A - D

Abduction - the act of capturing and carrying away. In the paranormal, it is usually used in the context of aliens.

Agent - An active and efficient cause; capable of producing a certain effect. In the paranormal, it is a person who unintentionally causes unusual physical phenomenon described as poltergeist activity.

Alien - an extraterrestrial being; a form of life assumed to exist outside the Earth or its atmosphere

Angel - a celestial messenger of God, especially in Christianity

Anomaly - deviation from the normal or common order or form or rule

Apparition - the physical manifestation of a spiritual being

Asport - the disappearance of a physical object and its reappearance later in another location

Astral - In the paranormal, it's relating to another plane of existence (e.g., Astral Body, Astral Plane).

Aura - a halo. In the paranormal, the halo believed by some to be colorful, surrounding the human body. The colors are thought to give clues to the mood and physical well-being of the person.

Automatic Writing - intelligible writing that occurs without the control of the conscious mind. In the paranormal, this technique is sometimes used to try and channel a spirit.

Banshee - (Irish origin) a female spirit who wails as an omen of death.

Cartomancy - Divination with cards, such as the Tarot.

Channel - conveying information from the sender to the receiver. In the paranormal, a person who tries to get and pass on messages from a spirit.

Cipher Test - A code set up by a person that he or she intends to use to prove that they are actually communicating after their death.

Clairaudience - The ability to hear things outside the normal range of hearing (e.g., spirit voices).

Clairvoyance - The ability to see things outside the normal range of seeing (e.g., seeing spirits, foreseeing the future).

Cleanse - to rid an area of spirits and spiritual activity.

Cold Reading - usually used by psychics, cold reading is the act of using techniques on the spot (e.g., reading body language, style of dress) to gather information about a person with the intent to convince the subject they know more than they really do.

Cold Spot - an area where the temperature of the air is lower, or suddenly drops, below that of the surrounding environment. Believed by some paranormal to indicate the presence or possible manifestation of a spirit.

Cryptid - a creature whose existence has not been proven. (e.g., Bigfoot).

Cryptozoology - the study of and search for creatures whose exestence has not been proven (see cryptid).

Deja vu - the experience of being sure that one has experienced a situation already, and is commonly accompanied by a sense of familiarity or strangeness.

Demon - an evil, inhuman entity.

Demonology - the study of demons.

Disembodied Voice - a voice that comes from someone who doesn't have a body (i.e., a ghost).

Divination - the foreseeing or foretelling of future events

Divining Rod - (see dowsing rod)

Doppelganger - sinister ghostly double of a living person

Dowsing - using an object (usually a rod, pendulum, or y-shaped stick) to find objects or water.

Dowsing Rod - rod used to locate objects (e.g., gems, metal), water sources, or sources of energy (also known as a divining rod)

E - H

Ectoplasm - a slimy substance produced by mediums during a trance.

Electromagnetic Field (EMF) - a field produced by electrically charged, moving objects.

Entity - a being with existence, whether it can be perceived or not.

ESP - See extrasensory perception.

Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) - sounds or voices from the spirit world captured on a recording medium.

EVP - see electronic voice phenomena

Exorcism - evicting demons from people or places they have possessed

Extrasensory Perception (ESP) - perceiving things outside the normal range of human senses

Ghost - the visible disembodied soul of a dead person

Haunting - the habitation of a place by a ghost or spirit.

Hot Spot - a place of high spiritual activity.

I - L

Incubus - a male entity believed to have sex with sleeping human women. The female version is the succubus.

Kirlian Photography - the form of photography where an object is connected to a high voltage and the object's corona discharge can be captured on a photographic plate. In the paranormal, this technique is thought by some to be able to photograph the human aura.

Levitation - an object suspended in mid-air without contact with other objects. In the paranormal, the rising and suspending of an object, defyng gravity, apparently by spiritual means.

M - P

Medium - a person who can communicate with or receive messages from spirits.

Near Death Experience - experiences associated with being close to death that include phenomena such as an out of body experience, seeing a tunnel, seeing lights, and similar experiences.

Necromancy - divination to summon or attempt to harness forces of the dead for personal gain (e.g., for wisdom, for protection)

Out of Body Experience - the feeling of being outside of one's own body.

Omen - a sign of what the future brings.

Oracle - a prophet.

Orb - a sphere. In the paranormal, an orb refers to a circle of light captured in photograhs; some believe they are spirits.

Paranormal - anything outside of the normal or mainstream.

Poltergeist - a German term for "noisy ghost." Poltergeists are characterized by bangings, rappings, moving objects. They are thought to be mischevious in nature.

Possession - owning or having control over something. In the paranormal, it's the act of a spiritual entity entering a human and taking total control of the person's behavior.

Q - T

Remote Viewing - the attempt to "see" or gather information about something without being in its presence and without using any of the normal human senses.

Seance - a meeting and ritural--usually led by a medium--where a group of people attempt to communicate with the dead

Sensitive - someone who can sense spirits without using the normal human senses.

Sixth Sense - a feeling or knowledge of things without using the normal (5) human senses.

Skeptic - someone who denies, questions, or doubts a belief or theory.

Sleep Paralysis -

Spectre - a ghost, apparition, spirit, etc. Spectre is a name for a spiritual being's manifestation.

Spirit - a ghost, apparition, spectre, etc. Spirit is a name for a spiritual being's manifestation.

Succubus - a female entity believed to have sex with sleeping human men. The male version is the incubus.

Supernatural - something not considered to exist in nature or subject to nature's laws.

Tarot - a deck of 78 cards used to divine.

Telepathy - transferring thoughts or feelings between individuals without the use of the normal human senses.

U - Z

Vortex - a portal between the physical world and spirit world. A vortex is said to be tornado-shaped in photographs.

Wraith - Scottish word for ghost, spectre, or apparition.