Ghost Terminology

Altered State is any state of consciousness that differs from the normal states of being awake or asleep.

Amulet is an article that has the power to stave off ghosts and evil spirits. Check out the protection "Amulets".

Angel is a holy and protective messenger shielding us from harm. They are sometimes mistaken for ghosts. Recommended Reading "Angels 101" by Doreen Virtue.

Apparition is a mysterious image of a disembodied spirit that can be recognized as a human or animal.  They are the most rare type of ghost to capture on film.  Ghostly human forms are the easiest to fake, especially with the advance technology of computers.  This makes our job even more difficult to prove apparitions when using photos.  Ghostly apparitions of ships, trains, cars, and other inanimate objects have been seen. 

Apport happens when a solid object appears from out of nowhere, with the assistance of the spirit in the company of a medium. 

Astral Plane is a level of awareness in the celestial world having its own standards, occupants, and the reason for being. Recommended Reading: "Astral Projection" by Edain McCoy.

Astral Body is the energy that separates itself from the human form but still maintains the personality and feelings of the individual.  Sometimes others will see them during their out of the body experience (OBE).

Atmospheric Apparition is a visual imprint of the person that has died left on the atmosphere that continues to re-play.

Aura is an energy field that surrounds all living things. Recommended reading: How to See and Read Auras by Ted Andrews.

Automatic Writing happens when a ghost or spirit takes control of the writer’s hand and writes out a message.

Banshee is a spirit that appears prior to a person’s death to howl a morning song and to welcome them into the after life.

Bi-location is the phenomena where someone can be in two places at the same time.

Boogie Man is the term that refers to a hidious entity who searches for those who do or believe in bad things. It was known in the past to deter children from being bad by saying that the Boogie Man will get you if you are not good.

Cemetery lights are bright balls of glowing lights that have been witnessed in cemeteries floating or sometimes flashing over the graves. Recommended Reading: Field Guide to Haunted Grave Yards by Troy Taylor.

Channeling is a way to retrieve information about the futrue or to gain wisdom. This is achieved druing a session where a medium agrees to let a spirit come through them to communicate this infromation.

Clairaudience is when someone has the ability to hear the voices of ghosts/spirits or other sounds that are inaudible to the human ear.

Clairvoyance is being capable of seeing events in the future or past through thought.

Cold Reading is done when a psychic has no prior knowledge of the person before them.

Cold Spot is where the temperature drops several degrees in a suspected haunted area.  It is believed that when a spirit is near it will absorb the heat and leave a cold spot. The temperature can also rise in heat by several degrees indicating a possible spirit presence.

Collective Apparition is when you have more than one person seeing the apparition at the same time when the ghostly activity occurs.

Collective Unconscious is a theory that represents the collective memory of all humanity’s past and is held inside the unconscious mind.

Conjure is a process of calling on a spirit to form before you in order to ask questions or gain knowledge about a certain experience.

Corpse candle is a term referring to the balls of fire lights that dance above the ground. 

Crisis Apparition is when someone sees a loved one appear to them for a brief moment and then later discovering that that person had died at about the same time they appeared to them at the moment of the crisis.

Demonology, is the systematic study of demons. To the extent that it refers to theology elaborating the meaning of sacred texts, demonology is an orthodox branch of theology. The most extensive statement of western Christian demonology is the Malleus Maleficarum of Heinrich Kramer (once thought to have been co-written by Jacob Sprenger), which attempted to prove that the existence and power of witchcraft were an integral part of the Roman Catholic faith. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonology
Find out more about this intreging subject by reading "Shadows of the Dark", by John Zaffis.

Dowsing is the ability of seeking answers and interpreting them by using rods or a pendulum.  Dowsing is widely used as a simple but effective way of searching for anything from lost personal items, water, geophysical surveys, missing persons and ghosts. 

Earthlights are balls of lights appearing without explanation and moving about in the outdoors.

Ectoplasm is a fog-like substance, which is produced from the openings (ears, eyes, mouth, etc) by a medium during a trance to aid in the contact of the deceased. This is a rare occurance.

Ectoplasmic Mist is a reference used to describe a misty white cloud that shows up in a photo and can not be explained. It is believed to be the energy of a departed spirit. The mist is not seen during the time the picture is taken.  These mists can vary in color from gray, black, red and green.

Elemental Spirit is an entity associated with one of the four elements, fire, air, water and earth.

EMF (Electro-Magnetic Field) meter is a device that can pick up the current of the electronic and magnetic fields.  They can detect any distortions that may occur in the normal electro-magnetic field.

Entity is a term that refers to an intelligential energy who can communicate and make physical contact to the very sensitive.

ESP (Extrasensory Perception) is a condition where one has the ability to gather information beyond the five human senses.

EVP (Electrocal Voice Phenomenon) is a simple method in which you can pick up a spirit’s voice by using a regular cassette tape recorder or any other recording device such as the digital recorder. These spirit voices can also be captured on camcorders as well.

Exorcism is a ritual that is necessary to perform when removing detremental or harmful spirits that have attached themselves to people or places. Exorcism are usually performed by priests or demonologists.

Exorcist is a person that is skilled in the act to remove demons from another person or place that is possessed. 

Fairy are described as being a tiny, human form, winged mythical creature, possessing magical powers. 

Family Apparition is a ghost that haunts one particular family.  When the ghost appears it is an omen that someone in the family is going to die. Recommended Reading: "The Veil" by Joyce Cathey and Rebecca Harrington.

Ghosts are the souls of people that have died but have not gone on into the light to complete their journey to the spirit world.. They have remained on the Earth's plane and that's why they can be sensed more easily than spirits. These ghosts can been seen in different forms of energy and apparitions. This energy can come from deceased human spirits and animal spirits.  

Ghost Hunt involves going into an area looking for ghosts where no reported ghostly activity exists. 

Ghost Investigation involves going into an area looking for ghosts or a haunting in an area where paranormal activity has occured.

Ghost Hunter is a person who investigates area suspected of ghostly activity. They may try to figure out what type of ghostly activity exists in the location of the investigation. Recommended reading: "Ghosthunters" by John Kachuba.

Ghost Buster is a person that is skilled in clearing an area of the ghosts, poltergeist, spirit or other haunted activity.  

Ghoul is a grotesque, evil spirit that robs a grave to eat the flesh of the recent dead. 

Gray Lady is a description of the ghost of a woman who has been killed by her lover or committed suicide over her lover. She haunts the place as she waits for her lover to return. 

Haunt is the place where the ghost or spirit continues resides.  Ghosts can haunt places, furniture, articles of possession or people. 

Haunting is a place where reported, ghosly activity has taken place over and over for a period of time. This activity could be the results of an intelligent haunting, residual haunting, or poltergeist haunting. Recommended Reading: "The World's Most Haunted Places" by Jeff Belanger.

Luminous Body is a term referred to a faint glow in a dead body to signify a soul’s pending soon departure. 

Malevolent Entities are spirits that are consumed with angry or seeking revenge.  They seek out individuals with the same emotional embalance and will attach themseves to them, hence the old saying "Misery loves company".  

Medium is someone who can communicate with the dead.  During a trance state the medium allows the spirit to take over their body so they can deliver a message to the living.  The medium does not remember any of this once they come out of the trance.  Today the new mediums are referred to as channeling.  The big difference is now the medium remains completely conscious of what they say and experience through the spirit. Recommended Reading: "Spirit Messenger" by Gordon Smith.

NDE (Near-Death Experience) is when a person dies for a short period of time before being revived and they remember being separated from their body. During this separation they have experiences and visions of the spirit world and what happens after death. Some survivors change their entire outlook about life and make major changes in their belief system. Recommended Reading: "Journey of Souls" by Michael Newton.

Necromancer is a person considered to be a sorcerer or wizard, who has the power to raise the dead and force the spirits to obtain information about the future.  

Orbs are globe-shaped lights of energy caught on film usually during a haunting or other paranormal experience.  Orbs are believed to represent the spirit of an individual that has died.  They are made up of the life force that powered their body in life.  They may vary in size, color, and density. 

Omen is a happening foretelling of a future event. 

Oracle is a medium that can communicate with spirits, ghosts and gods to obtain information about the future. Oracles are recorded to have existed in the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Ouija Board is a tool used to communicate with the spirit world. On the board are numbers, alphabet, and the words “yes”, “no” and “good-by” printed on the surface. The persons using this device place their hands on a planchette that moves ever so slightly while asking questions. As the planchette move it will stop at the different letters to spell out the message.

Paranormal is any experience that happens beyond the range of scientific explanation or normal human capabilities. These experiences may include hauntings, telekinesis, telepathy, clairvoyance, or any other rarity that  cannot be justified by the five senses. 

Planchette is a trianglar tool used as a pointer with a Ouija Board to receive messages from spirits, ghosts, or entities of other planes of existance. 

Poltergeist is a noisy and sometimes active spirit.  The name “Poltergeist” has Greek roots meaning “Noisy Ghost”.  This type of ghostly activity include scratching, banging, objects disappearing and then reappearing, levitating, and in some cases fire.  Another cause for objects moving and doors opening can be related to psycho kinesis. This is due to the ability that the brain has to move object without the person realising this trait.

Possession is when an evil entity takes over a human body and forces the soul out.  This allows the spirit to use  the host by alternating his own will.  This may totally adjust the host’s current personality.  The most common  attacked by this force are women under twenty who show signs of emotional distress.  The discarnate spirit seeks out humans with their own emotions of anger, revenge, and resentment. 

Precognition is the foreseeing of future events. 

Psychic is a person who has the ability to gain information through their subconcience with disregards to their five senses.  They may attain this infromation by hearing voices, seeing spirits and a knowing what might be happening in the future. Recommended Reading: "Psychic Development for Beginners" by William Hewitt.

Psycho Kinesis is the ability to move objects with the power coming from the mind.. 

Purgatory is the place where the souls of the dead must go to be cleansed of all their sins before being allowed  into Heaven. 

Reciprocal Apparition is an experience where both the individual and ghost see and react to each other. 

Reincarnation is a belief that once a person dies his soul returns to a new body where it will continue its lessons  about life and how to reach enlightenment.  Many reincarnations may be necessary for the soul to learn and   become closer to the goal of perfection.  

Scrying is a form of divination, which an individual stares deeply into an object in order to see an image that might appear.  This object could be a mirror, crystal ball, or a flame.  The images that appear can be symbolic and give answers to a question.  A spirit usually generates these images.  Recommended reading: "Scrying for Beginners" by Donald Tyson.

Séance consists of a group of people sitting in a circle holding hands in hope of contacting the dead. The  procedure is conducted by a medium that goes into a trance to be used as a vehicle for the deceased spirit to take  over and communicate with their loved ones. 

Sensitive refers to a person who can feel the presence of paranormal energy without the use of their five senses. 

Shaman is a medicine man or witch doctor who can communicate with the spirits during a trance and who is also blessed with the power of healing. 

Sixth Sense is to have the power of perception in addition to the five senses.  It is also a popular term for ESP.  

Smudging is a form of cleansing or clearing a spirit from an area by using incense to purify the area. Recommended reading: "The Smudging and Blessing Book" by Jane Alexander.

Spirit Guide is an ancient, wise spirit that offers help to the one it is asigned.  When in need this person my receive a premonition or an intuition that the spirit guides sends to help with the task at hand.

Spirit Photography is usually a photo that contains a face, shadow, light anomaly or other unexplained forms believed to be that of a deceased person. 

Spiritualism is a belief structure that spirits and ghosts can communicate with the living. 

Supernatural is when an unexplained occurrence take place out of the realm of the known forces of nature.  The experience usually involves spirits.  

Table-tipping (Typology) is another skill of communicating with the spirit world by using a table.  By laying hands on a small table and repeating "Table rise, table rise", a slight movement starts. The table will tilt back and forth making a tapping sound. At this point someone in the group instructs the table to tape once for yes and twice for no. This is best accomplished with a medium in the group.

Telekinesis is where a person can move an object through the power of thought without physical means to move the object. 

Telepathy is a method of communication from mind to mind.  Dr. Rhine of Duke University proved that the mind could communicate with other minds and successfully transmit information. 

Teleportation happens when an object can be transported from one location to another by disappearing and then reappearing in a different place.  They can even go through solid objects. 

Time Slips occur when the past and present collide at a location. 

Transmigration is a belief that a soul can move from body to body through the process of reincarnation. 

Vassage is a spirit that inhabits a scrying crystal.  During the session, the spirit communicates by forming literal or symbolic images. 

Vortex is a small tornado-shape image that shows up on pictures when there is a spirit present.  You can see the orbs rotating inside the shaft.  Sometimes the vortex is so dense that it will cast a shadow.  It is believed that the vortex is a means of travel for the spirits in the orb form. 

Bibliography

A Pocket Guide to the Supernatural, Raymond Buckland, 1969, Ace Publishing Corp., NY, NY.

The Unquiet Dead, Dr. Edith Fiore, 1987, Ballanteen Books, NY

Cassell Dictionary of Superstitions, David Pickering, 1995, Cassell, London.

True Hauntings, Hazel M. Denning, Ph.D, 1996, Llewelly Prublications, Minnesota

Ghosts and Spirits, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, 1992, Checkmark Books, NY, NY.

The Supernatural, Douglas Hill and Pat Williams, 1965, Aldus Books Limited, London.

Man, Myth, and Magic, Richard Cavendish, Editor, Marshall Cavendish Corp., NY.

The Supernatural Psychic Voyages, Stuart Holroyd, 1976, Aldus Books Limited, London.

The Complete Idiot's Guide, Tom Ogden, Alpha Books, Indiana.

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