomalies in electromagnetic fields to find the presence of spirits.
Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP): The voice of a spirit that has been recorded on tape by accident. The process was discovered by Swedish man Fredrich Jurgenson while recording birdsongs in the countryside in 1959. Upon playing back the tapes, he discovered a voice discussing nocturnal birdsongs in Norwegian, after slowing down the tape considerably. He later went on to record 10,000 EVPs. Thomas Edison also tried to make a spirit communication devise before his death.
Entity: A terrible and violent spirit that always seems to viciously attack family members. Most now believe an entity takes form from the fighting, bickering and yelling in a family.
Empathy: Also called Clairkinesthesia, from the French "clear feeling." The supposed ability to pick up on another's emotions without the aid of reading body language or discerning tone of voice.
Etherialization: The partial appearance of a ghost, mostly having an upper torso but no lower body.
Extrasensory Perception (ESP): Literally obtaining knowledge without the use of any of the senses.
~ G ~
Ghost: The spirit of the deceased.
~ H ~
Haint: Another word for ghost. The word hainted derives from "haunted."
Haunted: A place that has frequent spiritual sightings.
Hypnosis: Suspending the conscious mind for a short time to reveal the workings of the inner mind.
~ I ~
Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC): The use of radios, TVs, computers, telephones and the like to contact spirits. A good example is taking a photo of a blank TV screen or recording "snow" off the TV.
Intelligent Haunting: It seems that the spirit of the deceased no longer simply plays out a routine experience but seems to have an intellect of its own and interacts with the living.
~ L ~
Levitation: The ability to be free of the pull of gravity for a short period of time. Saints such as Teresa of Avila, Joseph of Cupertino, Joseph, Gerard and Francis (a stigmatic) were reported to levitate on many occasions attributed to spiritual ecstasy.
~ M ~
Manifestation: When a spirit takes form.
Metaphysics: Literally "beyond physics;" the physics of the other world.
Materialization: The appearance of an object that has no way of being where it is found.
Medium: A psychic who communicates with the dead. Many have been found fraudulent and only acting for profit.
~ O ~
Orb: A sphere of light that varies in size and is believed to be the presence of spirits in photographs.
Out of Body Experience (OBE): Also called astral projection and often blamed on near death experiences, this is when the spirit or conscious mind somehow leaves the body. Some psychics believe that when one dreams of flying, they are actually astrally projecting and are connected to our body by what is known as a silver cord.
~ P ~
Paranormal: Literally "not normal;" supernatural.
Parapsychology: Literally "beyond psychology." How people interact with ghosts. One who is expereinced in such field is called a parapsychologist.
Phantasm: An imagined paranormal event.
Phantasmagoria: The appearance of a crowd of spirits.
Physical Medium: A medium who seems to be the cause of various physical phenomenon during a Seance, such as trumpets blowing, moving objects and the like.
Poltergeist: A Russian word meaning "noisy spirit." Such phenomenon as noises, things moving of their own accord, knocking, etc. are now attributed to latent telekinetic/psychokinetic abilities in children going through puberty or those who have recently gone under much stress and grief.
Possession: The often untrue belief that a persons body has been taken over by a spirit. People believed to be possessed in the past were simply mentally ill, or in the case of the Ursuline nuns in Loudun, France, suffering from sexual hysteria.
Precognition: To somehow know of an event before it takes place.
Provocation: The use of a spell or prayer to contact a spirit. Provocation can also be practiced by acting out as much as possible the events leading up to the death of a person.
Psi: Psychic abilities.
Psychic: One who regularly obtains information without using the senses.
Psychic Medium: One whos psychic talents take the form of the decased to communicate information.
Psychic Surgery: A fraudulent business where a sick person is "operated on" by a man who uses no knives or medical equipment to operate on the sick person. However, many clients report a complete recovery after undergoing the process, lending to the fact that the mind itself can heal the body just on the belief the operation was a success.
Psychometry: From the Greek psyche metron, meaning "soul measure." The ability to touch an object and somehow know the history of its uses.
Pyrokinesis: The ability to create fires without the use of heat or accelerant.
~ R ~
Receiver: One who easily receives telepathic messages; the opposite of Sender.
Remote Viewing: The ability to accurately visualize the goings on in another place.
Residual Haunting: Also called Residue Haunting; the belief that horrible events somehow imprint upon their surroundings are picked up by latent psychic abilities in others under certain conditions so that a ghost sighting could be more described as witnessing a play from the past, over and over again.
Retrocognition: To somehow know the past.
~ S ~
Seance: A French word that literally means a "sitting." A group of people get together, led by a medium or another who has psychic abilities to try to communicate with the dead.
Sender: One who sends telepathic messages with ease; the opposite of Receiver.
Sixth Sence: Also called ESP.
Spirit: The soul of a deceased person.
Stigmata: The presence of the five wounds of Christ that appears on the body of a very devout person. Some have explained the very real wounds as a psychosomatic effect the mind has on the wonderful person who seem to always be thinking of the suffering of Christ.
Spiritual Ecstasy: The condition in which person contacts the Divine and is lead to wild dancing, seizure-type activities, "speaking in tongues," etc. During such states of hysteria where the conscious mind seems to be removed, any infliction of pain on the body is not felt (some people can pierce all parts of their body without feeling pain) and can assumably heal the sick by touch.
Spontaneous Human Combustion (SHC): The unthinkable event when a persons body bursts into flames for no reason whatsoever.
~ T ~
Table Tipping: A once popular phenomenon where a group of people would gather together, lay their hands on a table and wait for a spirit to take over and lift the table almost onto one leg. The people would ask yes or no questions and the table would tap out the answer.
Telekinesis: Also called Psychokinesis. The ability to move objects with the mind.
Telepathy: The ability to know the thoughts of others.
Typtology: A form of spiritual communcation where the spirit lifts a table (table tipping) and taps out an answer with the legs on the table.
~ V ~
Vortex: Also called a Psychic Rod. The appearance of a string of light or circular hole that seems to be a spiritual nexus that spirits are able to freely pass through.
~ W ~
Wraith: A spirit who guards a certain place; a spirit seen before death.
~ Z ~
Zener Cards: The cards were designed in the early 1930S by Karl Zener (1903-1963) to test ESP/telepathic abilities. Each card has a different symbol out of 5 symbols (a square, a star, circle, cross and wavey lines) and a person is asked to describe the card the experimenter is looking at.
~ A ~
After-Death Communication (ADC): Literally communication between a living person and a deceased person.
Apparition: From the Latin aperate, meaning 'to appear.' A ghost who takes on a temporary visual form.
Apport: From the French apporter, meaning 'to bring.' This is an object that appears during a Seance.
Asport: An object that disappears during a Seance.
Aura: Since all things vibrate on a subatomic level and release energy, it is what clairvoyants perceive as the radiation that comes off the body; different colors and shapes mean different things.
Automatic Writing: Also called direct writing, is the ability to receive ghostly or telepathic messages while writing.
Autoscopy: Viewing the awake body while astrally projecting.
~ B ~
Billet Reading: Billet from the French 'letter' is a form of psychometry by which a person holds a sealed envelope to their brow and somehow is able to predict the contents.
Bilocation: Appearing in a seemingly physical form while astrally projecting.
Bogart: An English term for a ghost.
Brutch: An area of psychic disturbance such as the Bermuda Triangle.
~ C ~
Channeling: The ability to embody the spirit of the dead so as to foster communication between the dead and"the living.
Clairaudience: From the French "clear hearing." One who can hear the conversations of the dead.
Clairhambience: From the French "clear tasting." When a ghost is present someone may taste something that the ghost had enjoyed eating often in life.
Clairkinesthesia: From the French "clear feeling." Actually feeling the hands of ghosts.
Clairolefactor: From the French "clear smelling," and also known as Clairgustance. One who smells something described as floral when ghosts are near.
Clairvoyance: From the French "clear seeing." Once used to describe those who could see the dead, though today it applies to one who has medial psychic abilities.
Cold Spot: An area of temperature drop in a localized location that seems to be the presence of a spirit.
Conjurer: Sometimes a reference to a fake medium.
~ D ~
Deja Vu: The feeling of experiencing the same events over again without being able to remember the original experience.
Dematerialization: The disappearance of an object.
Divination: Also known as fortune telling.
Divining Rod: Also called a Dowsing Rod, it is a forked branch that is believed to point to underground water.
~ E ~
Ectoplasm: From the Greek ektos plasma, meaning "exteriorized substance." The release of spiritual energy in the form of mist or semi-solid substance.
Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Detector: A devise used to find anomalies in electromagnetic fields to find the presence of spirits.
Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP): The voice of a spirit that has been recorded on tape by accident. The process was discovered by Swedish man Fredrich Jurgenson while recording birdsongs in the countryside in 1959. Upon playing back the tapes, he discovered a voice discussing nocturnal birdsongs in Norwegian, after slowing down the tape considerably. He later went on to record 10,000 EVPs. Thomas Edison also tried to make a spirit communication devise before his death.
Entity: A terrible and violent spirit that always seems to viciously attack family members. Most now believe an entity takes form from the fighting, bickering and yelling in a family.
Empathy: Also called Clairkinesthesia, from the French "clear feeling." The supposed ability to pick up on another's emotions without the aid of reading body language or discerning tone of voice.
Etherialization: The partial appearance of a ghost, mostly having an upper torso but no lower body.
Extrasensory Perception (ESP): Literally obtaining knowledge without the use of any of the senses.
~ G ~
Ghost: The spirit of the deceased.
~ H ~
Haint: Another word for ghost. The word hainted derives from "haunted."
Haunted: A place that has frequent spiritual sightings.
Hypnosis: Suspending the conscious mind for a short time to reveal the workings of the inner mind.
~ I ~
Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC): The use of radios, TVs, computers, telephones and the like to contact spirits. A good example is taking a photo of a blank TV screen or recording "snow" off the TV.
Intelligent Haunting: It seems that the spirit of the deceased no longer simply plays out a routine experience but seems to have an intellect of its own and interacts with the living.
~ L ~
Levitation: The ability to be free of the pull of gravity for a short period of time. Saints such as Teresa of Avila, Joseph of Cupertino, Joseph, Gerard and Francis (a stigmatic) were reported to levitate on many occasions attributed to spiritual ecstasy.
~ M ~
Manifestation: When a spirit takes form.
Metaphysics: Literally "beyond physics;" the physics of the other world.
Materialization: The appearance of an object that has no way of being where it is found.
Medium: A psychic who communicates with the dead. Many have been found fraudulent and only acting for profit.
~ O ~
Orb: A sphere of light that varies in size and is believed to be the presence of spirits in photographs.
Out of Body Experience (OBE): Also called astral projection and often blamed on near death experiences, this is when the spirit or conscious mind somehow leaves the body. Some psychics believe that when one dreams of flying, they are actually astrally projecting and are connected to our body by what is known as a silver cord.
~ P ~
Paranormal: Literally "not normal;" supernatural.
Parapsychology: Literally "beyond psychology." How people interact with ghosts. One who is expereinced in such field is called a parapsychologist.
Phantasm: An imagined paranormal event.
Phantasmagoria: The appearance of a crowd of spirits.
Physical Medium: A medium who seems to be the cause of various physical phenomenon during a Seance, such as trumpets blowing, moving objects and the like.
Poltergeist: A Russian word meaning "noisy spirit." Such phenomenon as noises, things moving of their own accord, knocking, etc. are now attributed to latent telekinetic/psychokinetic abilities in children going through puberty or those who have recently gone under much stress and grief.
Possession: The often untrue belief that a persons body has been taken over by a spirit. People believed to be possessed in the past were simply mentally ill, or in the case of the Ursuline nuns in Loudun, France, suffering from sexual hysteria.
Precognition: To somehow know of an event before it takes place.
Provocation: The use of a spell or prayer to contact a spirit. Provocation can also be practiced by acting out as much as possible the events leading up to the death of a person.
Psi: Psychic abilities.
Psychic: One who regularly obtains information without using the senses.
Psychic Medium: One whos psychic talents take the form of the decased to communicate information.
Psychic Surgery: A fraudulent business where a sick person is "operated on" by a man who uses no knives or medical equipment to operate on the sick person. However, many clients report a complete recovery after undergoing the process, lending to the fact that the mind itself can heal the body just on the belief the operation was a success.
Psychometry: From the Greek psyche metron, meaning "soul measure." The ability to touch an object and somehow know the history of its uses.
Pyrokinesis: The ability to create fires without the use of heat or accelerant.
~ R ~
Receiver: One who easily receives telepathic messages; the opposite of Sender.
Remote Viewing: The ability to accurately visualize the goings on in another place.
Residual Haunting: Also called Residue Haunting; the belief that horrible events somehow imprint upon their surroundings are picked up by latent psychic abilities in others under certain conditions so that a ghost sighting could be more described as witnessing a play from the past, over and over again.
Retrocognition: To somehow know the past.
~ S ~
Seance: A French word that literally means a "sitting." A group of people get together, led by a medium or another who has psychic abilities to try to communicate with the dead.
Sender: One who sends telepathic messages with ease; the opposite of Receiver.
Sixth Sence: Also called ESP.
Spirit: The soul of a deceased person.
Stigmata: The presence of the five wounds of Christ that appears on the body of a very devout person. Some have explained the very real wounds as a psychosomatic effect the mind has on the wonderful person who seem to always be thinking of the suffering of Christ.
Spiritual Ecstasy: The condition in which person contacts the Divine and is lead to wild dancing, seizure-type activities, "speaking in tongues," etc. During such states of hysteria where the conscious mind seems to be removed, any infliction of pain on the body is not felt (some people can pierce all parts of their body without feeling pain) and can assumably heal the sick by touch.
Spontaneous Human Combustion (SHC): The unthinkable event when a persons body bursts into flames for no reason whatsoever.
~ T ~
Table Tipping: A once popular phenomenon where a group of people would gather together, lay their hands on a table and wait for a spirit to take over and lift the table almost onto one leg. The people would ask yes or no questions and the table would tap out the answer.
Telekinesis: Also called Psychokinesis. The ability to move objects with the mind.
Telepathy: The ability to know the thoughts of others.
Typtology: A form of spiritual communcation where the spirit lifts a table (table tipping) and taps out an answer with the legs on the table.
~ V ~
Vortex: Also called a Psychic Rod. The appearance of a string of light or circular hole that seems to be a spiritual nexus that spirits are able to freely pass through.
~ W ~
Wraith: A spirit who guards a certain place; a spirit seen before death.
~ Z ~
Zener Cards: The cards were designed in the early 1930S by Karl Zener (1903-1963) to test ESP/telepathic abilities. Each card has a different symbol out of 5 symbols (a square, a star, circle, cross and wavey lines) and a person is asked to describe the card the experimenter is looking at.
